Module in

Facilitating
Learner-
centered
Teaching

BILIRAN PROVINCE STATE UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
NAVAL, BI LI RAN 6560
ISO 9001: 2015 Certified | #WoWBiPSU
 Module 1:
Understanding Learner-Centered Teaching
| OVERVIEW
Hello, BiPSUnistas!

Welcome to Biliran Province State University-

School of Teacher Education (STED)!

Welcome to Professional Education:

Facilitating Learner-centered Teaching. This
course explores the fundamental principles,
processes, and practices anchored on
learner-centeredness and other educational
psychologies as these apply to facilitate
various teaching-learning modes to enhance
learning (CMO 74, s. 2017). It also includes
the demonstration of knowledge and
understanding of differentiated teaching to
suit the learners’ gender, needs, strengths,
interests and experiences. Further, pre-
service teachers will be trained to implement
teaching strategies that are responsive to
learners’ linguistic, cultural, socio-economic
and religious backgrounds.

In this module, you will be introduced on the

nomenclature of learner-centeredness in
teaching and learning in the 21st Century.
These strategies and methods will help you
construct a learning plan (teaching and
learning activities) in facilitating the
cognitive and metacognitive process in
learning by relating to the dimensions and
principles of learner-centeredness
appropriate on knowledge of content within
and across curriculum domains present in
the K-12 curriculum.
| OUTCOME
After completing this Module, you are expected to design a
learning plan (teaching and learning activities) in facilitating the
cognitive and metacognitive process in learning by relating to the
dimensions and principles of learner-centeredness appropriate on
knowledge of content within and across curriculum domains present in
the K-12 curriculum.
Specifically:
 Relate the dimensions and principles of learner-centeredness in selecting
effective strategies and methods.
 Apply the principles and dimensions of learner-centeredness in
constructing a learning plan.

| REQUIREMENTS
This module, as its title suggests, introduces to prospective
teachers the understanding of learner-centeredness as an approach of
effective teaching. It deals with topics and concerns that are close to
the day-to-day experiences of teachers and learners.

Based on what you will learn, you will then construct a learner-
centered learning plan with an emphasis on the creation of teaching &
learning activities in facilitating the cognitive and metacognitive process
in learning by relating the dimensions and principles of learner-
centeredness.

The whole module can thus be completed in about 27 hours,

nine hours of it is allotted for the creation of the course requirement; if
you really concentrate on it. However, if you are doing this course on a
part-time basis, and can afford to work only on three hours per day, it
may take about nine days.

This module comprises of activities for you to accomplish

individually at your own time and pace. These activities have been
designed to help you judge and monitor your progress as you go
through this course.

Should you have queries, you may access your instructor in his
official Facebook account (https:www.facebook.com/jhim.bhoi), or
meet him in Zoom or Google Meet, or access the Biliran Province State
University-Learning Management System powered by Moodle.
 Hi, I am
Dr. Grace L.
Concepcion.

Hi, I am
Mr. Jimmy J.
Sañosa, Jr.

| WHAT’S INSIDE?
Dear BiPSUnista,

Mabuhay!

Welcome to Professional Education: Facilitating Learner-centered Teaching!

This module was developed for you to be equipped with the understanding of integrating learner-
centered pedagogy in enhancing various learning modes through facilitation. As a future Teacher,
your role in the society plays a pivotal impact of what do we call social change. It means your
contribution to our community has a significant purpose in achieving a society imbued on quality
education as ticket to societal development and human empowerment.

This course in Facilitating Learner-centered Teaching orients you on the fundamental principles,
processes, and practices anchored on learner-centeredness and other educational psychologies as
these apply to facilitate various teaching-learning modes to enhance learning (CMO 74, s. 2017).

This module is your key! It adopts the action learning model exemplified by the 4As approach which
includes Activity, Analysis, Abstraction, and Application where you are expected to engage in
the whole learning process so for you to be able to construct your understanding at the end of the
learning journey.

This module has the following parts:

 Guiding Light | this part contains the objectives of the lesson.
 Introduction | this gives an overview or a brief background of the lesson.
 Activity | this is the first phase of the lesson. It engages you in an activity either as in
individual or as group.
 Analysis | in this phase of the lesson, you are helped to look back to the activity, think and
analyze what happen.
 Abstraction | in the third phase, you are helped to arrive at generalizations or abstractions.
Your instructor connects these generalizations to concepts and principles written by authorities
and scholars in the field.
 Application | this is the transfer of learning. What has been learned is applied in a relevant
situation.
 In a Nutshell | this part serves as the summary of the lesson.
 Test Your Understanding | this part is the evaluation section.
 Readings | this part is where you will be linked to additional learning resources about the
lesson or the module.

Ready? Then fasten your seatbelt of learning. May you enjoy and make the most of your learning
journey. Good Luck. Do a great job at Prof. Ed.: Facilitating Learner-centered Teaching!

Jimmy J. Sañosa, Jr., LPT, MAED |Instructor I

Grace L. Concepcion, LPT, Ed. D | Assistant Professor III
| LEARNING CHUNK
Lesson Focus Topic
Dimensions and Relate the dimensions Dimensions of Learner-
Principles of Learner- and principles of learner- centered Teaching
centered Teaching centeredness in selecting
vis-à-vis Learner- effective strategies and Principles of Learner-
centered Instructional methods. centered Teaching
Methods and
Strategies Learner-centered
Instructional Methods
and Strategies
Constructing a Apply the principles and Instructional Learning
Learner-centered dimensions of learner- Process
Learning/Lesson Plan centeredness in
constructing a learning
plan.

| PRE-TEST
Direction: The following statements are taken from the content Learner-
Centered Teaching. Read each item carefully and select the best option that
corresponds the question.

1. A high school principal who wished to increase the interest level and
achievement of minority of female students in Math and Science would
be well advised to __________________.
A. Create classroom environments in these subjects that are not based on
competitive grading procedures.
B. Encourage greater use of standardized testing in the elementary schools
that feed students to the high school.
C. Separate students into academic tracks based on achievement.
D. All of the above.

2. Which of the following is a characteristic of a student-centered teaching

style?
A. Rigid seating
B. Discovery based learning
C. Little peer interaction
D. All of the above

3. The teacher-centered classroom will include all of the following except:

A. Flexible seating arrangements
B. Emphasis on factual content
C. Focus on convergent learning
D. Evaluation based on group norms
4. How does student-centered learning benefit learners?
A. It makes students feel appreciated, which causes them to retain
more information.
B. It gives students control over what and how the teacher teaches,
which allows them to be self-centered.
C. It helps the students to passively absorb the material while the
teacher lectures on the subjects.
D. It helps students retain more information and have a high rate of
learning and motivation.

5. A middle school teacher has been planning to have the students in a

class carry out individual research projects in which each student would
investigate and report on a self-selected topic. The teacher decides
instead to have the students conduct and report on their research in
groups. The group approach is likely to be particularly effective for
middle school students because it:
A. Increases the students' overall learning efficiency and sense of
contribution during the project.
B. Enables students who usually achieve at varied levels to perform at a
level similar to that of high-achieving peers in the class.
C. Uses the students' interest in social interactions to enhance
motivation and increase engagement in the learning process.
D. Prompts the students to use a greater variety of methods and
approaches to pursue broader, more complex research topics.

6. Which of the following is the best example of a teacher applying a

constructivist approach to student learning?
A. A math teacher has students use hands-on materials and real-world
problems to acquire new concepts and practice skills.
B. A language arts teacher provides students with a concrete reward
each time they turn in a written assignment that is free of errors.
C. A social studies teacher uses visual aids and a logical progression of
ideas when presenting lectures about new or unfamiliar topics.
D. A science teacher models the correct procedures for performing
complex experiments before having students perform the
experiments.

7. When planning a lesson, a teacher can best help ensure that instruction
will be effective and appropriate for students from a wide range of
socioeconomic backgrounds by asking himself or herself which of the
following questions?
A. Will the lesson include opportunities for interaction among students from
different backgrounds?
B. Will students have opportunities to ask questions and seek clarification at
various points in the lesson?
C. Will the lesson be structured in a way that allows students to spend time
working with self-selected peers to help process new learning?
D. Will the examples used to illustrate and explore lesson content be familiar
and relevant to students with varied life experiences?
8. A teacher regularly gives students brief quizzes of three to five questions
covering material taught in the current or preceding lesson. Which of
the following is likely to be the primary benefit of this practice?
A. helping improve instruction through ongoing feedback on teaching
effectiveness
B. minimizing the amount of re-teaching required for students to
master curricular content
C. ensuring that the teacher has adequate performance data to assign
students a fair grade for the class
D. enhancing students' engagement in the learning process and
recognition of key learning goals

9. Eighth-grade science, social studies, and language arts teachers are

planning an integrated unit on the Industrial Revolution. This
instructional approach can be expected to enhance student learning
primarily by:
A. Facilitating students' accelerated achievement of content standards
in multiple subject areas.
B. Presenting students with tasks that are responsive to their individual
learning preferences.
C. Promoting students' ability to apply a wide range of academic
problem-solving strategies.
D. Connecting ideas for students in ways that make content more
authentic and meaningful.

10. A high school math teacher has a few students in her classes who have
learning disabilities that affect various aspects of their math
performance. The teacher has planned a new instructional unit on
probability and wants to make sure that all of the students with learning
disabilities will be able to participate fully in unit activities. The teacher
can best help ensure this outcome by:
A. Preparing a selection of alternative activities that require less
advanced math skills for the students with learning disabilities.
B. Asking the special education teacher to review the planned activities
and utilizing adaptations suggested for each student who has
learning disabilities.
C. Having the students with learning disabilities work on unit activities
with a peer partner who has strong skills in math.
D. Trying a few sample activities with the students who have learning
disabilities before beginning the unit and making adjustments as
needed.

FEEDBACK | Are you done? Now compare your answer to the “Key to
Correction” page and see how far you have fair.
| KEY TERMS

“ Understanding the following significant key terms facilitates deeper

appreciation of this module and helps you deliver lessons that are
responsive to learner-centeredness. So, let us now acquaint ourselves with
the following key terms.

ACROSS CURRICULUM TEACHING AREAS. Making meaningful connections

and including appropriate interdisciplinary topics and learning competencies
cited in the curriculum guide of other learning areas in any grade level.

ADVANCE ORGANIZER. Pre-instructional cues used to enhance retention of

materials to be taught.

AFFECTIVE DOMAIN. The area of learning related to interests, attitudes,

feelings, values, and personal adjustment.

BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVE. A statement describing what the learner should

be able to do upon completion of the instruction, and containing four
ingredients: the audience (learner), the behavior, the conditions, and the
degree (performance level).

BRAINSTORMING. A teaching strategy used to create a flow of new ideas

where judgments of the ideas of others are forbidden.

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE. Competencies that teachers are expected to master

for them to teach efficiently and effectively.

CURRICULUM AREAS. Different learning/subject areas taught and learned in

the basic education curriculum.

LEARNING COMPETENCY-BASED STANDARDS. Standards that are based

on duly-specified learning competencies for a particular field of study or
discipline. In an outcomes-based approach, the outcomes are the set of
learning competencies that enable learners to perform complex
tasks/functions/roles.

OUTCOMES. The benefit or change after an activity or process, such as new

competencies, which may be associated with the output or the process itself.
Within a learner-centered paradigm, outcomes are the set of learning
competencies that enable learners to perform complex tasks/functions/roles.
OUTCOMES-BASED EDUCATION. OBE implies the best way to learn is to
first determine what needs to be achieved. Once the desired results or ‘exit
outcomes’ have been determined, the strategies, processes, techniques and
means are put in place to achieve the predetermined goals. In essence, it is a
working-backwards with students as the center of the learning–teaching milieu.

TEACHING METHODOLOGY. This is the method chosen to achieve a

teaching goal. This is normally defined by the teacher of a given subject, so
that the student can then follow it. It should be designed in such a way that
students acquire the knowledge and skills for which the subject was included in
the curriculum.

TEACHING STRATEGIES. Also known as instructional strategies, are

methods that teachers use to deliver course material in ways that keep
students engaged and practicing different skill sets.

WITHIN CURRICULUM TEACHING AREAS. Inclusion of appropriately

chosen intra-disciplinary topics and enabling learning competencies within the
curriculum guide of a specific learning area and grade level.
 Dimensions and
Principles of Learner-
centered Teaching
and Learning
Processes vis-à-vis
Learner-centered
Instructional Methods
and Strategies
 | Guiding Light

In this lesson, challenge yourself to:

 Relate the dimensions and principles of learner-
centeredness in selecting effective strategies and
methods.

| Introduction
Student Centered Learning (SCL) is an approach of learning. Students play their
role during teaching and learning sessions in the classroom by actively participating
in each learning activity, while the lecturer acts as a facilitator. According to
Michaelson and Black (1994), SCL is an approach where students take control of
content, activities, materials, and pace of learning. Lately, SCL has been defined with
a wider context and a comprehensive definition includes active learning, choice of
learning, and shift of power in the teacher-students relationship (O’Neill, Moore &
McMullin, 2005). In a typical classroom setting, a facilitator allocates a specific period
of time for students to explore learning issues and solve problems as a part of
learning process (Salleh et al., 2009).

Previous studies highlighted several methods of implementing the SCL approach

in the classroom setting, for small groups or large classes. This includes collaborative
learning, problem-based learning, peer instruction, team-based learning, and project-
based learning (Michaelson & Black, 1994; Michaelson, Knight & Fink, 2004; O’Neill,
Moore & McMullin, 2005). The most important aspects to be considered for SCL
approach implementation are suitability of activities and the size of classes. In order
to match SCL activities and the size of classes, several previous authors had
proposed methods such as think-pair-share, quick-thinks, round table, minute
papers, immediate feedback, bookend lectures, and student project presentation
(Johnston & Cooper, 1997; Stead, 2005; Smith et al., 2005).
 | Activity
Activity No. 1

Instruction: Examine the clip art below.

