LESSON 1: LEARNER–CENTERED TEACHING AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS

What is Learner-Centered Teaching?

Learner-centered teaching is an approach to teaching that focuses on the learners and
their development rather than on the transmission of content; it addresses the balance
of power in teaching and learning, moves toward learners actively constructing their
own knowledge, and puts the responsibility for learning on the learners.
A learner-centered teaching aims to develop a learner who is able to invent and to
create, to think powerfully, to act effectively on what she or he thinks, to feel deeply, and
to contribute to the community, to the social order, and to the lives of others in some
meaningful way.

Characteristics of Learner-Centered Teaching

Learner-centered teaching engages students in the hard, messy work of learning.

• On any given day, in most classes teachers are working much harder than students.

Learner-centered teaching includes explicit instruction.

• Learner-centered teachers teach students how to think, solve problems, evaluate
evidence, analyze arguments, and generate hypotheses—all those learning skills
essential to mastering material in the discipline.

Learner-centered teaching encourages students to reflect on what they are

learning and how they are learning it.
• They challenge student assumptions about learning and encourage them to accept
responsibility for decisions they make about learning; like how they study for exams
when they do assign reading, whether they revise their writing or check their answer.

Learner-centered teaching motivates students by giving them some control over

learning processes.
• Learner-centered teachers search out ethically responsible ways to share power with
students.
Learner-centered teaching encourages collaboration.
• Learner-centered teachers work to develop structures that promote shared
commitments to learning.

Learner - Centered Teaching Techniques

Active Learning
• Students solve problems, answer questions, formulate questions of their own,
discusses, explain, debate, or brainstorm during class.
Cooperative Learning
 • Students work in teams on problems and projects under conditions that assure both
positive interdependence and individual accountability.
Inductive Teaching and Learning
 • Students are first presented with challenges (questions or problems) and learn the
course material in the context of addressing the challenges.

Benefits / Importance of Learner - Centered Teaching

• Permits opportunities to connect the content to real life.

• Provide opportunities for higher order thinking as opposed to passive listening.
• Promotes greater students-faculty and student-student interaction.
• Increases student’s retention.