Qualitative Research

On the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Student-

Centered Teaching Style Applied in KU Leuven for
BBA Students

Research Methods 2 B-KUL-HBA14C

KU Leuven Campus Brussels

Academic Year 2019 – 2020

Prof. Dr. Alea Fairchild

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ 3

1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 4

2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND .................................................................................................... 6

Teaching styles.................................................................................................................................... 6
 Learner-centered style versus teacher-centered style.......................................................................... 6

Effective Learning Community .......................................................................................................... 7

Advantages of the learner-centered approach ..................................................................................... 7

Disadvantages of the learner-centered approach................................................................................. 8

3. METHOD ........................................................................................................................................... 9

Purpose of the study ............................................................................................................................ 9

Strategic Problem Statement (SPS)..................................................................................................... 9

Strategic Research Statement (SRS) ................................................................................................. 10

Research Questions ........................................................................................................................... 12

Data Collection ................................................................................................................................. 12

Participants........................................................................................................................................ 12

Data analysis technique..................................................................................................................... 12

Variables ........................................................................................................................................... 13

Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 13

4. RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................... 14

Strategic Vision................................................................................................................................. 14

Advantages........................................................................................................................................ 15

1. Explanation simplicity and efficiency................................................................................... 15

2. Student evaluation and observation ...................................................................................... 16

3. Autonomy support ................................................................................................................ 18

4. Instructional support ............................................................................................................. 19

5. Openness to questions ........................................................................................................... 20

6. Other features ........................................................................................................................ 21

Disadvantages ................................................................................................................................... 22

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 1. Openness to questions and its disadvantages ........................................................................ 22

2. Other features and its disadvantages ..................................................................................... 23

5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 24

6. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 27

ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................ 29

Appendix A: Interview guideline ...................................................................................................... 29

Appendix C: Participant Consent Forms .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Appendix D: List of Selected Studies ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

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ABSTRACT

Adult education literatures suggest that teachers’ style affects student engagement and independence.
The study in this paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of student-centered (also known as
learner-centered) teaching style that is implemented in the KU Leuven, specifically, in the Mathematical
course in the first year of the BBA course. The reason behind choosing to focus on this particular course
out of the other courses that the students follow in the first year is because Mathematics is a course
where the lecturer possess skills that come from being a user of student-centered teaching style. Students
cannot understand the learning materials without the instruction and support from a teacher in
Mathematics and it needs doing and not listening to become applicants of the learning material. The
data was collected by conducting interviews with students who followed the course. Our assumption is
that the lecturer possessed the characteristics of an instructor employing the student-centered teaching
style. The main responses received showed that the students appreciated the style used and would prefer
this style implemented in other courses where students cannot understand learning materials without
the support of the teacher.

Keywords: learner-centered, student-centered, support, teaching style, student engagement, student

independence, Mathematics

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INTRODUCTION

For many years, educational researchers have been studying the factors, including students’ traits,
classroom designs, standardized assessments, etc., to improve the quality of education and the learning
process. However, little attention has been given to the factors in the classroom regarding the teachers.
Teachers are the ones who are most involved with students in the learning process and they play an
important role in the learning community (Hattie, 2003). It is important for institutions and teachers to
know the different teaching styles as students need to be able to understand what the teacher is teaching.
Although there are many teaching styles, the goal of every teaching style is the same: to focus on the
teaching objectives and to deliver the best for the students. Most teaching styles largely fall into two
categories: teacher-centered and learner-centered, also referred to as “student-centered”.

The teacher-centered teaching style is considered as “a style of instruction that is formal, controlled,
and autocratic in which the instructor directs how, what, and when students learn” (p.42). On the other
hand, in learner-centered teaching style, the focus is on learners rather than on the instructors. Dupin-
Bryant (2004) defines learner-centered teaching style as “a style of instruction that is responsive,
collaborative, problem-centered, and democratic in which both students and the instructor decide how,
what, and when learning occurs” (p.42). Most institutions and their teachers in higher education have
been using the teacher-centered teaching style. However, the learner-centered teaching style has been
shown to be superior to the teacher-centered teaching style as students get hands-on experience and
presented with challenges (“Learner-Centered Teaching,” n.d.). The focus of this study is on the learner-
centered teaching style solely.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of the learner-centered
teaching style and its effect on the engagement and autonomy of the students. This was done by
gathering the opinions of students who have experienced this style of teaching, under the assumption
that there is a course offered in the Bachelor of Business Administration at KU Leuven that contains
the characteristics of the learner-centered teaching style. The course that fits the characteristics best is
the fast track of Mathematics for Business A and B. This is because the fast track is more independent
and collaborative than the equivalent regular track courses. The expectation was to gain insight into the
two perspectives, being the merits and drawbacks of the learner-centered approach. In order to achieve
the aim of this study, the following questions were sought:

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the learner-centered teaching style?