1. What two words do you see?

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2. What relationship does the clip art show about these two words?
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3. What message do you get from this clip art? Can you relate it to your own role as
a future teacher?
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FEEDBACK | Are you done filling out the spaces provided? Now compare
your answer to the “Key to Correction” page and see how far you have
fair.

Activity No. 2

Instruction: Read the quotation below and reflect.

“Teaching is not about filling up the pail,

it is about lighting a fire”

1. What concepts/ideas/images came to your mind when you read “Teaching as

filling up the pail”? Elaborate.
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2. What concepts/ideas/images came to your mind when you read “Teaching is
about lighting a fire”? Elaborate.
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FEEDBACK | Are you done filling out the spaces provided? Now compare
your answer to the “Key to Correction” page and see how far you have
fair.

Activity No. 3

Instruction: Over the years, the concept of transfer of learning has evolve from being
teacher-centered to learner-centered. The same way from teaching to facilitating.
Below are statements of a teacher-centered instruction and learner-centered
instruction. Identify each statement whether they are learner-centered or teacher-
centered. Write your answer in the table below.

 Admonishing students to ‘think’

 Allowing students to choose from two novels that are unlike anything they’ve
ever seen or experienced in their lives
 Being clear about how to do well in your class
 Being clear about how you will promote, measure, and celebrate
understanding
 Choice boards
 Choosing ‘power standards’ from your curriculum after meeting with both
students, parents, and community members that voice their unique societal
and cultural needs
 Choosing ‘power standards’ in a staff meeting in the middle of a summer PD
with the other 4 teachers from your department or grade level
 Choosing what’s graded carefully, and considering other work as practice
 Collaborating with students to create the rubric or scoring guide
 Creating curriculum and instruction around a need to know
 Creating curriculum and instruction around standards
 Diversifying what you accept as evidence of understanding
 Framing learning in terms of letter grades and certificates and completion
 Framing learning in terms of process and growth and purpose
 Giving an on-demand assignment even though you just finished a writing
piece or unit
 Giving struggling readers a few extra minutes to read a 17-page short story
 Grading everything
 Handing students a rubric or scoring guide
 Helping students continuously practice and revise how they perform on one
assessment form
 Helping students master content
 Helping students understand what’s worth understanding
 Letting students choose the project’s product
 Letting students choose the project’s purpose
 Letting students choose their own media form that reflects the purpose of the
reading
 Modeling ‘how to think‘ for students
 Placing struggling readers in a lit circle that gives them an authentic role that
they can be successful in, allows them to hear oral fluency and reading speed
model and keeps them from feeling ‘broken’
 Starting class with a standard and target
 Starting class with a story
 Using the on-demand writing prompt as the summative assessment
 Worksheets, essays

Teacher-centered Learner-centered
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5.

6. 6.

7. 7.

8. 8.
 9. 9.

10. 10.

11. 11.

12. 12.

13. 13.

14. 14.

15. 15.

FEEDBACK | Are you done filling out the spaces provided? Now compare
your answer to the “Key to Correction” page and see how far you have
fair.

| Analysis
Instruction: Assume you are a teacher. Write your reflection on the difference
between teacher-centered to learner-centered teaching.
Based from your reflection, what teaching methodologies or strategies can you use
to improve your craft in delivering quality facilitation of information to your learners?
Elaborate your answer. You may apply ideas and concepts you learned from the
Activity section.

FEEDBACK | Submit your response for this section to your instructor’s

Facebook Messenger account or in BiPSU’s Learning Management System
powered by Moodle for consultation and feed backing.

How was the feedback? The following page will explain you further.
 | Abstraction
Viewing learning as something accomplished by learners, rather than caused by
teachers is often referred to as learner-centered teaching. Maryellen Weimer, who
has written several books and articles about this topic, defines learner-centered
teaching as teaching that makes learners responsible for learning (2013). Learner-
centered education makes sense from our new understandings based on
neuroscience of how learners learn (NEA, 2008). As this approach is a paradigm shift
from traditional teacher-centered instruction, this article overviews some of the
mental shifts necessary for thinking from a learner-centered perspective.

Becoming learner-centered leads us to focus our teaching directly on learning. It

does not mean placing the students in charge! We need to avoid the mistaken
viewpoint that teachers are here to serve our customers, the students, and to deliver
education to them. Weimer (2013) states that learner-centered teaching involves
students in:
 Practicing, working with difficult problems, and developing learning skills.
Weimer calls this work the “messy work of learning.”
 Learning how to learn. Teachers teach students how to learn while they are
teaching content.
 Reflecting and assessing their own learning and taking responsibility for
modifying approaches to strengthen their skills.
 Having control over some of their learning processes such as making choices
about assignments and helping to develop course policies.
 Learning collaboratively from one another and from their teachers.

Dimensions of Learner-Centered Teaching

Blumberg (2009) and Weimer (2013) describe dimensions of learner-centered

teaching and contrast them with dimensions of instructor-centered teaching. We
have outlined these dimensions in the following sections.

The Function of the Content. Per Blumberg (2009): “Instructor-centered

approaches focus on building a large knowledge base, perhaps at the expense of the
learners’ ability to use it or to engage in a meaningful way with the content” (p. 73).
In other words, instructors “cover” the content and construct tests to measure
students’ retention (Weimer, 2013). In a learner-centered environment, learners are
aware of the reasons for learning the content, develop ways to learn about the
content that are appropriate for the discipline, and practice solving real world
problems based upon the content.

The Role of the Instructor. In an instructor-centered approach, instructors

often focus on delivering content through lectures and demonstration. In a learner-
centered approach, the instructor assists the students with accessing and working
with content. There is a shift from instructors allocating time for lecture preparation
to time planning ways to help learners achieve learning goals and outcomes for the
course. The instructor is planning what the learners are going to do in the class
rather than preparing slides to deliver content (Blumberg, 2009).

The Responsibility for Learning. In an instructor-centered classroom,

“instructors take responsibility for their students’ learning, they define what will be
learned, direct how it will be learned, and determine how well it is learned”
(Blumberg, 2009, p. 127). On the other hand, in a learner-centered approach, the
instructor assists the learners to develop and practice learning skills that they can
carry into their future as lifelong learners. Learners develop the skills to assess their
own learning and apply the learning to their lives and interests.

The Purposes and Processes of Assessment. In an instructor-centered

course, one might see course requirements such as readings, four tests, and a final.
Assessment is generally summative, providing end of course grades. In a learner-
centered course, along with summative assessments, one might also see multiple
projects with self-assessment and reflection, self-tests, clickers for feedback about
student understanding of concepts, etc. Assessment continuously provides feedback
to learners.

The Balance of Power. Learner-centered teaching does not remove the power
or authority of the teacher. Rather, learners share some of the power in the
classroom. Unlike an instructor-driven course, learners have the option to explore
content outside the boundaries of what instructors have provided. They have
opportunities to express alternative opinions and choose different ways to apply
content. Learners even have some power to assist in making policies for the course.
Learner-centered teaching can reframe how we think about teaching, but it does not
erase the significance of the teacher to impact learning, nor does it entirely eradicate
traditional methods of teaching. For example, sometimes lecturing is the best
method of transferring content to learner. As novice learners, students often need
help to access content and determine what is important.

Incorporating Learner-Centered Teaching into Your Teaching

From a review of the literature and our experiences, there are multiple
strategies that instructors can employ to cultivate a more learner-centered
environment. You can:
 Prompt learners to reflect and describe what they learned from or after a
given activity.
 Give learners the opportunity to practice different learning skills.
 Help novice learners understand concepts by engaging in concept linking
activities such as concept mapping.
 Develop learning outcomes tied to assessments and make learning outcomes
clear to learners.
 Offer learners options such as selecting project topics.

Principles of Learner-centered Teaching

Learner-Centered Psychological Principles

The following 14 psychological principles pertain to all learners and the learning
process. These principles are adapted from the principles developed by the American
Psychological Association.

The 14 principles have the following aspects:

 They focus on psychological factors that are primarily internal to and under
the control of the learner rather than conditioned habits or physiological
factors. However, the principles also attempt to acknowledge external
environment or contextual factors that interact with these internal factors.
 The principles are intended to deal holistically with learners in the context
of real-world learning situations. Thus, they are best understood as an
organized set of principles; no principle should be viewed in isolation.
 The 14 principles are divided into those referring to (1) Cognitive and
Metacognitive Factors, (2) Motivational and Affective Factors, (3)
Developmental and Social Factors, and (4) Individual Difference
Factors influencing learners and learning.
 Finally, the principles are intended to apply to all learners – from children, to
teachers, to administrators, to parents, and to community members involved
in our educational system.

Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors

1. Nature of the learning process.

 The learning of complex subject matter is most effective when it is an
intentional process of constructing meaning from information and experience.
 There are different types of learning process, for example, habit formation in
motor learning; and learning that involves the generation of knowledge, or
cognitive skills and learning strategies.
 Learning in schools emphasizes the use of intentional processes that students
can use to construct meaning from information, experiences, and their own
thoughts and beliefs.
 Successful learners are active, goal-oriented, self-regulating, and assume
personal responsibility for contributing to their own learning.

Message for Teachers: Use techniques that aid students in constructing

meaning from information, experiences, and their own thought and
beliefs.

2. Goals of the learning process.

 The successful learner, over time and with support and instructional guidance,
can create meaningful, coherent representations of knowledge.
 The strategic nature of learning requires students to be goal directed.
Students must generate and pursue personally relevant goals.
 To construct useful representations of knowledge and to acquire the thinking
and learning strategies necessary for continued learning success across the
lifespan, students must generate and pursue personally relevant goals.
Initially, students’ short-term goals and learning may be sketchy in an area,
but over time their understanding can be refined by filling gaps, resolving
inconsistencies, and deepening their understanding of the subject matter so
that they can reach longer-term goals.
  Educators can assist learner in creating meaningful learning goals that are
consistent with both personal and educational aspirations and interests.

Message for Teachers: Create meaningful student learning goals

consistent with their personal and educational aspirations and
interests.

3. Construction of knowledge.
 The successful learner can link new information with existing knowledge in
meaningful ways.
 Knowledge widens and deepens as student continue to build links between
new information and experiences and their existing knowledge base. Unless
new knowledge become integrated with the learner’s prior knowledge and
understanding, this new knowledge remains isolated, cannot be used most
effectively in new tasks, and does not transfer readily to new situations.

Message for Teachers: Assist learners in acquiring and integrating

knowledge by using such strategies as concept mapping and thematic
organization or categorizing.
4. Strategic thinking.
 The successful learner can create and use a repertoire of thinking and
reasoning strategies to achieve complex learning goals.
 Successful learners use strategic thinking in their approach to learning,
reasoning, problem solving, and concept learning.
 They understand and can use a variety of strategies to help them reach
learning and performance goals, and to apply their knowledge in novel
situations.
 They also continue to expand their repertoire of strategies by reflecting on the
methods they use to see which work well for them, by receiving guided
instruction and feedback, and by observing or interacting with appropriate
models.

Message for Teachers: Assist learners in developing, applying, and

assessing their strategic learning skills.

5. Thinking about thinking.

 Higher order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental operations
facilitate creative and critical thinking.
 Successful learners can reflect on how they think and learn, set reasonable
learning or performance goals, select potentially appropriate learning
strategies or methods, and monitor their progress towards these goals.
 Successful learners know what to do if a problem occurs or if they are not
making sufficient or timely progress toward a goal. They can generate
alternative methods to reach their goal (or reassess the appropriateness and
utility of the goal).

Message for Teachers: Use instructional methods that focus on helping

learners develop these higher order strategies to enhance learning and
 personal responsibility for learning.

6. Context of Learning.
 Learning is influenced by environmental factor, including culture, technology,
and instructional practices.
 Learning does not occur in a vacuum. Cultural or group influences on students
impact many educationally relevant variables: motivation, orientation toward
learning, and ways of thinking. Technologies and instructional practices must
be appropriate for learners’ level of prior knowledge, cognitive abilities, and
their learning and thinking strategies.

Message for Teachers: Make the classroom environment nurturing to have

significant impacts on student learning.

Motivational and Affective Factors

7. Motivational and emotional influences on learning.
 What and how much is learned is influenced by the learner’s motivation.
Motivation to learn, in turn, is influenced by the individual’s emotional states,
beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of thinking.
 Students’ belief about themselves as learners and the nature of learning have
a marked influence on motivation. Positive emotions generally enhance
motivation and facilitate learning and performance. Mid anxiety can also
enhance learning and performance by focusing the learner’s attention on a
particular task.

Message for Teachers: Help students avoid intense negative emotions

(e.g., anxiety, panic, rage, insecurity) and related thoughts (e.g.,
worrying about competence, ruminating about failure, fearing
punishment, ridicule, or stigmatizing labels.

8. Intrinsic motivation to learn.

 The learner’s creativity, higher order thinking, and natural curiosity all
contribute to motivation to learn. Intrinsic motivation is stimulated by tasks of
optimal novelty and difficulty, relevant to personal interests, and providing for
personal choice and control.
 Curiosity, flexible and insightful thinking, and creativity are major indicators of
the learners’ intrinsic motivation to learn.

Message for Teachers: Encourage and support learners’ natural curiosity

and motivation to learn by attending to individual differences in
learners’ perceptions of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevance, and
personal choice and control.

9. Effects of motivation on effort.

 Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner effort
and guided practice. Without learners’ motivation to learn, the willingness to
exert this effort is unlikely without coercion.
 Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills demands the investment of
 considerable learner energy and strategic effort, along with persistence over
time.

Message for Teachers: Facilitate motivation by using strategies that

enhance learner effort and commitment to learning and to achieving
high standards of comprehension and understanding.

