Student Centred Learning

       

      The purpose of school is to educate students and give them the tools necessary to succeed not only in education, but their further journeys of life.  So why are schools more teacher centred rather than student centred?

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The lecturing method of delivering information seems to benefit the teacher more than the students; the teacher is content with standing there and teaching the facts however students are disengaged, bored, struggling and not quite grasping the concepts.  I feel students struggle with the lecturing method because they are not engaged, analyzing the information, critically thinking about it, or reflecting.  They are not being active learners but rather passive ones.  The teacher is trying to fill their brains with as many facts as possible that are deemed important by the curriculum with no connection or relation to real life application.  A teacher needs to be aware that there are many different types of learners in the classroom and it ranges from visual to auditory, to kinaesthetic.

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http://questgarden.com/107/02/2/110224192120/images/Learning-Styles-Posters.jpg

 If a teacher knows their students they probably know their strengths and weaknesses and can modify the lesson to cater to the students strengths to ensure they are grasping the concepts and fully understanding them.

Photo retrieved from:

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/07/find-out-what-type-of-learner-you-are.html

        If the mindset of teachers change from strictly delivering the information to modifying the lesson to optimize learning for their students, then the classroom will shift from teacher centred toward student-centred inquiry learning.  In chapter 4 it defined inquiry based learning as learning that promoted creative problem solving as students attempt to make sense of their world as they synthesize questions that apply to real world situations. Inquiry based learning promotes higher order thinking and uses features from bloom's revised taxonomy such as creating, analyzing and applying rather then just memorizing facts.  When education moves toward student centred inquiry learning students play an active role in the design of their own learning and they can apply their strengths in the classroom to succeed.  

       Teachers can help facilitate this type of learning by delivering lessons that have many different components to them.  For example, they can deliver the required information in a lecture format but then have the students challenge and experiment this information through discussion in groups, experiments, technology etc.  By incorporating group work and analyzing the information in the lesson students can further discuss concepts that were unclear, perform further research as well as perform activities that they are strong in.  For example, if a student is a visual learner they can look up the information on youtube to see how it works, or if a students is a hands on learner they can learn fractions by using clay and physically divide it up.  Not only do students have a higher level of success when they use higher order thinking skills but they become engaged, interested, and facilitators of their own learning. 

     In conclusion teachers should try and make learning more student centred and find ways to alter lesson plans to benefit the students.  This may require more time and effort however the pros that students receive will outweigh the cons.