2. What are the opinions of the students regarding the learner-centered teaching style?

Prior to the study, research on the learner-centered teaching style is needed to determine its
characteristics and to get a bigger picture of the topic. This is done by comparing past studies and similar
research. Past studies show that the advantages of the learner-centered approach are that students learn
better and there is more permanent learning. However, the disadvantages are that students can learn

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unnecessary or incomplete knowledge and if the teacher does not perform well, he or she might lose
control of the learning process (Bayram-Jacobs & Hayırsever, 2016).

The study aims to provide useful insights into the student-centered teaching style, upon which further
theory can be built on. Additionally, the feedback from students can be used as practical improvements
in class to explore a more personalized teaching style that accommodates the students’ needs. Since the
team is inexperienced, and due to the matter of timing, the study is not meant to provide a definite
solution, but rather provide observations about the students’ needs and feelings on student-centered
learning in the fast track Mathematics courses.

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THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Teaching styles

Knowles has suggested that the teacher is the most important factor influencing the nature of the
learning climate (Knowles, 1970, p.41). One mean by which teachers convey their attitudes about the
teaching-learning transaction is through style. Fischer and Fischer (1979) associate style “with
distinctive qualities of behavior that are consistent through time and carry over from situation to
situation” (p.245). Style thus refers to a pervasive quality of teaching behavior that persists even though
the content that is being taught may change (p.245). From her observations of elementary classrooms,
Kuchinskas (1979) reached a conclusion similar to that of Knowles. She found that the teacher's “style
influenced the learning environment more than any other factor” (p.270) and that “the most revealing
thing in the classroom was the overwhelming effect of the teacher's style on everything and everybody
else” (p.270).

Learner-centered style versus teacher-centered style

Despite the existence of divergent teaching styles, a significantly large portion of the adult education
literature supports the collaborative model as the most effective and appropriate style for teaching
adults. In this regard, the writings of Lindeman, Bergevin, Kidd, Houle, Knowles, and Freire exhibit
many commonalities in the basic assumptions of adult teaching-learning. Collectively they argue that
the curriculum should be learner-centered, that learning episodes should capitalize on the learner's
experience, that students are self-directed, that learners should participate in needs diagnosis, goals
formation, and outcomes evaluation, that students are problem-centered, and that the teacher should
serve as a facilitator rather than a repository of facts (Conti, 1985).

As the teachers adopt the learner-centered approach, they significantly put effort into delivering
knowledge in a simple but efficient manner, make use of student evaluation and observation, provide
autonomy support and instructional support, and be open to questions. The merits and drawbacks of
these practices are analyzed in this study in which the results could be found later on.

Studies about the advantages and disadvantages of student-centered learning are limited and narrow;
however, there is a growing interest in a more learner-centered style in higher education (Wright, 2011).
Maryellen Weimer’s Learner-Centered Teaching (2002.) argues that classrooms at the university level
are more instructor-based and that this style works against students becoming successful, mature
learners. Weimer states that learner-centered teaching will lead to greater success for students and
increased job satisfaction for teachers. The aim of student-centered learning is to increase learner
autonomy and independence (Jones, 2007) and active learning is strongly encouraged (Armstrong,
2012).

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In student-centered classrooms, students play an active role in the learning process through trying “to
make sense of what they are learning by relating it to prior knowledge and by discussing it with others”
(Brophy, 1999, p.49). An Up-Close Look at Student-Centered Math Teaching: A Study of Highly
Regarded High School Teachers and Their Students is a study conducted by the American Institutes in
2014, which sought to break down the concept of student-centered learning in mathematics into key
features: “heavy student contribution, encouraging active student exploration, using problems that
require students to think critically and communicate their thinking, and asking students to explain the
“why” of their answers” (Walters et al., 2014) The responsibility of learning shifts naturally to the
student in a learner-centered setting, and the focus is more on how the students learn, that how the
teachers teach (Weimer, 2002). This requires students to take responsibility for their learning by being
actively involved in the learning process rather than simply passively receiving information.