Developmental and Social Factors

10. Developmental influences on learning.
 As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints for
learning. Learning is most effective when differential development within and
across physical, intellectual, emotional, and social domains is taken into
account.
 Individuals learn best when material is appropriate to their developmental
level and is presented in an enjoyable and interesting way.

Message for Teachers: Be aware of and understand developmental

differences among students with and without emotional, physical, or
intellectual disabilities, to facilitate the creation of optimal learning
contexts.

11. Social influences on learning.

 Learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations, and
communication with others.
 Setting that allow for social interactions, and that respect diversity,
encourage flexible thinking, and social competence can enhance learning.

Message for Teachers: Allow for interactive and collaborative

instructional contexts to provide individuals an opportunity for
perspective taking and reflective thinking that may lead to higher
levels of cognitive, social and moral development, as well as self-
esteem.

Individual Differences Factors

12. Individual differences in learning.
 Learners have different strategies, approaches, and capabilities for learning
that are a function of prior experience and heredity.
 Individuals are born with and develop their own capabilities and talents.

Message for Teachers: Help student examine their learning preferences

and expand or modify them, if necessary.

13. Learning and diversity

 Learning is most effective when differences in learners’ linguistic, cultural,
and social backgrounds are taken into account.
 Language, ethnicity, race, beliefs, and socioeconomic status all influence
learning.
 Message for Teachers: Paying careful attention to these factors in the
instructional setting enhances the possibilities for designing and
implementing appropriate learning environments.

14. Standards and assessment

 Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and assessing the
learner as well as learning progress – including diagnostic, process, and
outcome assessment – are integral parts of the learning process.
 Ongoing assessment of the learner’s understanding of curricular material
can provide valuable feedback to both learners and teachers about progress
towards the learning goals.

Message for Teachers: Use of varied types of assessment will provide a

clearer picture of student learning.

Applying the 14 principles above, Eggen and Chauchak give us three Characteristics
of Learner-centered Instruction:
1. Learners are at the center of the learning process. The criticisms of
direct instruction have led educators to put more emphasis on the role of the
student in the learning process. Many opted for a more student-centered
environment as opposed to the traditional teacher-centered set-up. Learners
are given more choices. Learning activities are designed with the needs,
interests and developmental levels of the learners in the foremost
consideration.
2. Teacher guides students’ construction of understanding. The 14
principles were put together because of the growing implications of research
in cognitive psychology. Teachers in learner-centered classrooms provide a lot
of opportunity for the learners to actively think, figure out things and learn on
their own. The teacher serves more as a facilitator, a “guide on the side”
rather than a “sage on stage”.
3. Teachers teach for understanding. Students are placed at the center of
the learning process. The teachers help them to take responsibility for their
learning. As a result, students, through their own active search and
experimentation, experience a movement from confusion to searching for
answers, to discovery, and finally do understanding.

Learner-centered Instructional Methods and Strategies

Student-centered teaching or Learner-centered teaching is teaching designed for the

student. This means that planning often begins with the student in mind as opposed
to a school policy or curriculum artifact, for example. Done well, it can disarm some
of the more intimidating parts of academia, while also shortening the distance
between the student and understanding.

Put another way, student-centered teaching is teaching that is ‘aware’ of students

and their needs above and beyond anything else. It places students at the center of
the learning process.
Below is an info graphic of some of learner-centered methods. The following
infographic via Mia MacMeekin provides additional tools (in the form of strategies)
that can help create a learning environment that can, depending on the context,
more approachable, friendly, or familiar to students in your classroom.
Learner-centered Strategies

The following student-centered teaching strategies aims to strengthen your students’

literacy skills, nurture critical thinking, and create a respectful classroom climate. You
can implement these strategies with any academic content.

Strategy 3-2-1
Rationale A 3-2-1 prompt helps students structure their responses to a text,
film, or lesson by asking them to describe three takeaways, two
questions, and one thing they enjoyed. It provides an easy way for
teachers to check for understanding and to gauge students’ interest in
a topic. Sharing 3-2-1 responses is also an effective way to prompt a
class discussion or to review material from the previous lesson.

Strategy Alphabet Brainstorm

Rationale Brainstorming is an effective way to help students get ideas onto
paper. The Alphabet Brainstorm strategy helps to structure students’
brainstorming by asking them to generate ideas that begin with each
letter of the alphabet. This can be done individually, in small groups,
or as a whole-class activity. It is a quick way to generate thoughts,
measure prior knowledge, and evaluate learning.

Strategy Analyzing Images

Rationale Use this strategy to guide students through a close analysis of an
image. By following the steps in this image-analysis procedure,
students develop awareness of historical context, develop critical
thinking skills, enhance their observation and interpretive skills, and
develop conceptual learning techniques. You can use this strategy
with any visual media, including a piece of art, photograph, political
cartoon, propaganda poster, or video clip.

Strategy Annotating and Paraphrasing Sources

Rationale The Annotating and Paraphrasing Sources strategy requires students
to underline key words, write margin notes, and summarize main
ideas as they read a primary or secondary source. Use this strategy if
you have introduced a writing prompt that students will revisit
throughout a unit of study. Because careful reading is integral to
powerful writing and thinking, annotating text often helps students
craft stronger written arguments. By practicing this strategy, students
will learn to take notes from primary and secondary sources that
address the validity and bias of evidence, the perspective of the
source, and their own interpretation. Students will need regular
practice, reinforcement, and feedback on their annotations in order for
this type of careful reading to become routine.
Strategy Anticipation Guides
Rationale The Anticipation Guides strategy asks students to express their
opinions about ideas before they encounter them in a text or unit of
study. Completing anticipation guides helps students recognize and
connect to themes that surface in their learning. Use this strategy at
the beginning of a unit or before engaging with a text. You can also
review anticipation guides at the end of a lesson or unit as a way to
help students reflect on how learning new material may have
influenced their opinions, perhaps by reinforcing previously held
beliefs or by causing ideas to shift.

Strategy Assigning Roles for Group Work

Rationale Assigning students particular roles can be an effective way to
structure group work. Sometimes certain students assume too much
responsibility for a group’s work, while other students may be
reluctant to contribute to the group’s activities. Assigning roles helps
to distribute responsibility among group members and ensures
accountability for all students’ participation. As students practice
different roles, they have the opportunity to develop a variety of skills.

Strategy Barometer: Taking a Stand on Controversial Issues

Rationale The Barometer teaching strategy helps students share their opinions
by asking them to line up along a continuum based on their position
on an issue. It is especially useful when you want to discuss an issue
about which students have a wide range of opinions. Because a
Barometer activity gets many arguments out on the table, it can be an
effective pre-writing exercise before an essay assignment.

Strategy Big Paper: Building a Silent Conversation

Rationale This discussion strategy uses writing and silence as tools to help
students explore a topic in depth. In a Big Paper discussion, students
write out their responses to a stimulus, such as a quotation or
historical document. This process slows down students’ thinking and
gives them an opportunity to focus on the views of others. It also
creates a visual record of students’ thoughts and questions that you
can refer to later in a course. You can use this strategy both to
engage students who are not as likely to participate in a verbal
discussion and to help make sure that students who are eager to talk
and listen carefully to the ideas of their classmates. After they
participate in this activity several times, students’ comfort, confidence,
and skill in using this method increases.

Strategy Bio-poem: Connecting Identity and Poetry

Rationale “Who am I?” is a question on the minds of many adolescents. This
activity helps students clarify important elements of their identities by
writing a poem about themselves or about a historical or literary
figure. Bio-poems help students get beyond the aspects of identity
that are often more obvious and familiar (such as ethnicity, gender,
 and age) by asking them to focus on factors that shape identity, such
as experiences, relationships, hopes, and interests. By providing a
structure for students to think more critically about an individual’s
traits, experiences, and character, bio-poems are a way for students
to demonstrate what they know about historical or literary figures.
Having students share their bio-poems is a great way to build peer
relationships and foster a cohesive classroom community.

Strategy Café Conversations

Rationale Students need an awareness of different perspectives in order to
understand past events. The Café Conversation strategy helps
students practice perspective-taking by requiring them to represent a
particular point of view in a small-group discussion. By engaging in a
conversation with people who represent other backgrounds and
experiences, students become more aware of the role that many
factors (e.g., social class, occupation, gender, age) play in shaping
one’s attitudes and perspectives on historical events. Use the Café
Conversations activity as an assessment tool or to prepare students to
write an essay about a specific historical event.

Strategy Character Charts

Rationale The Character Charts strategy involves using graphic organizers to
help students organize information about major and minor characters
in a text. Completed character charts are useful tools for writing
essays and studying for tests. They’re often used to record
information about literary characters, but they can be adapted for
historical figures.

Strategy Character Maps

Rationale Character maps are graphic organizers that use a simple drawing of a
person, with questions connected to the person’s symbolic features.
They can be used to prompt reflection on historical or fictional
characters.

Strategy Chunking
Rationale A Chunking activity involves breaking down a difficult text into more
manageable pieces and having students rewrite these “chunks” in
their own words. You can use this strategy with challenging texts of
any length. Chunking helps students identify key words and ideas,
develops their ability to paraphrase, and makes it easier for them to
organize and synthesize information.

Strategy Close Reading Protocol

Rationale The Close Reading Protocol strategy asks students to carefully and
purposefully read and reread a text. When students “close read,” they
focus on what the author has to say, what the author’s purpose is,
what the words mean, and what the structure of the text tells us. This
approach ensures that students really understand what they’ve read.
 We ask students to carefully investigate a text in order to make
connections to essential questions about history, human behavior, and
ourselves. Skillful close reading is also an important foundation for
helping students develop the ability to justify their claims in class
discussions and writing assignments with specific evidence. A typical
close reading activity uses some or all of the steps in the procedure
below.

Strategy Close Viewing Protocol

Rationale Like close reading of text, close viewing of film media is carefully and
purposefully viewing and reviewing a film clip in order to focus on
what the filmmaker is trying to convey, the choices the filmmaker has
made, the role of images, narration, editing, and sound, and what the
film’s purpose might be. Close viewing ensures that students become
critical viewers of film content and that they really understand what
they’ve watched. Skillful close viewing is also an important foundation
for helping students develop the ability to justify their claims in class
discussions and writing assignments with specific evidence. The
following sample protocol is meant for use with a short (five- to ten-
minute) film or video clip.

Strategy Color, Symbol, Image

Rationale This strategy invites students to reflect on ideas in nonverbal ways
and encourages them to think metaphorically. Students first focus on
something they’ve just read and think about the most important
theme, idea, or emotion that surfaced for them. Then they reflect on
how they can communicate the essence of what they’ve read using a
color, a symbol, and an image. Use this strategy to vary the ways you
invite students to respond to ideas in order to appeal to the strengths
of a variety of thinking and learning styles.

Strategy Concentric Circles

Rationale This discussion strategy invites every student in the class to
participate as an active listener and speaker. Students stand in two
concentric circles facing one another and respond to a question in a
paired discussion. When prompted by the teacher, one of the circles
moves to the left or right so each student now faces a new partner,
with whom they discuss a new question. This kinesthetic activity
works well to debrief a reading or video and mixes up students so that
they have the opportunity to share with a wide range of students.
Furthermore, because they are speaking with just one other person at
a time, reticent students might feel more comfortable sharing their
ideas than they would in a group or class discussion.
Strategy Concept Maps: Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate
Rationale A concept map is a visual representation of a topic that students can
create using words, phrases, lines, arrows, space on the page, and
perhaps color to help organize their ideas and show their
understanding of an idea, vocabulary term, or essential question.
Students first respond to a topic (an idea, term, or essential question)
by brainstorming a list of words, phrases, or ideas they associate with
it. Then, they sort and arrange the items in their list visually on a page
to represent both the items’ relationships to the topic and to each
other. The result is a visual representation of students’ thinking about
the idea, term, or question. This strategy provides an effective way to
introduce big ideas to the class and capture their initial thinking.
Students can then return to their concept maps over the course of a
lesson or unit to revise them, providing a way for both the teacher
and students to track individual understanding and growth.

Strategy Connect, Extend, Challenge

Rationale Use this strategy to help students connect new ideas and information
to their prior knowledge about a particular topic. The protocol
described here engages students in metacognitive reflection by asking
them to identify ideas and pieces of information that are consistent
with their prior understanding of a topic, those that cause them to
revise their thinking, and those that are confusing. This process helps
students both deepen their understanding of a topic and become
more thoughtful and independent learners.

This strategy works best after students have already been introduced
to an idea or topic and are receiving new information or perspectives
that might challenge their initial understanding.

Strategy Contracting
Rationale Contracting is the process of openly discussing with your students
expectations about how classroom members will treat each other. It is
an effective strategy for making your classroom a reflective
community. Reflective classroom communities are places where
explicit rules and implicit norms protect everyone’s right to speak;
where differing perspectives can be heard and valued; where
members take responsibility for themselves, each other, and the
group as a whole; and where each member has a stake and a voice in
collective decisions. These type of classroom communities are usually
created through deliberate nurturing from students and teachers who
have shared expectations about how classroom members will treat
each other. The instructions below describe how to discuss classroom
norms with students and then draft and agree to a formal contract of
behavior.
Strategy Contracting for Remote Learning
Rationale Contracting is an effective strategy for making your classroom a
reflective and respectful community. It is the process of openly
discussing with your students expectations about how classroom
members will engage with each other and with the learning
experience. Since remote learning deeply affects the ways in which
members of a class communicate and connect with each other and
their teacher, it is important to create a version of your class contract
that addresses the different circumstances involved in remote learning
so that students can feel engaged, valued, respected, and heard
whether you are meeting in person or virtually.

Facing History teachers have found that effective class contracts

typically include several clearly defined rules or expectations, as well
as ideas for how the class will respond if students do not fulfill their
obligations as members of the classroom community. There are many
ways to proceed with developing a classroom contract, and we
encourage you to adapt this process to meet the needs of your
students and you’re learning environment.

