Student-centered learning

Student-centered learning, also known as learner-centered education, broadly encompasses methods of teaching that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student. In original usage, student-centered learning aims to develop learner autonomy and independence[1] by putting responsibility for the learning path in the hands of students by imparting to them skills, and the basis on how to learn a specific subject and schemata required to measure up to the specific performance requirement.[2][3][4] Student-centered instruction focuses on skills and practices that enable lifelong learning and independent problem-solving.[5] Student-centered learning theory and practice are based on the constructivist learning theory that emphasizes the learner's critical role in constructing meaning from new information and prior experience.

Student-centered learning puts students' interests first, acknowledging student voice as central to the learning experience. In a student-centered learning space, students choose what they will learn, how they will pace their learning,[6] and how they will assess their own learning by playing the role of the facilitator of the classroom.[4] This is in contrast to traditional education, also dubbed "teacher-centered learning", which situates the teacher as the primarily "active" role while students take a more "passive", receptive role. In a teacher-centered classroom, teachers choose what the students will learn, how the students will learn, and how the students will be assessed on their learning. In contrast, student-centered learning requires students to be active, responsible participants in their own learning and with their own pace of learning.[7]

Usage of the term "student-centered learning" may also simply refer to educational mindsets or instructional methods that recognize individual differences in learners.[8] In this sense, student-centered learning emphasizes each student's interests, abilities, and learning styles, placing the teacher as a facilitator of learning for individuals rather than for the class as a whole.

  1. ^ Jones, Leo. (2007). The Student-Centered Classroom. Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^ Rogers, C. R. (1983). Freedom to Learn for the 80's. New York: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, A Bell & Howell Company.
  3. ^ Pedersen, S., & Liu, M. (2003). Teachers' beliefs about issues in the implementation of a student-centered learning environment. Educational Technology Research and Development, 51(2), 57-76.
  4. ^ a b Hannafin, M. J.; Hannafin, K. M. (2010). "Cognition and Student-Centered, Web-Based Learning: Issues and Implications for Research and Theory" (PDF). Learning and Instruction in the Digital Age. Springer US. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2021.
  5. ^ Young, Lynne E.; Paterson, Barbara L. (2007). Teaching Nursing: Developing a Student-centered Learning Environment. p. 5. ISBN 978-0781757720.
  6. ^ Crumly, Cari; Dietz, Pamela; d’Angelo, Sarah (November 1, 2014). Pedagogies for Student-Centered Learning: Online and On-Ground. Augsburg Fortress Publishers. doi:10.2307/j.ctt9m0skc.5. ISBN 978-1-4514-8953-8. JSTOR j.ctt9m0skc.
  7. ^ Johnson, Eli (2013). The Student Centered Classroom: Vol 1: Social Studies and History. p. 19. ISBN 978-1317919490.
  8. ^ Student-Centered Learning. (2014). Education Reform Glossary. http://edglossary.org/student-centered-learning/