Effective Learning Community

Student-centered instruction focuses on skills and practices that enable lifelong learning and
independent problem solving (Young & Paterson, 2007). John Goodland (2004) argues in A Place
Called School, that effective learning occurs when students are provided democratic education. This
means that students have a say in what and how they learn. Building a comfortable learning environment
is an essential factor in student achievement, and student-centered classroom pervades activities that
create a fun environment (Serin, 2018). Serin also states, that “providing a classroom environment in
which active engagement is stimulated by the teacher helps students become academically successful.
Student-centeredness enhances cooperative learning, develops problem-solving skills and decision-
making skills, stimulates reflective and critical thinking skills.”

Advantages of the learner-centered approach

Student-centered learning has been shown to be effective in higher education (Wright, 2011). In a
learner-centered environment, students learn important communicative and collaborative skills through
interaction. They learn to direct their own learning, ask questions, and complete tasks independently.
Active interaction and participation also help motivate students in learning activities. (The Room 241
Team, "Which is Best: Teacher-Centered or Student-Centered Education?", 2012). A student-centered
approach is best applied with the more independent learners, who construct their own learning
experiences (Khaled, 2013).

In an earlier study, Miglietti (1994) concluded that a learner-centered teaching style, as measured by
the Principles of Adult Learning Scale accounted for significant differences with respect to grades,
sense of accomplishment, and overall course satisfaction. Students in learner-centered classes had
higher grades, reported a greater sense of accomplishment, and overall course satisfaction than those in
teacher-centered classes. These results support the majority of recommendations derived from research

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in adult education. It would appear that a learner-centered teaching approach is the most effective type
of teaching style (Ahmed, 2013).

Disadvantages of the learner-centered approach

There is not a lot of research dedicated to the disadvantages of a student-centered approach in education.
Serin (2018) mentions that in student-centered classrooms control may become an issue, due to behavior
problems of the students. Since students are interacting, classrooms may get noisy or chaotic. Teachers
may have to attempt to manage all students’ activities at once, which can be difficult when students are
working on different stages of the same project (The Room 241 Team, "Which is Best: Teacher-
Centered or Student-Centered Education?", 2012). In general, mathematics teachers have expressed that
the sequential nature of the subject has been a barrier to utilizing student-centered learning approaches
(Reif, Shultz, & Ellis, 2018). Additionally, student-centered teaching is complex and almost impossible
to do in isolation (Lin Russell, Zoltners Sherer, Iriti & Long, 2018), which is why a mixed-method can
be applied.

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METHOD

Purpose of the study

The study is conducted by students in their second stage of the Bachelor of Business Administration
program at KU Leuven. From the review of literature, the purpose of this study is to investigate the
advantages and disadvantages of the learner-centered teaching style applied in Mathematics fast track
course and its relation to student engagement and independence. This was done by gathering opinions
of students who followed the fast track of Mathematics for Business course at KU Leuven.

Based on the literature review, the hypothesis is that the student-centered teaching style improves the
overall engagement and independence of students in the Mathematics course. The topic that the research
addresses is “Research on ways teaching and education can be adapted to stimulate a learning
community.” The key phases of the study are described below.

Strategic Problem Statement (SPS)

During the last few decades, teacher-centered teaching style has been replaced by learner-centered
teaching style in higher education (McCombs & Whistler, 1997; Weimer, 2002). Learner-centered
instruction is most suitable for the more autonomous, and more self-directed learners who not only
participate in what, how, and when to learn, but also construct their own learning experiences (Brown,
2008; McCombs & Whistler, 1997; Weimer, 2002, and Schuh, 2003).

However, the number of studies dedicated to investigate about learner-centered teaching style is limited
although it has also received a considerable degree of attention within the educational literature over
the past two decades. There is some evidence that teaching styles can help to interpret the influences of
teachers on student achievement (Aitkin & Zuzovsky, 1994; Ebmeier & Good, 1979) and on attitudes
towards subjects (Ebenezer & Zoller, 1993), and that teaching behaviour and teaching styles can make
an important difference to student learning (Centra & Potter, 1980; McDaniel, 1981; Wentzel, 2002).
By defining the pros and cons of the style in this study, it is possible to create a more welcoming but
effective learning environment for the students as well as improve the quality of education.

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Strategic Research Statement (SRS)

The team started by conducting secondary research on different teaching styles, and found that there
were many studies showing a positive effect of the student-centered style on student engagement and
independence, but not addressing the advantages and disadvantages equally. The study is excluding the
effect of student-centered learning on academic performance, as this has been quite thoroughly explored
in literature and to make any reliable conclusions, a large sample size would be needed. Flow chart of
the SRS will be expressed on the following page.