Strategy Create a Headline

Rationale By creating a concise headline to represent what they learned,
students must identify main ideas and patterns and then make a
judgment about which of those ideas and patterns are most
important. Often the source or sources used in this activity shed light
on underlying issues that influenced the events of a particular
historical era.

Strategy Crop It
Rationale In a Crop It activity, students use cropping tools to frame a portion of
an image and then discuss their choice with classmates. This strategy
requires students to notice, identify, and respond to specific portions
of an image before interpreting the image’s overall meaning and
impact. It’s an effective way to help students look closely at and
analyze images.

Strategy Dissecting the Prompt

Rationale The Dissecting the Prompt strategy is effective to use when
introducing students to a new writing assignment. By having students
annotate and discuss a writing prompt, this activity gives students the
time they need to decode what the prompt is asking them to think
and write about. You can also use this strategy to introduce an
essential question for a lesson, unit, or course.

Strategy Document Analysis Form

Rationale Analyzing historical documents requires students to identify the
purpose, message, and audience of a text. Document analysis forms
are graphic organizers that guide students through a process of
 identifying important background information about a document (e.g.,
author/creator, date created, place, format, etc.) and using this data
to determine the text’s bias or perspective.

Strategy Evidence Logs

Rationale The Evidence Logs strategy provides a place where students can
centralize and organize evidence they collect over the course of a unit.
Creating these logs is particularly helpful when you introduce a writing
prompt that students will be revisiting. Collecting evidence is an
important part of essay writing because it allows students to weigh
different sides of an argument and eventually craft theses that they
are able to defend. By organizing evidence in a central location or
structure, students are able to review the information they’ve collected
and pick clear and relevant reasons to support their thinking. You
might also use this strategy to help students organize evidence they
find that is related to a unit or lesson’s essential question.

Strategy Exit Cards

Rationale Exit cards require students to respond to questions or prompts on a
piece of paper that they will pass in to you before they leave class.
These cards provide you with immediate information that you can use
to assess students’ understanding, monitor their questions, or gather
feedback on your teaching. For students, exit cards serve as a content
review at the end of a daily lesson and enhance their metacognitive
skills.

Strategy Fishbowl
Rationale In a Fishbowl discussion, students seated inside the “fishbowl” actively
participate in a discussion by asking questions and sharing their
opinions, while students standing outside listen carefully to the ideas
presented. Students take turns in these roles, so that they practice
being both contributors and listeners in a group discussion. This
strategy is especially useful when you want to make sure all students
participate in a discussion, when you want to help students reflect on
what a good discussion looks like, and when you need a structure for
discussing controversial or difficult topics. A Fishbowl discussion
makes for an excellent pre-writing activity, often unearthing questions
or ideas that students can explore more deeply in an independent
assignment.

Strategy Found Poems

Rationale A “found poem” is one that is created using only words, phrases, or
quotations that have been selected and rearranged from another text.
To create found poems, students must choose language that is
particularly meaningful or interesting to them and organize the
language around a theme or message. Writing found poems is a
structured way to have students review material and synthesize their
learning.
Strategy Four Corners
Rationale A Four Corners debate requires students to show their position on a
specific statement (strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree)
by standing in a particular corner of the room. This activity elicits the
participation of all students by requiring everyone to take a position.
Use this as a warm-up activity by asking students to respond to a
statement about a topic they will be studying. It can also be an
effective follow-up activity by asking students to apply what they have
learned when framing their arguments, or you can use it as a pre-
writing activity to elicit arguments and evidence prior to essay writing.

Strategy Gallery Walk

Rationale During a gallery walk, students explore multiple texts or images that
are placed around the room. You can use this strategy when you want
to have students share their work with peers, examine multiple
historical documents, or respond to a collection of quotations. Because
this strategy requires students to physically move around the room, it
can be especially engaging to kinesthetic learners.

Strategy Give One, Get One

Rationale Use this strategy to stimulate students’ thinking as they investigate an
essential question or search for evidence in response to an essay
prompt over the course of a unit of study. In this strategy, students
formulate initial positions and arguments in response to a question or
prompt and then share them with each other through a structured
procedure. That way they can test, refine, and strengthen their ideas
as they share their ideas and hear the ideas of others. Students will
practice being active listeners or readers—an essential skill for
learning new information.

Strategy Graffiti Boards

Rationale Graffiti Boards are a shared writing space (e.g., a large sheet of paper
or whiteboard) where students record their comments and questions
about a topic. The purpose of this strategy is to help students “hear”
each other’s ideas. Some benefits of this strategy include that it can
be implemented in five to ten minutes, it provides a way for shy
students to engage in the conversation, it creates a record of
students’ ideas and questions that can be referred to at a later point,
and it gives students space and time to process emotional material.
You can use the Graffiti Boards strategy as a preview activity by
introducing a new topic and helping students to organize any existing
knowledge about that topic. You can also use this strategy to prepare
for a class discussion or writing assignment about a text by asking
students to share their reactions to the text on the Graffiti Board.
Strategy Human Timeline
Rationale A Human Timeline activity requires students to learn about a particular
event and then line up with peers according to their events’
chronology. This strategy uses movement to help students understand
and remember the order of events.

Strategy Iceberg Diagrams

Rationale The Iceberg Diagrams teaching strategy helps students gain
awareness of the numerous underlying causes that give rise to an
event. It’s often difficult for students to see these causes because they
rest “beneath the surface.” The visual image of an iceberg helps
students remember the importance of looking deeper than the surface
in order to better understand events in the past or present. This
strategy can be used as a way for students to organize their notes as
they learn about a period in history, as a way to review material, or as
an assessment tool.

Strategy Identity Charts

Rationale Identity charts are a graphic tool that can help students consider the
many factors that shape who we are as individuals and as
communities. Use identity charts to deepen students’ understanding of
themselves, groups, nations, and historical and literary figures.
Sharing their own identity charts with peers can help students build
relationships and break down stereotypes. In this way, identity charts
can be used as an effective classroom community-building tool.

Strategy Introducing a New Book

Rationale This activity asks students to make predictions and ask questions
about a book before they jump into reading it. It can be used to
introduce students to any new book, whether a work of literature or a
resource book such as Holocaust and Human Behavior. Spending
some time looking at the cover and previewing the content of a book
is an effective way to spark students’ interest and provide students
with context that will help them engage with the material.

Strategy Jigsaw: Developing Community and Disseminating

Knowledge
Rationale The Jigsaw strategy asks a group of students to become “experts” on
a specific text or body of knowledge and then share that material with
another group of students. This strategy offers a way to help students
understand and retain information while they develop their
collaboration skills. Because students know they will be responsible for
teaching the new content to their peers, they often feel more
accountable for learning the material. The Jigsaw strategy is most
effective when students know that they will be using the information
they have learned from each other to create a final product,
participate in a class discussion, or acquire material that will be on a
test.
Strategy Journals in a Facing History Classroom
Rationale A journal is an instrumental tool for helping students develop their
ability to critically examine their surroundings from multiple
perspectives and to make informed judgments about what they see
and hear. Many students find that writing or drawing in a journal helps
them process ideas, formulate questions, and retain information.
Journals make learning visible by providing a safe, accessible space
for students to share thoughts, feelings, and uncertainties. In this
way, journals are also an assessment tool: you can use them to better
understand what your students know, what they are struggling to
understand, and how their thinking has changed over time. Journals
also help nurture classroom community and offer a way for you to
build relationships with your students through reading and
commenting on their journals. Frequent journal writing also helps
students become more fluent in expressing their ideas in writing or
speaking. Below, we describe some of the many ways you can use
journals as an effective learning tool in the classroom.

Strategy Journals in a Remote Learning Environment

Rationale Journals play a key role in a Facing History classroom, whether the
learning is in person or remote. Many students find that writing or
drawing in a journal helps them process ideas, formulate questions,
and retain information. Journals make learning visible by providing a
safe, accessible space for students to share thoughts, feelings, and
uncertainties. They also help nurture classroom community and offer a
way for you to build relationships with your students through reading
and commenting on their journals. And frequent journal writing helps
students become more fluent in expressing their ideas in writing or
speaking.

Strategy K-W-L Charts

Rationale K-W-L charts are graphic organizers that help students organize
information before, during, and after a unit or a lesson. They can be
used to engage students in a new topic, activate prior knowledge,
share unit objectives, and monitor students’ learning.

Strategy Learn to Listen, Listen to Learn

Rationale In a discussion based on the Learn to Listen, Listen to Learn strategy,
students reflect on a topic in their journals, share their reflections in a
small group, and then present their ideas to the whole class. This
structured format helps students develop their discussion skills with a
focus on strengthening their listening skills. This is an especially useful
discussion format when your class is discussing controversial topics.
Strategy Learning to Infer
Rationale Inference requires students to take something from the text, combine
it with some existing background knowledge, and make a new
connection. It is a vital skill that students must develop in order to
interpret and write convincingly about the texts that they are
studying. Students, however, often need support in moving beyond
the literal meaning of a text to make inferences about the significance
of any language and/or content. Teaching students how to infer,
naming that process for them, and giving them opportunities to
practice inferring orally will help prepare them to transfer that skill to
their written analysis.

Strategy Levels of Questions

Rationale The Levels of Questions strategy helps students comprehend and
interpret a text by requiring them to answer three types of questions
about it: factual, inferential, and universal. This scaffold approach
provides an opportunity for students to master the basic ideas of a
text so that they can apply this understanding and “evidence” to
conversations about deeper abstract concepts or complex historical
events. Because you can focus students’ attention on the level of
questions most appropriate to their reading ability, this strategy can
meet the needs of different learners. You can also use the Levels of
Questions strategy to prepare students for a class discussion or
activity, or as an assessment tool.

Strategy Life Road Maps

Rationale In an activity based on the Life Road Maps strategy, students draw a
map of someone’s life that highlights the important events and
decisions that shaped that person’s identity. This activity helps
students better understand historical or literary figures by focusing
their attention on the many factors that contributed to a figure’s
decision making. You can use this strategy as part of a research
project, as a way to review previously studied material, or as an
assessment tool. You can also have students create personal “life road
maps” to help them reflect on key choices that have shaped their own
identities.

Strategy Lifted Line Poem

Rationale This activity provides a creative way for students to engage in a text
after they have worked with it as a class. In a lifted line poem,
students collaborate to explore more deeply the words and
experiences of first-hand accounts or fictional characters. After
reading a short text, students select a line that they find meaningful
and, as a class, transform these lines into a poem. The class might
then collaborate to rearrange their lines in a different order that
reflects a shift of mood or tone or a hierarchy of emotions, for
example. This activity provides students with the time and space for
individual reflection about what the text means to them as they select
 their lines, as well as the opportunity to engage in a class discussion
while debriefing the activity that focuses on the language of the text.

Strategy Living Images: Bringing History to Life

Rationale In an activity based on the Living Images strategy, students work in
groups to recreate historical photographs by performing a series of
“freeze frames” that capture the moments depicted in the photos.
Such an activity helps students develop a deeper understanding of a
particular moment in history, while providing them with an opportunity
to practice collaborating with their peers as they brainstorm, direct,
and perform their scenes.

Strategy Marking Criteria Codes

Rationale Marking criteria codes are used to help students improve their work by
allowing them to understand exactly when/where an error occurs and
what they need to do to develop their writing. When used effectively,
marking codes can save teachers marking time, can ensure that
students have in-depth feedback and can promote student
engagement with the feedback they are given. Using them also
eliminates the issue of students not being able to read a teacher’s
writing.

The codes have been divided into three groups: Reading, Writing and
Design. Reading concerns comprehension skills, critical reading skills
and analyzing; writing focuses on technical writing skills such as
spelling punctuation and grammar; and design encourages students to
think about how to craft their language and ideas appropriately, and
holds them accountable for completing their work to a high standard.
Getting to grips with the marking codes requires an initial investment
of time from the teacher; however, once the teacher has used them
several times, the process becomes much speedier as common error
codes get planted in memory.

It is important that students are given copies of the Marking Criteria

Codes handout as they will need them for reference when their work
is returned to them. Consider laminating a set for an entire class.

Strategy News Article Analysis

Rationale Use this teaching strategy to help students identify and analyze the
key characteristics of the three most common types of news articles:
straight news, feature, and opinion. This strategy helps students
develop their news literacy and critical thinking skills, and it can be
used with any article that fits into one of these categories.
Strategy People's Assembly
Rationale A people’s assembly is a powerful process, which gives students the
opportunity to review and discuss a topic, text or question before
feeding their ideas back to the class. Students work in groups and
take it in turns to share their ideas, using hand signals to
communicate with and respond to each other. The discussion is
managed by a student facilitator and recorded by a student note-
taker, who is also responsible for feeding ideas back to the class. This
strategy boosts student independence, creates an inclusive space, and
develops students as active listeners. It can also help increase student
confidence and assist with community building.

Some people’s assemblies run with three values at their core, which
are a powerful means of grounding the discussion and creating a
culture of respect:

 Inclusivity: Everyone’s voice is valued and everyone has the

right to be heard. No one person dominates the discussion. The
loudest voice is not always right: a people’s assembly is about
sharing ideas and learning from each other. Everyone feels
respected, and able to participate safely without fear of
judgment or ridicule.
 Active Listening: Everyone genuinely listens to what others are
saying, and participants are not thinking in advance about what
they are going to say.
 Trust: Everyone has belief in the assembly process, in the hand
signals, in the facilitation, the note-taking, and in the sharing of
ideas. Participants acknowledge that the process won’t be
perfect, but it will only work if everyone trusts in the process
and works together.

Strategy Pick a Number

Rationale The Pick a Number strategy asks students to read a selection of
quotations on a topic and choose one to explore more deeply. Use this
strategy when you want to briefly introduce students to several
perspectives on a topic and then offer each student the choice of
which perspective to discuss and investigate in more detail with their
classmates.

