LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING

FIVE KEY CHANGES TO PRACTICE

MARYELLEN WEIMER(2002)

BASIC QUESTION

What should teachers do in order to maximize learning outcomes for their students?

HOW IS LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING DISTINCT?

•Focuses on what students are doing, not what teacher is doing•What is the student learning?•How is the student learning?•What conditions promote student learning?•Is the student retaining / applying learning?•How does current learning facilitate future

learning?

AUTHORS MOTIVATION•Lack of confidence central component that prevented students from doing well (Introductory course - beginning communication)•How to develop learning confidence in students?•Her example: “boat building”•Closer to home: Office 2007???•How to connect research on learning to practice in the classroom•5 key changes

MY MOTIVATION•Introduce the basic elements to Weimer’s learner-centered approach•Identify costs and benefits to each of the changes suggested•Discuss the variety of approaches currently used by McKendree faculty that are learner-centered•Different disciplines have different needs

and/or issues associated with each type of change

5 KEY CHANGES1. Balance of power2. Function of content3. Role of teacher4. Responsibility for learning5. Evaluation purpose and processes

Changes are not independent, but interact in a variety of ways

POWER•Faculty are in control•Content, pace, assignments, due dates,

evaluation, communication•Syllabus language as evidence

•Of course we are (or should be):•Students are not capable (lack maturity, do not

have good study skills, not prepared, do not care about learning)•Faculty are capable•Big question: Can one design course activities and assignments that responsibly give students more control over learning?

POWER SHARING•Combination of faculty and student decision making•Benefits•Students gain confidence – initial resistance changes

to increased motivation• Increases feeling of ownership of class •Practical examples:•Assignments selected from array of options•Fixed due dates – own scheduling decisions

•Syllabus development•General course policies and evaluation methods

(Developmental Biology)•Topics covered (Evolution)

POWER SHARING: ISSUES•Can one design course activities and assignments

that responsibly give students more control over learning?•How much power is enough?•How much freedom can they handle?•When do teachers compromise professional

responsibilities?•Others??

CONTENT•Content plays major role in instructional decisions•Common assumption: More is better•How much content is enough?•Entry level vs. advanced courses•Memorization vs. understanding•Future uses of content:•Need to continue to learn new content (it’s

impossible to teach everything about anything)•Old understandings replaced by newer

understandings (need to relearn past content)

CONTENT: FUNCTION•Goal – develop learning skills (accessing, organizing, evaluating) that students will use later to understand new (or revised) content•Content is “used” not “covered”•Develop knowledge base (current use)•Develop more general learning skills•Create learner awareness•Big question: How to balance establishing a knowledge base with the development of learning skills

CONTENT: PRACTICE•Practical approaches:•Think developmentally – learning skills build on

one another•How to interpret a textbook figure

•Make short learning activities routine•Students spend 5 minutes at end of lecture

summarizing •Take advantage of learning center professionals•Use supplementary materials•U101 “How to get good grades is college”

CONTENT: ISSUES•How much content is enough?•Focusing on learning skills reduces amount of

content covered •students require more time to access same

amount of content – less efficient•As skills develop, efficiency improves•How do we change attitudes about role of content (among faculty)•What about students at different skill levels?•How do I tailor generic learning skills to specific content?•Others??

ROLE OF TEACHER•Current approach remains largely teacher centered•Active area of change with increased

awareness / implementation of active, collaborative, inquiry-based approaches

•Learner-centered approach •Teacher as gardener, midwife, guide, and/or

coach•Learners are required to do more of the actual

work as teachers take a more advisory role

ROLE OF TEACHER: PRACTICE•Do learning tasks less•Students summarize info•Less telling – more student discovery•In-class syllabus test•Do more modeling•Demonstrate how an “experienced” learner

would approach a task (adopt-a-paper)•Get students to learn from (and with) each other

ROLE OF TEACHER: ISSUES•Do you intervene (if so – when)?•What do you do when you intervene?•Provide answers vs. fine-tuning questions•Others??

RESPONSIBILITY•Actions required of students – they need to accept responsibility for learning•Faculty contribution is to provide conditions that promote growth and movement toward autonomy•Show students value of learning•Make content relevant •Lead student to resources •Monitor progress and provide feedback•Consequences for student behavior

RESPONSIBILITY: PRACTICE•Involve students in process of setting classroom climate•Have students identify climates where they

have learned effectively in the past•Get feedback on classroom climate•Help students face poor exam performance•Accepting responsibility for assignment details•Empowering students to fix problems•Establishing guidelines for how students

should address problems that arise during group work

RESPONSIBILITY: ISSUES•How do you move from a rule-based system to one that relies on individual responsibility•How do you establish consequences for students not taking responsibility for their actions (or inaction)?•Others??

EVALUATION•Evaluation used to generate grades AND promote learning•Grades do not equal learning•Faculty and students both perform evaluations•Students learn how to self-evaluate and

participate in evaluating their peers•Grades strongly influence students beliefs about themselves•Evaluating everything decreases students motivation to develop independent learning skills (the only things worth learning are things that you get points for)

EVALUATION: PRACTICE•Review periods•focus on integration of content, organization,

identifying emphasis•Use the exam to promote learning•Provide additional short answer questions•Have students write a question that they

expected, but did not show up•Debriefing the exam•Self-assessment activities• Increase sense of responsibility and confidence in

assessing their own understanding•Peer reviewed activities

EVALUATION: ISSUES•Should students have any involvement in the actual grading process•Potential benefits• Students take self and peer assessment more

seriously if they are actually real•Accurately assessing the quality of their own work

and that of co-workers is an important skill in the work place

IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES•Resistance:•From students•From other faculty•Developmental approach:•Students skills, background, and maturity change

over time•Start up time is important since learner-centered

approaches differ from most prior classroom experiences•Early development of basic skills facilitates more

learner-centered approaches in the future