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Figure 1. SRS Flowchart

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Research Questions

From the problem and research statement the following questions were formed:

- What are the benefits of student-centered teaching style to student engagement?

- What are the downsides of student-centered teaching style to student engagement?

- In which ways can the teacher help to improve student autonomy?

Data Collection

The research protocol is a semi-structured interview with 13 predefined questions to guide the
conversation [Appendix A]. This protocol was chosen, because a personal in-depth interview will allow
getting an insight into the student’s underlying feelings and thoughts.

Participants

Participants of this study were students from the Bachelor of Business Administration at KU Leuven
Campus Brussels. In the study, purposive sampling was used. The criteria for selecting the participants
were the following: participants are currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Administration at
KU Leuven Campus Brussels, participants followed the fast track of Mathematics for Business A or B
in the academic year 2018-2019, and participants are willing to be interviewed. Both 2nd and 3rd year
bachelor students were targeted, as they have more background in attending the university and would
be able to give more detailed answers, and have finished the mathematics courses part of the BBA. The
fast track students were targeted, because the fast track is more independent and less theory-heavy than
the regular track, with more involvement and collaboration from the students. Out of the 10 participants,
there were 3 males and 7 females.

Data analysis technique

Content analysis technique was used to analyze the data, which consists of the coding process and
categorizing. The stages of the content analysis technique were as follows:

1. The researchers read all the interview responses thoroughly.

2. The responses were grouped according to predefined features that learner-centered teaching
style has.

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Variables

Independent variables: learner-centered teaching style, forms of assessment, teacher’s support

Dependent variable: Student engagement, student independence, advantages and disadvantages of the
learner-centered teaching style.

Limitations

Sample size: The sample size was 10 which is small. However, that is not a concern as adding more
participants to the study is unlikely to result in additional perspectives.

Participants recalling their experiences from memory: One of the criteria for selecting the participants
is that they followed the fast track of Mathematics for Business A or B in the academic year 2018-2019.
Participants might not remember everything from the previous year. It is also possible that they might
get the classes mixed up and are referring to another course.

Inclusive bias: Inclusive bias occurs when samples are selected for convenience. The participants are
mostly the author's friends, so they might have the same background. The results cannot be extrapolated
to fit the entire population.

Participant demand effect: Participants might not give their honest answer, or they might give a
response that they think the interviewer wants to hear.

The teaching style of the fast track of Mathematics for Business A and B is learner-centered: The team
assumed that the fast track of Mathematics for Business A and B was taught using the learner-centered
style based on theory, without any deep research to confirm.

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RESULTS

To investigate this research and come up with a resolute conclusion, the pros and cons of the style were
classified according to the different features that the learner-centered style includes: first, the
explanations’ simplicity and efficiency, second, utilisation of student evaluation and observation, third,
autonomy support, fourth, instructional support, fifth, openness to questions and last, other features.

Due to knowledge found in literature reviews and the limitation in research questions, only two features
of the teaching style are reported and analyzed with disadvantages in this study, which are openness to
questions and other features.

Once the interviews were held and transcribed, the data was analyzed to form clusters of similar
opinions, experiences and referents. Once they were categorized, they were named as codes, which are
explanation simplicity and efficiency, students evaluation and observation, autonomy support,
instructional support, openness to questions and other features. The labels are formed by the initials
ESE (explanation simplicity and efficiency), SEO (students evaluation and observation), AS (autonomy
support), IS (instructional support), OQ (openness to questions), and lastly OF (other features). The
responses of participants are therefore presented in the following categories, in which will be contained
in the following table with explanations.

Strategic Vision

Advantages:

1. Explanation simplicity and efficiency

2. Utilisation of student evaluation and observation

3. Autonomy support

4. Instructional support

5. Openness to questions

6. Other features

Disadvantages:

1. Openness to questions and its disadvantages

2. Other features and other disadvantages

Table 1. Core Aspects Explanation

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 Aspect Code Explanation

Explanation simplicity ESE The teacher’s manner of delivering content in an easy-to-

and efficiency understand and unheavy way.

Utilisation of student SEO The teacher’s use of mid-term test and observation.
evaluation and
observation

Autonomy support AS The teacher’s suggestion to do non-mandatory assignments and

her provision of Toledo, KU Leuven’s digital learning platform,
and course-related materials for students to self-study.

Instructional support IS The teacher’s role of being a facilitator in classes.

Openness to questions OQ The teacher’s openness to questions in classes and after classes.

Other features OF Other features that have advantages in students’ opinions.