Strategy Rapid-Fire Writing

Rationale Rapid-fire writing is a simple, highly structured way to get students
thinking and writing about a topic. This strategy helps students clarify
their thoughts by alternating between thinking and writing. It can
uncover the thoughts and emotions behind our initial reaction to a
piece of content, and it also builds the skill and practice of iteratively
reviewing and revising throughout the writing process. This strategy is often
helpful in both brainstorming and beginning to narrow the focus for
discussion, and it can be used to develop a thesis statement for a formal
essay or report.
Strategy Read Aloud
Rationale For many students, ideas on the page come alive when they are
spoken. Reading text aloud provides a way to help all students access
the material and develops their skills as active listeners. Listening to
proficient readers provides a model for fluent reading and can help
students, especially ELL students, recognize how to pronounce
unfamiliar words. By inviting students to read, this strategy
encourages class participation and takes the focus off of the teacher
as the only source of information.

Strategy Read Aloud Peer Review

Rationale Hearing paragraphs and essays read aloud can be a helpful step in the
editing process because it allows students to notice things that they
may miss when reading their writing silently to themselves. It also
gives students the chance to offer feedback on another’s work.
Reading an essay aloud with a peer can, therefore, help students
redraft their work, whilst also developing their ability to give and
receive constructive criticism.

As with all reading and writing tasks, students benefit from seeing
models so they understand the procedure and have an opportunity to
ask questions. Thus, before students practise this strategy with their
own writing, we recommend that you model the process with a
sample piece of writing. Read aloud a sample paragraph at an
appropriate speed so that the listener can process the information and
frame revision suggestions in a positive manner that uses the terms
students have been learning: inference, claim, evidence, and analysis.

Strategy Reader's Theater

Rationale In an activity based on the Reader’s Theater strategy, groups of
students are assigned a text excerpt to present to their peers. As
opposed to presenting skits of the plot, a reader’s theater asks
students to create a performance that reveals a message, theme, or
conflict represented by the text. As students practice this activity, they
become more proficient at using the words of the text to depict
concepts and ideas. This is an effective way to help students process
dilemmas experienced by characters in a text. This is also an effective
activity to use with emotionally powerful texts, such as Night by Elie
Wiesel.

Strategy Relevant or Not?

Rationale To engage with and analyses a text effectively, students need to be
able to identify appropriate evidence, thinking about whether or not it
supports their claims and argument. The purpose of this strategy is to
help students distinguish between relevant and irrelevant evidence so
that they can make appropriate selections for their analytical writing
and debates.
Strategy S-I-T: Surprising, Interesting, Troubling
Rationale An activity based on the S-I-T strategy provides a quick and
straightforward way for students to demonstrate their engagement
with a text, image, or video. In this activity, students identify what
they find surprising, interesting, and troubling about the material.
Because the activity gives students an opportunity to process and
articulate a short response, it’s especially useful when students are
encountering material they find shocking or an outcome that is
counterintuitive. Having students complete an S-I-T activity can be an
effective way to help them prepare for a class discussion in which you
want everyone to have something to contribute. It can also be an
effective prompt for an exit card at the end of a lesson about an
emotionally challenging historical topic.

Strategy Save the Last Word for Me

Rationale The Save the Last Word for Me discussion strategy requires all
students to participate as both active speakers and active listeners.
Working in groups of three, students follow a pattern of sharing and
discussing their responses to a text. By creating a clear structure for
the discussion, this strategy encourages reserved students to share
their ideas and ensures that frequent speakers practice being quiet. It
can be a useful strategy for helping students debrief a reading or film.

Strategy See, Think, Wonder

Rationale Use this simple critical-viewing strategy to guide students’ analysis of
any visual media. By prompting students to slow down their thinking
and simply observe before drawing conclusions and asking questions,
you can help them engage more deeply with and analyze more
thoughtfully the media they are viewing.

Strategy Shadow Reading

Rationale The Shadow Reading strategy provides a structured way to expose
students to various perspectives on a complex topic, often through
first person accounts from individuals who experienced a particular
event or era. It also provides an opportunity for students to practice
analyzing the concept of point of view.

Strategy Socratic Seminar

Rationale In a Socratic Seminar activity, students help one another understand
the ideas, issues, and values reflected in a text through a group
discussion format. Students are responsible for facilitating their group
discussion around the ideas in the text; they shouldn’t use the
discussion to assert their opinions or prove an argument. Through this
type of discussion, students practice how to listen to one another,
make meaning, and find common ground while participating in a
conversation.
Strategy SPAR (Spontaneous Argumentation)
Rationale In this structured debate modeled after an event in forensic
competitions, students frame their argument in one minute and then
react quickly to their opponents’ ideas. This strategy helps students
practice using evidence and examples to defend a position. Because
students aren’t given much preparation time, SPAR is most effective
when students already have background information about the topic.
With practice, students become increasingly comfortable with and
proficient in using this method to unearth the “pro” and “con” sides of
controversial topics.

Strategy Stations: Interacting with Multiple Texts

Rationale In a stations activity, small groups of students move from station to
station to read, watch, and interpret a variety of resources that focus
on an event, theme, or question from multiple perspectives. Groups of
students spend an allotted amount of time at each station interacting
with the material and either answering questions or engaging in a
reflective activity. The stations activity works well to launch a new unit
or to explore in more depth something students have already studied.
When the teacher selects from different kinds of content—
informational texts, poetry, art, photography, maps, video or audio
clips—students can engage with the material using multiple modalities
thus allowing them to reach a deeper understanding of the event,
theme, or question than they might having read or discussed just one
or two texts.

Strategy Stick Figure Quotes

Rationale The Stick Figure Quotes strategy provides a creative outlet for
students while engaging them in an intellectually rigorous activity of
character analysis. Students collect and use evidence from a text,
sorting passages or quotations from the text based on the degree of
importance or relevance. This process of character analysis also
fosters greater understanding and empathy as students identify how a
character thinks and what is important to them. While this strategy is
often used with literary characters, you could also have students
create stick figures for a historical figure, using the figure’s own words
as the quotes.

Strategy Storyboard
Rationale The Storyboards teaching strategy helps students keep track of a
narrative’s main ideas and supporting details by having them illustrate
the story’s important scenes. Storyboarding can be used when texts
are read aloud or when students read independently. Checking the
thoroughness and accuracy of students’ storyboards is an effective
way for you to evaluate reading comprehension before moving on to
more analytic tasks.
Strategy Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self, Text-to-World
Rationale Reading comes alive when we recognize how the ideas in a text
connect to our experiences and beliefs, events happening in the larger
world, our understanding of history, and our knowledge of other texts.
The Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self, Text-to-World strategy helps students
develop the habit of making these connections as they read. When
students are given a purpose for their reading, they are able to better
comprehend and make meaning of the ideas in the text. You can use
this strategy with any type of text, historical or literary, and with other
media, such as film. It can be used at the beginning, middle, or end of
the reading process to get students engaged with a text, to help
students understand the text more deeply, or to evaluate students’
understanding of the text.

Strategy Think, Pair, Share

Rationale In an activity based on the Think, Pair, Share strategy, students write
and discuss their ideas with a partner before sharing them with the
larger group. This format gives students the opportunity to
thoughtfully respond to questions in written form and to engage in
meaningful dialogue with other students about these issues. It is a
helpful way to give students time to compose their ideas before
sharing with them with the class. The Think, Pair, Share strategy helps
students build confidence, encourages greater participation, and often
results in more thoughtful discussions.

Strategy Town Hall Circle

Rationale This teaching strategy mimics the process of a town hall meeting,
where community members take the floor to share their perspective
on a topic of concern. Using this format, students have the
opportunity to share their different perspectives by tapping into and
out of the group conversation. Students often come away from this
experience with a greater appreciation for how our perspective can
limit the facts we have at our disposal and the opinions we hold. By
listening to others’ ideas, students broaden their understanding of the
world in which they live.

Strategy Two-Column Note-Taking

Rationale The Two-Column Note-Taking strategy encourages students to
identify important information in a lecture, film, or reading and to then
respond to this material. You can use this strategy to prepare students
to participate in a discussion or begin a writing activity. Having
students take two-column notes is also an effective way to help you
identify students’ misconceptions and questions about a topic and to
evaluate students’ understanding of material.

Strategy Two-Minute Interview

Rationale In an activity using the Two-Minute Interview strategy, students
gather evidence and ideas by asking questions to a rotating partner.
 Use this strategy to stimulate students’ thinking as they investigate an
essential question or search for evidence in response to an essay
prompt. By requiring students to practice active listening and reading,
this strategy helps students develop essential skills for learning new
information. You can also use this strategy as a way to have students
share their work with peers.

Strategy Word Wall

Rationale The Word Wall teaching strategy creates a place in the classroom
where students display the meanings of important ideas using words
and pictures. As students encounter new vocabulary in a text or video,
creating a word wall offers one way to help them comprehend and
interpret ideas in the text. It is also an effective way for students keep
track of new terms they’ve learned in a unit of study. Vocabulary
terms that you might add to your class word wall include bystander,
perpetrator, genocide, democracy, tolerance, nationalism, and
prejudice.

Strategy Wraparound
Rationale To implement the Wraparound strategy, you pose a question or
prompt to the class and then have each student share aloud their
quick response. This strategy provides an efficient way for all students
in a classroom to share their ideas about a question, topic, or text,
revealing common themes and ideas in students’ thinking.
Wraparound activities can also be provocative discussion starters.

Learner-centered methods and strategies have repeatedly been shown to be superior

to the traditional teacher-centered approach to instruction, a conclusion that applies
whether the assessed outcome is short-term mastery, long-term retention, or depth
of understanding of course material, acquisition of critical thinking or creative
problem-solving skills, formation of positive attitudes toward the subject being
taught, or level of self-confidence in knowledge and skills.

| Application
Exercise 1

Instruction: Read and comprehend the following educative situations below.

Identify and write the BEST corresponding principle/s that are associated to the
different situations cited.

1. Principal Martinez shares his thought with his teachers, “Subject matter should
help students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals
who accept complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings and actions”.

Answer: ________________________________________________________
 Brief explanation
for the Answer

2. Teacher Marianne, a high school teacher requires an encoded response paper

regarding “Economic Globalization”. He found out that Mark has no
corresponding resources and incapable of spending money no work in a
computer shop. For this reason, he personally lend his laptop to Mark and let
him use it at vacant periods.

Answer: ________________________________________________________

Brief explanation
for the Answer

3. Ray is a transferee and feels uneasy with is new school that could make
disturbance in his learning. Yet, his teacher is very accommodating, warmth
and caring. Alvin felt comfortable with the teacher’s display of genuine
warmth. The teacher is consistent in his manner Ray began to feel interested
in attending his class every day and looking forward for their lessons.

Answer: ________________________________________________________

Brief explanation
for the Answer

4. Teacher’s Carmel’s lesson for the day is all about “photosynthesis”. Prior on
her lesson proper, she let her students give words whom they think are
connected to the word photosynthesis. With that, Miss Carmel ask some
volunteers to define photosynthesis using the terms/words suggested by
everyone.

Answer: ________________________________________________________

Brief explanation
for the Answer
5. Ms. Dominguez, a Grade 8 teacher, instructed her students to come up with a
book report and grouped her class into three. Each group was assigned on
different manner of presentations. The group 1 will create a graphic organizer
of the story, Group 2 will give an oral report and Group 3 will build a diorama
illustrating the story.

Answer: ________________________________________________________

Brief explanation
for the Answer

6. An English teacher designed an interesting learning activity on his lesson

about “public speaking”. He let her students pick a certain type of speech of
which will be performed in the class. Further, he requires his students to
prepare and perform their chosen type of speech wearing appropriate dress
code.

Answer: ________________________________________________________

Brief explanation
for the Answer

7. Teacher Dela Paz conducted a pre-test to her Grade 9 class on the very fist
day of school. The result of the rest was her basis in designing her
instructional plan.

Answer: ________________________________________________________

Brief explanation
for the Answer

8. Akeeshia dreams to become a journalist in her time, yet she always struggles
o grammar lessons. However, she’s glad that her English teacher Annie is
fund of giving her remedial activities on grammar every day that actually help
her improve.

Answer: ________________________________________________________
 Brief explanation
for the Answer

9. Mariel was assigned to report on the Part of the Animal and Plant cells as well
as its corresponding functions. Thinking that it would sound better, Mariel
memorized all the texts from the book. But during the actual delivery, she
made forgot on one sentence that lead her to stammer and got lost on her
presentation. Afterwards, teacher Mariel called her attention and advise her to
create an outline of her topic in order to attain sound reporting.

Answer: ________________________________________________________

Brief explanation
for the Answer

10. Frida, a TLE teacher, always do inspire her class in their baking and pastry
lessons by telling her students the importance of learning the crat since they
can earn a living from it and even can start up a business afterwards.

Answer: ________________________________________________________

Brief explanation
for the Answer

FEEDBACK | How well did you do the exercise? You may now compare
your responses with those in the Key to Correction found on the last
page of this module. You may now proceed to the next exercise.
Exercise 2

Instruction: In this exercise, you will watch a teacher reading a story aloud to her
learners (Read Aloud). Your task is to observe the class and note whether or not the
three characteristics of the learner-centered classroom and dimensions of learner-
centered teaching are implemented.

To access the video, send a direct message to your instructor on his official
Facebook Messenger account.

Characteristic of
Description of what
Learner-centered Yes No
you observed
Classroom
1. Learners are at the
center of the learning
process.

2. Teacher guides the

students.

3. Teacher teaches for

understanding.

Dimensions of
Description of what
Learner-centered Yes No
you observed
Teaching
1. The function of content.

2. The role of the instructor.

 3. The responsibility for
learning.

4. The purposes and

processes of assessment.

5. The balance of power.

FEEDBACK | How well did you do the exercise? You may now compare
your responses with those in the Key to Correction found on the last
page of this module. You may now proceed to the next exercise.

| Test your understanding

Instruction: Below is a case study consisting of two charges. You are to prepare a
written response of approximately 200–300 words. Each of your responses will be
scored on the extent to which you effectively communicate a whole message to the
specified audience for the stated purpose. You will be assessed on your ability to
relate the dimensions and principles of learner-centeredness in selecting effective
strategies and methods in your response. Your response to each question will be
evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

1. Purpose: The extent to which the response fulfills the assignment

2. Professional Knowledge: The extent to which the response accurately and
effectively applies relevant dimensions and principles of learner-centeredness
in selecting effective strategies and methods.
3. Rationale and Support: The extent to which the response provides sound
reasoning and relevant, specific support
Use the case study below to test your understanding.

Background
Mr. Pallafox is a first-year teacher in a middle school. His fourth-period
earth science class has 28 students who achieve at a range of levels,
although nearly all of the students earn passing grades in this class. A few
of the students read somewhat below grade level and sometimes struggle
to comprehend the content in the textbook. Most of the students are eager
learners and enjoy socializing with Mr. Pallafox and with one another. In an
effort to enhance students' achievement, Mr. Pallafox has decided to
implement cooperative learning as an instructional strategy.

Planning Steps
Mr. Pallafox prepared several short, non-graded tasks for students' first
cooperative learning experiences. He placed students in four groups of
seven. The groups are homogeneous based on students' reading levels.
Mr. Pallafox designated one student in each group as group leader, except
for the group of students reading at the lowest levels. He plans to lead this
group himself. He explained to students that the purpose of cooperative
learning is to work together to achieve a common goal and for every
student to have a chance to participate and contribute to the group's final
product. Mr. Pallafox identified several possible roles within each group,
including recorder, reporter, and fact checker.

The First Cooperative Learning Task

Mr. Pallafox began by having students read a chapter on pollution in their
textbooks. He then called out student groups, identified the leader for each
group, and assigned the following task.

 Discuss different kinds of pollution and their effects on the

environment. Choose a recorder to take notes on the discussion.
 Choose one type of pollution and brainstorm different ways that
people can reduce that particular type of pollution.
 Review your list and decide together on the best three ideas. Select
a reporter to share your group's ideas with the class. You have
twenty minutes

Excerpts from Mr. Wallace's Reflections on the First Cooperative Learning Task
Some groups took a long time with tasks like choosing a group member to
take notes. There was quite a range in the quality of each group's
responses... Some students did not interact well with one another; a few
students laughed at their peers' ideas, resulting in some hurt feelings...
Only one of the groups completed the entire task... The group leaders did
not show the level of leadership I had expected. One of them dominated
his group; another had trouble directing the group's discussion... The
group I worked with seemed less enthusiastic than other groups.
 Excerpts from Students' Journals
Margot: I really didn't get to talk. When James was through talking, our
time was used up.

Jorge: I liked this activity! It was way more fun than doing stuff in books.

Chandra: I wish I could have been with my friends instead of in the group
with the teacher.

Paul: I think our group would have finished if we had a timekeeper. We

should add that to our list of roles next time.

Case Analysis
1. Describe one approach Mr. Pallafox took in planning this activity to try to
promote students' ability to work productively in groups, and explain why this
approach was a good one to take.
2. Describe one approach Mr. Pallafox could have taken to improve students'
ability to work productively in groups, and explain why this approach would
have been effective in improving students' ability to work productively in
groups.
Marking Scale

Mark Description
10 The "5" response reflects a thorough understanding of relevant
knowledge and skills.
 The response thoroughly fulfills the purpose of the
assignment.
 The response demonstrates an accurate and effective
application of the relevant professional knowledge.
 The response reflects sound, effective reasoning and
provides high-quality, relevant support.

8 The "4" response reflects a general understanding of relevant

knowledge and skills.
 The response largely fulfills the purpose of the assignment.
 The response demonstrates a generally accurate application
of the relevant professional knowledge.
 The response reflects adequate reasoning and provides
general, relevant support.

6 The "3" response reflects a partial understanding of relevant

knowledge and skills.
 The response partially fulfills the purpose of the assignment.
 The response demonstrates a partially accurate application
of the relevant professional knowledge.
 The response reflects limited reasoning and provides limited
and/or partially irrelevant support.
 4 The "2" response reflects little understanding of relevant
knowledge and skills.
 The response fulfills little of the assignment.
 The response demonstrates an inaccurate and/or ineffective
application of the relevant professional knowledge.
 The response reflects poor reasoning and provides little or
no relevant support.

2 The response is unrelated to the test.

0 There is no response to the test.

Highest Possible Mark: 60 points

| Readings
The following websites are the extensive teacher resources. You are requested to
read it in your most convenient time for the purpose of enhancing your foundational
knowledge of the lesson. You are also asked to write two key points on what you
have learned/observed in the given reading material.

1. This site has article on Applying Learner-Centered Principles and Strategies:

From Face to Face Instruction to a Hybrid Course Learning Format
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1145174.pdf

Takeaways:
A. ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

B. ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
2. ResearchGate has an article on “Mode and Dimension of Facilitation in Student-
Centered Learning Approach: A Comparison of Teaching Experience”
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326412197_Mode_and_Dimension_of_
Facilitation_in_Student-
Centred_Learning_Approach_A_Comparison_of_Teaching_Experience

Takeaways:
A. ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

B. ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

| In a Nutshell
Facilitating learning should be firmly anchored on the 14 learner-centered
psychological principles. The 14 principles espouse that everyone in the learning
community is a learner, not just the student. Then clip art in the page XXXX
expresses the view that to teach allows you to learn and that when you have learned
well, you can teach well. There is mutuality in learning. Students learn from
teachers. Students learn from one another. And more important for you to
remember, teachers learn from students.

It can be noted that in a learner-centered instructions, applying the 14 principles,

Eggen and Chauchak give us three characteristics of learner-centered instruction.
1. Learners are at the center of the learning process.
2. Teacher guides students’ construction of understanding.
3. Teachers teach for understanding.

On the other hand, in designing an effective learning plan, five dimensions of

learner-centeredness must always be at the forefront in planning. These are (1) The
function of content, (2) The role of the instructor, (3) The responsibility for learning,
(4) The purposes and processes of assessment, and (5) The balance of power.
 Constructing a
Learner-centered
Learning/
Lesson Plan
 | Guiding Light

In this lesson, challenge yourself to:

 Apply the principles and dimensions of learner-
centeredness in constructing a learning plan.

| Introduction
Learners’ involvement begins with how inviting the lesson appears to them.
Learners evaluate a lesson based on their readiness, their sense that it’s something
they can do. Does the learning experience provide sufficient supports to help them
develop the skills to succeed?

Learners determine if they’re interested based on real-world connections that

they find meaningful. Is purposeful context shown between abstract concepts and
their life experiences?

Students apply their learning preferences by looking for options where they can
choose an approach to processing and demonstrating understanding. Does the
learning experience provide a variety of different reflection opportunities and ways to
craft products?

Even the best lesson plans do not survive unchanged on first contact with
students. Those who struggle will need modifications to help them learn, and
advanced learners will need adjustments so that they’re stretched for their personal
growth and don’t just regurgitate what they already know. Successful instruction
plans for these differentiation needs—and highly effective instruction also involves
students’ readiness, interests, and learning preferences.
 | Activity
Activity No. 1
Instruction: Read the story below and answer the following questions afterwards.

As a local election was about to take place, Mila talked about voting with
her learners. She told them that if their ideas about the future of the
community were to be considered they would have to vote for the
candidates of their choice. However, her learners told her that they would
not go to the polling center at all. The next day she discussed this issue
with them again. They told her that they did not know how to vote. They
felt ashamed to go to the polling center because others would see they
didn’t know how to vote. Mila worried about this. She thought, What
should I do?

So what did Mila do?

Mila visited a local election officer and discussed with him the reasons for
learners not voting. The officer provided her with some posters that
explained the procedures for voting. She started preparing a plan for
learning about how to vote.

First, she discussed with her learners the reasons for having elections.
Then she invited the officer to use the posters to explain the whole process
of voting. Learners asked many questions, such as “Who will count the
votes?” and “If my mother is ill, can I cast her vote too?” The learners also
did a simulated voting exercise. Mila found that many of her learners were
no longer afraid to go to the polling center. As a result, there were more
votes recorded in her locality than ever before.

What can we learn from Mila?

Activity No. 2

1. Think of a teacher that’s most unforgettable to you in elementary or high school.

2. Are there things that when you encounter at present (see, hear, touch, smell)
makes you “go back to the past” and recall this teacher? What are these things?

3. How was his/her teaching to the class? Can you cite one experience and describe
it?
4. Were the teaching demonstrated to the class was effective? Was it learner-
centered? Elaborate your answer.

Activity No. 3

Instruction: Teacher ABC is a Grade 8 teacher in Technology and Livelihood

Education (TLE). She handles Mechanical Drafting as part of the exploratory TLE. In
her lesson on Basic Mensuration and Calculation, she integrates enabling
competencies in Mechanical Drafting and content in Araling Panlipunan (AP) in the
teaching procedures or in her teaching and learning activities. Would you like to
examine her Learning Plan and help her improve it later?

I. OBJECTIVES
A. Learning Competencies
Perform Basic Mensuration and Calculation
B. Learning Outcome LO1. Select and use measuring instruments
C. Learning Objectives
1. Identify the drafting tools and drawing instruments.
(KSA) 2. Use the drafting tools and drawing instruments.
3. Show appreciation of the use of the drafting tools and
drawing instruments by thinking of ways on how to
apply them in daily lives.
II. CONTENT Drafting tools and drawing instruments
III. LEARNING RESOURCES
A. References K to 12 Mechanical Drafting
Learning Module Pages 31 – 44
B. Other Learning https://etc.usf.edu/clipart/galleries/706-mechanical-
Resources drawing-tools https://www.draftingsteals.com/catalog-
drafting---drawing-aides.html
https://www.mathsteacher.com.au/year8/ch10_geomcon
s/03_circles/comp.html
 IV. PROCEDURES/TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
A. Reviewing previous The students will give a recap about the previous lesson.
lesson or presenting Questions to be asked:
the new lesson 1. What are the two drawing papers used in mechanical
drafting?
2. Why is it important to know the different kinds of eraser
and pencil?
3. How can you differentiate the kinds of T-square?
B. Establishing a “FLAG QUIZ”
purpose for the Directions: Identify the flags of the different Southeast
lesson Asian countries and give the shapes and symbols used.
Questions to be asked:
1. What country does this flag represent?
2. What are the shapes/symbols used in this flag?
3. What do you think are the tools and instruments used
to draw this flag? Explain your answer.

C. Presenting examples/ The teacher will present actual measuring tools and
instances of the new instruments that the students will identify.
lesson
D. Discussing new Drawing materials and tools/drawing instruments
concepts and practicing The students will identify the drafting tools and drawing
new skills #1 instruments used on the given shapes.

Questions to be asked:
1. What drafting tools and drawing instruments are used
on the given object?
2. Why is it important to use appropriate drafting tools
and drawing instruments in creating different shapes?
E. Developing Recitation#_:
mastery (Leads to The students will identify the different tools and
Formative instruments based on the given pictures and give an
Assessment 3) example on how to apply it in drawing.

Questions to be asked:
1. What kind of drawing tools should you use in creating
angles?
2. When should you use a 45x45 degree triangle/30x60
degree triangle?
3. How can you differentiate a compass from a divider?

F. Finding practical How can you apply the drawing tools and instruments in
applications of your daily lives?
concepts
G. Making Questions to be asked:
generalizations and 1. What are the tools used for measurement?
abstractions about 2. Why is it important to use appropriate tools and
the lesson instruments in drawing?
3. How do you use the tools and instruments in doing a
specific drawing?
H. Evaluating learning PERFORMANCE ACTIVITY
Directions: Using different drafting tools and drawing
instruments in mechanical drafting, create a flag of any
Southeast Asian country that is not presented on the
discussion.

Based the activity on the rubrics below.

RUBRIC
Criteria 5 points 3 points 1 point
The tools were The tools were Guidance from
accurately used in used in the teacher was
performing the performing the needed to the
Accuracy
operation without operation with whole operation.
any help from the some help from
Teacher. the teacher.
The output was The output was The output was
neatly done neatly done but unpleasant
Quality of
without errors and with minimal with errors and
work
mistakes. errors and mistakes.
mistakes.
Finished the task Finished the task Needs more time
Time before the given on time. to finish the given
time. task.

Points Earned Descriptive Rating

13-15 Excellent
10-12 Very Good
7-9 Good
4-6 Fair
1-3 Needs Improvement
 | Analysis

Instruction: Have you seen how Teacher ABC applied content knowledge within and
across curriculum teaching areas in her Learning Plan?

Now, please answer the following probing questions.

1. How did Teacher ABC display extensive knowledge of content?

2. How were the learning competencies within the curriculum integrated into the
teaching/learning procedures?

3. How did she establish the connection of the concepts from other learning areas in
her current teaching objectives?
4. If you were to enhance this DLL, what activities would you add to emphasize the
application of content knowledge within and across curriculum?

Reflection Writing

Learner-Centered Teaching:
Five Key Changes to Practice by Maryellen Weimer
In this activity, consider each of the changes of learner-centered teaching
proposed by Weimer to help plan a learner-centered environment. Then
answer the question associated with each change based on your analysis
from Teacher ABC’s Learning Plan. Make sure you understand the change
being proposed (or you may review the concept in Lesson 1) and then write
some ideas about the best way to enact there commendation.
Key change I can accomplish this by…
1. The balance of power:
how can you share power
with students?
2. The function of
content: think time on
task.

3. The role of the teacher:

how does your role as
teacher benefit the
learner?

4. The responsibility for

learning: how can you
make students more
responsible?

5. The purpose and

processes of
evaluation: how can
grades promote learning?

FEEDBACK | How well did you do the exercise? You may now compare
your responses with those in the Key to Correction found on the last
page of this module.

How was the feedback? The following page will explain you further.
 | Abstraction

What is Learner-Centered Instruction?

A teaching method that focuses on students engaging in hard work, reflecting on

their learning process, and learning independently or collaboratively.

Being a learner-centered teacher means focusing attention squarely on the

learning process: what the student is learning, how the student is learning, the
conditions under which the student is learning whether the student is retaining and
applying the learning, and how current learning positions the student for future
learning. The distinction between teacher-centered and student-centered is made as
a way of indicating that the spotlight has shifted from the teacher to the student.

In learner-centered instruction the action focuses on what the students are

doing not what the teacher is doing. This approach that now features students,
accepts, cultivates and builds on the ultimate responsibility students have for their
own learning (Overview of Learner-Centered Teaching, 2006).

Any formal or non-formal education that accounts for a learner’s cognitive and
metacognitive factors, motivational and affective factors, developmental and social
factors, and individual differences (APA, 1997).

The idea of learner-centered instruction implies taking into account the learner’s
experiences, talents, personalities, social backgrounds, and needs. It also refers to
using current knowledge about learning as a way to help learners become lifelong
learners able to cope with the rapid changing world of their time.

Learner-centered Learning/Lesson Plan:

The Instructional Learning Process

A lesson plan or learning plan is the instructor’s road map of what students need to
learn and how it will be done effectively during the class time. Then, you can design
appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student
learning. Having a carefully constructed lesson plan for each 1 to 3-hour lesson
allows you to enter the classroom with more confidence and maximizes your chance
of having a meaningful learning experience with your students.

A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates three key components:

1. Learning Objectives;
2. Teaching and Learning activities; and,
3. Assessment to check for student understanding.
A lesson plan or learning plan provides you with a general outline of your teaching
goals, learning objectives, and means to accomplish them, and is by no means
exhaustive. A productive lesson is not one in which everything goes exactly as
planned, but one in which both students and instructor learn from each other.

STEPS FOR CONSTRUCTING A LESSON PLAN

Listed below are 6 steps for preparing your lesson plan before your class.

1. Writing the learning objective/learning outcomes.

Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives
for the lesson. In the Philippine K-12 Curriculum, learning objectives are called
competencies, while in Higher Education they are termed as outcomes following
the Outcomes-Based Education approach.

Writing Learning Objective (for Basic Education)

A learning objective describes what the learner will know or be able to do after
the learning experience rather than what the learner will be exposed to during
the instruction (i.e. topics). Typically, it is written in a language that is easily
understood by students and clearly related to the program learning outcomes or
competencies.

The Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy of Educational Objectives is a useful resource for

crafting learning objectives that are demonstrable and measurable.

The table below contains the characteristics of clear learning objectives:

Characteristic Description

Clearly stated Free from jargon and complex vocabulary; describe specific
tasks and achievable tasks (such as ‘describe’, ‘analyze’ or
‘evaluate’) NOT vague tasks (like ‘appreciate’, ‘understand’
or ‘explore’).

Important Describe the essential (rather than trivial) learning in the

learning goals course which a student must achieve.

Achievable Can be achieved within the given period and sufficient

resources are available.

Demonstrable Can be demonstrated in a tangible way; are assessable;

and achievement and quality of achievement can be observed.
measurable

Fair and All students, including those with disabilities or constraints,

equitable have a fair chance of achieving them.
 Linked to Consider the broader goals - i.e. course, program and
course and institutional goals.
program
objectives

Writing Learning Outcomes (for Higher Education)

At the level of courses, the syllabus helps in shifting the paradigm from teacher-
centered to student-centered learning. Preparing the syllabus begins with the
writing of learning outcomes instead of course objectives. It is due to OBE
assumes a certain approach to delivering and assessing learning. There is a shift
from the teacher being at the center of the learning process to the student being
at the center of the learning process. This approach is also known as the
Outcomes Based Teaching and Learning (OBTL).

In this paradigm shift, the teachers are not just experts giving inputs, they are
facilitators of learning, allowing the students to play their part in constructing
knowledge through experience, discussions, reflections, and other processes that
promote analytical and critical thinking. Because the focus is now on the student’s
attainment of competencies, there is a need to observe and/or measure the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes that have been achieved.

The simple act of changing the verbs from the intent of the teacher to the
competencies of the student actually helps both the teacher and the student shift
their perspectives. Learning outcomes thus use verbs that are active and
describe behavior that is observable/measurable.

Developing the syllabus begins with asking what competencies (knowledge, skills,
and attitudes or KSA) students should have by the end of the course.

 What knowledge is the student able to articulate at the end of the course?
– This refers to information that they would have stored through the
learning experience.

 What skills is the student able to demonstrate at the end of the course? –
This refers to demonstrable abilities.

 What attitudes is the student able to exhibit at the end of the course? –
This refers to evaluative cognitions regarding things/activities (positive or
negative judgment).

 Finally, which KSAs can be grouped together to form a competency? –

These competencies constitute the learning outcomes or objectives of the
course as well as translate to the performance indicators of the course
Once these competencies are determined, the learning outcomes should be
written using active verbs that are observable/measurable and demonstrate
exemplary behavior and standards, or a particular action, as mentioned earlier.

In many cases, since the course objectives had been written in the more
traditional way, the exercise is to change the verbs, and in the process, change
the perspective from teacher-centered inputs to student-centered learning
outcomes. Changing the verbs forces the teacher to see learning from the
perspective of competencies the students learn and what they are able to know,
do and be.

Teacher-Centered Inputs Student-Centered Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students
should have a deeper and more
reflective understanding of the context
within which they will practice guidance
counselling.
At the end of the course, the student will
be able to share their reflections on the
context within which they will practice
guidance counselling.

Appreciate the interrelations between Discuss the interrelations between

attitude, behavior and the other factors attitude, behavior and the other factors
in society. in society.

Be aware of current issues and Share insights on current issues and

challenges in an educational setting. challenges in an educational setting.

Below are some pointers of writing outcomes compiled by Dr. Evelina Vicencio
from various references.

1) Keep statements short and simple. State the outcome as a single sentence
of 25 words or less.

2) Keep goals and outcomes aligned with the aims of education as stated in
the Philippine Constitution, the national goals of education, and the vision,
mission and goals of the institution.

3) SMART
 Specific: Write the outcome so that it expresses exactly what the
learner is going to show, perform or accomplish, hence a specific
action that is observable. Start with an action verb.
 Measurable: Identify the deliverables, focus on the evidence that
learners will produce.
 Attainable or Achievable: Ensure that the outcome can be achieved.
 Realistic: Ensure that you have the appropriate resources to
successfully attain the outcomes.
 Time-bound: Set target completion date. State the preamble.

For learning outcomes: “At the end of the learning experience, the learner
will be able to…”
 4) Consider the three domains of learning (Bloom, 1956, 1973) in stating the
preamble:
 Cognitive (knowledge or mental skills)
 Affective (emotional areas or attitude)
 Psychomotor (manual or physical skills)

For Cognitive and Psychomotor: “…..the learner will be able to…”

For Affective: “…..the learner will choose to/ demonstrate/ voluntarily/

freely/ etc.…”

5) State learning outcomes as short-term statements and SMART. State

program goals and outcomes as long-term general statements, but are still
measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.

6) State learning outcomes as results, not processes (activities or strategies).

Outcomes are ends while activities are means.

7) Choose only one observable verb/behavior in a statement of outcome.

Choose the behavior that is of a higher dimension of complexity.

8) Sequence outcomes logically, e.g., according to –

 Complexity – from lowest to highest level of the Taxonomy
 Domain – cognitive, affective, psychomotor
 Topic or content – sequence of learning experience

9) State objectives from the learner’s point of view, not the teacher’s.

10)Align content, methodologies, and assessment with the learning outcomes.

2. Plan the specific learning activities anchored with a teaching model.

When planning learning activities you should consider the types of activities
students will need to engage in, in order to develop the skills and knowledge
required to demonstrate effective learning in the course. Learning activities
should be directly related to the learning objectives of the course, and provide
experiences that will enable students to engage in, practice, and gain feedback
on specific progress towards those objectives.

As you plan your learning activities, estimate how much time you will spend on
each. Build in time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared
to move on quickly to different applications or problems, and to identify
strategies that check for understanding. Some questions to think about as you
design the learning activities you will use are:

 What will I do to explain the topic?

 What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?
 How can I engage students in the topic?
 What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that
 can help students understand the topic?
 What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?
Many activities can be used to engage learners. The activity types (i.e. what the
student is doing) and their examples provided below are by no means an
exhaustive list, but will help you in thinking through how best to design and
deliver high impact learning experiences for your students in a typical lesson.
Activity Type
Interaction with content
Students are more likely to retain
information presented in these
ways if they are asked to interact
with the material in some way.
Interaction with digital content
Students experiment with decision
making, and visualize the effects
and/or consequences in virtual
environments.
Interaction with others
Peer relationships, informal support
structures, and teacher-student
interactions/relationships.
Problem solving and Critical
thinking
Presenting students with a
problem, scenario, case, challenge
or design issue, which they are then
asked to address or deal with
provides students with
opportunities to think about or use
knowledge and information in new
and different ways.
Reflection
The process of reflection starts with
the student thinking about what
they already know and have
experienced in relation to the topic
being explored/learnt. This is
Learning
Description
Activity
Problem/task is presented to students where
Drill and
they are asked to provide the answer; may be
practice
timed or untimed
Convey concepts verbally, often with visual aids
Lecture
(e.g. presentation slides)
Exercise to assess the level of student
understanding and questions can take many
Quiz
forms, e.g. multiple-choice, short-structured,
essay etc.
Oral report where students share their
Student
research on a topic and take on a position
presentation
and/or role
Goal-oriented exercise that encourages
Game collaboration and/or competition within a
controlled virtual environment
Replica or representation of a real-world
Simulation phenomenon that enables relationships,
contexts, and concepts to be studied
Verbal activity in which two or more differing
Debate viewpoints on a subject are presented and
argued
Formal/informal conversation on a given
topic/question where the instructor facilitates
Discussion
student sharing of responses to the questions,
and building upon those responses
Information provided by the instructor and/or
Feedback peer(s) regarding aspects of one’s
performance or understanding
Feelings, thoughts, ideas and experiences
Guest
specific to a given topic are shared by an
Speaker
invited presenter
Detailed story (true or fictional) that students
Case Study analyse in detail to identify the underlying
principles, practices, or lessons it contains
Graphical representation of related information
Concept
in which common or shared concepts are
Mapping
linked together
Planned set of interrelated tasks to be
Real-world executed over a fixed period and within certain
projects cost and other limitations, either individually or
collaboratively
Written records of students’ intellectual and
Reflection
emotional reactions to a given topic on a
journal
regular basis (e.g. weekly after each lesson)
 followed by analysis of why the
student thinks about the topic in
the way they do, and what
assumptions, attitudes and beliefs
they have about, and bring to
learning about the topic.

It is important that each learning activity in the lesson must be (1) aligned to the
lesson’s learning objectives, (2) meaningfully engage students in active,
constructive, authentic, and collaborative ways, and (3) useful where the student
is able to take what they have learnt from engaging with the activity and use it in
another context, or for another purpose.

3. Identify appropriate Teaching-Learning Materials (TLMs)

Any materials that are used to make learning more effective should be listed
here. The materials listed here must be relevant and very suitable for the lesson.
Learning aids can be real objects, models, charts, pictures, etc. It is important to
remember the following points when using learning aids.

 They must be adequate for the number of pupils in the class.

 Real objects are the best learning materials unless otherwise stated.
 Models, pictures, photographs and charts are used when real objects
cannot be obtained. These must be simple, clear and brief.
 It is not right for the teacher to just present a list of TLMs in the lesson
plan. Teacher needs to state in the teacher-leaner activity column when
and how the TLMs would be used in the delivery.

4. Plan to assess student understanding.

Assessments (e.g., tests, papers, problem sets, performances) provide
opportunities for students to demonstrate and practice the knowledge and skills
articulated in the learning objectives, and for instructors to offer targeted
feedback that can guide further learning.

Planning for assessment allows you to find out whether your students are
learning. It involves making decisions about:

 The number and type of assessment tasks that will best enable students to
demonstrate learning objectives for the lesson.
 The criteria and standards that will be used to make assessment
judgments.
 Student roles in the assessment process.
 The weighting of individual assessment tasks and the method by which
individual task judgments will be combined into a final grade for the
course.
 The provision of feedback.

5. Plan to sequence the lesson in an engaging and meaningful manner by

creating a realistic timeline.
A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your list to the
 two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn in the
lesson. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on
the spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Here are some strategies for
creating a realistic timeline:

 Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some
extra time for each
 When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how
much time you expect it will take
 Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions
and to sum up key points
 Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left
 Be flexible – be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students’ needs and
focus on what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your
original plan

6. Plan for a lesson closure.

Lesson closure provides an opportunity to solidify student learning. Lesson
closure is useful for both instructors and students.

You can use closure to:

 Check for student understanding and inform subsequent instruction (adjust
your teaching accordingly)
 Emphasize key information
 Tie up loose ends
 Correct students’ misunderstandings
 Preview upcoming topics

Your students will find your closure helpful for:

 Summarizing, reviewing, and demonstrating their understanding of major
points
 Consolidating and internalizing key information
 Linking lesson ideas to a conceptual framework and/or previously-learned
knowledge
 Transferring ideas to new situations

Learner-centered Learning/Lesson Plan:

Preparing the Learning Plan

Based on the learning outcomes, the learning plan could be constructed, that is, lay
out the plans for content, methodology, resources, and assessment. The learning
plan is thus a syllabus with time element and specific activities. This entails planning
the different lessons so that certain KSAs are learned in the process, that is,
budgeting class time so that the content is learned using an appropriate
methodology and student learning is properly assessed.

Note that some methodologies take more time than others to implement. The
learning plan can have different styles, but it is essentially a tool to oversee the
match between the learning outcomes and the content and methodology.

In an excerpt from a sample learning plan, as shown in Table below the learning
outcomes are presented against the topics, activities, resources, and assessment
tools needed to attain the stated learning outcomes.

Outcome Topics Teaching and Learning Activities Resources Assessment

At the end of the lesson, Chapter 2: 1. Students will be divided into group Readings Exercise 3 – Hard and Soft
students can design and Leadership Training or cluster and shall set up a Guide copy Assessment of the
present a School Concept of Leadership; School Development and questions School Development and
Development and Improvement Plan among the LCD projector Improvement Plan
Improvement or Strategic Human Behaviour; following features such as Vision, Laptop
Plan anchored on Mission, Goals and Targets along Exercise 4 – Presentation
Organizational Performance Leading, Direction, Areas of Supervision in VMG and of the School
Log Frame with Core Communication; Administration, Teacher Development and
Values. Development, Research, Improvement Plan
Leadership Style; Extension, Programs and Activities
supporting Students, and School
Teamwork; Plant and Facilities. (Activity 2)
2. Cluster-members will lay down the
Time Management; specifics of area of supervision to
targets, program, and activities.
Decision-Making; (Activity 3)
3. Cluster leader will convene
Emotional Intelligence; his/her members to initially craft
the Organizational Logical
Organizational Performance Framework. (Activity 4)
Log Frame with Core 4. After crafting of the Organizational
Values. Logical Framework, cluster-
members shall have their think-
pair share activity in managing the
human resource planning of their
proposed School Development
and Improvement Plan (Activity 5)
and cluster leader will convene
his/her member for the
development of their proposed
Organizational Structure (Activity
6).
5. Students will finalize their School
Development and Improvement or
Strategic Plan. (Activity 10)
6. Students will submit their final
School Development and
Improvement Plan in hard and soft
copy. (Exercise 3)
7. Students will present their School
Development and Improvement
Plan. (Exercise 4)

| Application
Exercise 1.
Instruction: Assume that you are a teacher facilitating the K-12 Curriculum. Based on
your degree program (BEEd, BSEd, BTLEd, BECEd, BPEd, BSNEd), go over to the
Department of Education website and search the list of K-12 Curriculum Guides.
Choose one subject that you are going to facilitate and write your learning plan on
how you are going to approach the content to ensure successful facilitating of
learning. Fill out your answers in the spaces provided below.
 Teaching and
Objective Topic/s Resources Assessment
Learning Activities

FEEDBACK | How well did you do the exercise? You may now submit
your response to your instructor for his/her feedback.
 | Test your understanding
General Instruction
1) Out of the five general education learning outcomes below, choose only two
(2) and answer the following questions:
 TOPIC/S – What topic/s best fit the learning outcome?
 TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES – Enumerate how the learner-
centered activities will achieve the learning outcome.
 RESOURCES – Cite all possible teaching-learning resources which will
be utilized in the teaching-learning activities.
 ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUE – Identify what assessment technique best
fit the learning outcome vis-à-vis learner-centered activities.
 PRINCIPLES OF LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING – Cite what
principle/s of learner-centered teaching best fit your teaching-learning
activities.

2) Learning Outcomes
 Demonstrate research skills, integrate their own ideas with those of
others, and apply the conventions of attribution and citation correctly.
 Demonstrate an ability to communicate interpersonally and inter-
culturally with others in conversation, interview, and group discussion
contexts.
 Use arithmetic, algebraic, geometric, technological, or statistical
methods to solve problems.
 Demonstrate proficient application of the skills required by the
Mathematics Fundamental Studies requirement, including the ability to
communicate using formal or mathematical tools.
 Explain how culture, social structure, diversity, or other key elements of
historical context have an impact on individual perception, action, and
values.

You may use the format below as guide:

Teaching and
Learning
Topic/s Learning Resources Assessment Explanation
Outcome
Activities
Scoring Guide:

1. TOPIC/S – What topic/s best fit the learning outcome/objective?

___ 10 pts. | if best fit to the learning outcome.
___ 5 pts. if slightly fit to the learning outcome.
___ 0 pt. if not fit at all.
2. TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES – Enumerate how the learner-
centered activities will achieve the learning outcome.
___ 10 pts. if activities achieved the learning outcome.
___ 5 pts. if activities slightly achieve the learning outcome.
___ 0 pt. if not fit at all.
3. RESOURCES – Cite all possible teaching-learning resources which will
be utilized in the learner-centered activities.
___ 10 pts. if best fit to the learner-centered activities.
___ 5 pts. if slightly fit to the learner-centered activities.
___ 0 pt. if not fit at all.
4. ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUE – Identify what assessment technique best
fit the learning outcome vis-à-vis learner-centered activities.
___ 10 pts. if best fit to the learning outcome vis-à-vis learner-centered activities.
___ 5 pts. if slightly fit to the learning outcome vis-à-vis learner-centered activities
___ 0 pt. if not fit at all.
5. PRINCIPLE OF LEARNER-CENTERED TEACHING – Discuss why the
learning plan underscore learner-centeredness.
___ 10 pts. if the principle fully applied and complement with the teaching-learning
activities.
___ 5 pts. if the principle slightly fit to the teaching-learning activities.
___ 0 pt. if not fit at all.

Highest Possible Score: 50 points

 | Readings
The following websites are the extensive teacher resources. You are requested to
read it in your most convenient time for the purpose of enhancing your foundational
knowledge of the lesson. You are also asked to write two key points on what you
have learned/observed in the given reading material.

1. This site has information on How to Create a Student-Centered Lesson

https://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/studentcentered.html

Takeaways:
A. ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

B. ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

2. This site has information on Teaching Strategies (Student-Centered teaching

Strategies) https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies

Takeaways:
A. ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

B. ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
 | In a Nutshell
Planning instruction around students’ readiness, interests, and learning preferences
empowers them to drive their own learning.

READINESS: STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR OWN NEEDS

Planning for readiness begins with making sure students understand their strengths
and their opportunities for improvement. Formative assessment is an important tool
for identifying the status of each skill you want students to develop. Some areas
might be strong and others weak. It’s important for students to know their strengths
so that they can replicate practice.

Differentiation for readiness is about providing supports so that a learner can

improve all skills. Involve students in reflection about assessments so that they
become knowledgeable about the whys and whats of their skills.

INTERESTS: ENCOURAGING STUDENT INVOLVEMENT IN LEARNING

Understanding students’ interests begins with having them share how they spend
their free time. Including their interests gives valuable context for them to connect
abstract concepts and skills to the world they navigate both in and out of school.

Designing lessons around the interests of all learners in your class may sound
daunting. An easy first step is to focus on topics and products. When the required
skills allow it, let students choose their topic—what to research, what type of
experiment to do, what line of inquiry to follow, or what to read.

Products are best when the criteria focus on the skills to be demonstrated, not the
logistics of the mode of display. Ask students to propose the display tool they want
to use, and give them a thumbs up or down as to appropriateness. Choosing the
topic and mode of displaying learning places them in the driver’s seat for their
learning experiences.

LEARNING PREFERENCES: PROCESSING IS IN THE MIND OF THE THINKER

Taking advantage of learning preferences begins with having students reflect on and
express the ways they prefer to process their thinking. Learning styles and
inventories are useful for establishing a common language for how each person
approaches thinking and making sense.

Such preferences should not be used to define the instructional parameters for
planning lessons. No one is just a visual, kinesthetic, or auditory learner. No one is
solely creative or practical. Avoid the trap of isolating students into one learning
preference.

Depending on your established common language, engage students in a reflective

conversation about the range of ways that they prefer to make sense of different
types of tasks.
| POST-TEST
General Instruction
1) Select one specific learning competency/objective from the DepEd K-12
Curriculum Guide (any learning area of choice within Grade 1 to Grade 12) as
a reference point.
2) From your chosen competency/objective, construct a learner-centered
learning plan.
3) At the end, explain why your plan is learner-centered through a 100-200 word
essay.

You may use the OBTL format below as guide:

Teaching and
Objective Topic/s Resources Assessment
Learning Activities

Explanation:
Scoring Guide:

1. TOPIC/S – What topic/s best fit the learning outcome/objective?

___ 10 pts. | if best fit to the learning outcome.
___ 5 pts. if slightly fit to the learning outcome.
___ 0 pt. if not fit at all.
2. TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES – Enumerate how the learner-
centered activities will achieve the learning outcome.
___ 10 pts. if activities achieved the learning outcome.
___ 5 pts. if activities slightly achieve the learning outcome.
___ 0 pt. if not fit at all.
3. RESOURCES – Cite all possible teaching-learning resources which will
be utilized in the learner-centered activities.
___ 10 pts. if best fit to the learner-centered activities.
___ 5 pts. if slightly fit to the learner-centered activities.
___ 0 pt. if not fit at all.
4. ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUE – Identify what assessment technique best
fit the learning outcome vis-à-vis learner-centered activities.
___ 10 pts. if best fit to the learning outcome vis-à-vis learner-centered activities.
___ 5 pts. if slightly fit to the learning outcome vis-à-vis learner-centered activities
___ 0 pt. if not fit at all.
5. EXPLANATION – Discuss why the learning plan underscore learner-
centeredness.

Score Description
10 The explanation reflects a thorough understanding of learner-
centeredness.
 The explanation thoroughly fulfills the purpose of the
dimensions of learner-centered teaching.
 The explanation demonstrates an accurate and effective
application of the principles of learner-centered teaching.

8 The explanation reflects a general understanding of learner-

centeredness.
 The explanation largely fulfills the purpose of the
dimensions of learner-centered teaching.
 The response demonstrates a generally accurate application
of the principles of learner-centered teaching.

6 The explanation reflects a partial understanding of learner-

centeredness.
 The explanation partially fulfills the purpose of the
dimensions of learner-centered teaching.
 The response demonstrates a partially accurate application
of the principles of learner-centered teaching.
 4 The "2" response reflects little understanding of learner-
centeredness.
 The response fulfills little of the dimensions of learner-
centered teaching.
 The response demonstrates an inaccurate and/or ineffective
application of the principles of learner-centered teaching.

2 The response is unrelated to the test.

0 There is no response to the test.

Highest Possible Score: 50 points

| SUGGESTED READING
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Singapore.

Bruning, R.; Schraw, G. & Norby, M. (2011). Cognitive Psychology and instruction:
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https://gse.buffalo.edu/fas/shuell/cep564/metacog.htm

Hinosolango, MA, & Dinagsao, A. (2014). The Impact of Learner-Centered Teaching

on Students’ Learning Skills and Strategies. International Journal for Cross-
Disciplinary Subjects in Education (IJCDSE), Volume 5, Issue 4, December 2014

Journal of Teacher of Education.

https://journals.sagepub.com/home/jte

Journal of Education and Learning.

http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jel

Journal of Society and Technology.

http://jst-online.org/

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Republic Act No. 11170, “An Act Amending Republic Act No. 9718, entitled: An Act
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Biliran Province State University’s Vision and Mission, Goals and Objectives; and
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classes and televised instruction. Cooperative Learning and College Teaching, 8, 2-7.

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Transformative Use of Small Groups in College Teaching. Sterling, VA: Stylus
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Teaching. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/34221.htm

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Congratulations on completing Module 1

| KEY TO CORRECTIONS
Pre-Test
1. A
2. B
3. A
4. B
5. C
6. A
7. D
8. A
9. D
10. B

Lesson 1 | Activity 3
Teacher-centered
1. Being clear about how to do well in your class
2. Admonishing students to ‘think’
3. Helping students master content
4. Helping students continuously practice and revise how they perform on one
assessment form
5. Creating curriculum and instruction around standards
6. Handing students a rubric or scoring guide
7. Letting students choose the project’s product
8. Choosing ‘power standards’ in a staff meeting in the middle of a summer PD with
the other 4 teachers from your department or grade level
9. Allowing students to choose from two novels that are unlike anything they’ve
ever seen or experienced in their lives
10. Worksheets, essays
11. Giving struggling readers a few extra minutes to read a 17-page short story
12. Starting class with a standard and target
13. Giving an on-demand assignment even though you just finished a writing piece or
unit
14. Framing learning in terms of letter grades and certificates and completion
15. Grading everything

Learner-centered
1. Being clear about how you will promote, measure, and celebrate understanding
2. Modeling ‘how to think‘ for students
3. Helping students understand what’s worth understanding
4. Diversifying what you accept as evidence of understanding
5. Creating curriculum and instruction around a need to know
6. Collaborating with students to create the rubric or scoring guide
7. Letting students choose the project’s purpose
8. Choosing ‘power standards’ from your curriculum after meeting with both
students, parents, and community members that voice their unique societal and
cultural needs
9. Letting students choose their own media form that reflects the purpose of the
reading
10. Choice boards
11. Placing struggling readers in a lit circle that gives them an authentic role that
they can be successful in, allows them to hear oral fluency and reading speed
model and keeps them from feeling ‘broken’
12. Starting class with a story
13. Using the on-demand writing prompt as the summative assessment
14. Framing learning in terms of process and growth and purpose
15. Choosing what’s graded carefully, and considering other work as practice

Lesson 1 | Exercise 1
1. Nature of the Learning Process, Thinking About Thinking
2. Learning and Diversity, Intrinsic Motivation to Learn
3. Motivational and emotional influences on Learning; Intrinsic Motivation to Learn;
Effects of motivation on effort
4. Construction of Knowledge
5. Developmental influences on Learning; Social Influences on Learning; Individual
Differences in Learning
6. Intrinsic Motivation to Learn; Effects on Motivation on Effort
7. Standards and Assessment
8. Goals of the Learning Process
9. Construction of Knowledge; Strategic Thinking
10. Nature of the Learning Process; Motivational and emotional influences on
Learning; Intrinsic Motivation to Learn