Advantages

1. Explanation simplicity and efficiency

The first practice that student-centered teaching style of Mathematics fast track includes is the
explanation simplicity and efficiency, which means the teacher breaks down the concept to the standard
level, even to the lower level when she concerns the fact that there are students with a not too strong
background in Math, ensuring the standard degree of understanding of every learner in the classroom.

In student-centered classes, teachers try to make the lessons closer to common sense and easy to follow
for students. By this way, lessons get more interesting and less heavy for students, who thus do not have
powerlessness and self-underestimation feelings, often encountered when they are not catching up with
the class.

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The core patterns analyzed from the secondary research conducted are asked with the following
question:

- What do you think about the way she explains the content in class? (How easy are the classes
to follow?)

Results from the study agree with what is discussed above about the explanation simplicity and
efficiency, which makes learners have a tendency to follow the content easily, as well as not feel too
heavy and incomprehensible about the lesson. Although there are a few different opinions from a
participant about how easy it is the studied Math class to follow, this could be explained by personal
perceptions, in addition to our assumption about the teaching style of Mathematics professor without
any deep research or confirmation.

“From my experience, the class was easy to follow, because she tries to explain things
according to daily practices and the cases so we get to know more, not like theoretical stuff,
but more practical.”

“She speaks very fast. But I think I like her explanation. They're very detailed, they're detailed
and they're organized so you can easily find what you're looking for.”

“She does not use those difficult terms, but she tries to explain even the difficult topics easily
so whenever you're in her class, you feel like the topic is very easy, although it's not that easy.
So she kind of tries to explain it easier than it actually is.”

2. Student evaluation and observation

One of the means educational institutions can use to examine how well students perform academically
is by looking at their end results. It is executed by taking examinations or compiled tests done
throughout the school year, and it is evidence of the competencies of the students enrolled in a particular
institution. In this study, we examine the effect of the mid-term test in the Mathematics fast track course.
KU Leuven university, in this study, can see how well their students perform by looking at their student
efficiency rates. It demonstrates the percentage of courses passed by the students. It can be calculated
by dividing the number of courses passed by the number of courses taken that semester/ year. Clearly,
the university aims at having more students with higher study efficiency rates. With this, we know that
the assessment of competencies plays a key role in optimizing educational processes and improving the
effectiveness of educational systems (Leutner, Fleischer, Grünkorn, & Klieme, 2017).

The process of assessment is also one of the areas proposed to be changed in order to achieve the learner-
centered teaching style. Lecturers who implement the student-centered teaching style have the
characteristic of using various forms of assessment to check the progress of their students and by so
doing can determine if the students need more help or support. (Ahmed, 2013)

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The core patterns analyzed from the secondary conducted research are inquired with the following
question:

- Do you think that assignments and mid-terms that count in the final grade are good elements to
motivate you during the school year to avoid procrastination and cramming before the exam?

(In both Mathematics A and B, as well as Statistics A, students had to take a midterm exam).

The following are a few of the answers received:

“It is the best thing to happen in my life, because KU Leuven tends to bottle your
progress in only one examination, and there is only one feedback after you know if
you failed a subject. So, you don’t have the motivation or the will to keep up. There is
no way to know where you are in terms of ideal position where you should be. The
midterm is providing me good [sic] incentive to follow the courses, because I know if
I didn’t do very good [sic] it would affect my overall grade.”

“Yes, because to be honest, if there wasn't this test, I would have left it until the final
exam to study. And I feel within the semester you have more time. So, it's a very good
idea because you actually study, and I like it.”

As one of the quoted opinions above, in KU Leuven, students of the BBA program from which our
sample was taken, mostly just have one assessment period which is at the end of the semester. The grade
the student gets on that assessment is the only one that determines whether he/she passes that course. It
is only in the Mathematics course and the Statistics course in the first year that there are two
assessments, one in the middle of the course and the other at the end. The first one covers what has been
seen from the beginning to the middle of that semester and the material which is assessed doesn’t appear
in the second one. We can say that they play the same role and weigh the same.

The kind of assessment mentioned in the student-centered teaching style is the one that is done regularly
in class, and that does not weigh as much as the assessment done at the end of the semester or academic
year (the standard exam). By saying that the assessment done in the middle of the semester at KU
Leuven is equal to a normal assessment in class, we make an approximation. We do this in order to
have an idea of the benefits that come from having multiple assessments and also to get the opinions of
our interview participants.

The responses of the students corroborate in the sense that they all said the assessment taken during the
semester helped their grades go up, because they have more free time during the semester to focus on
just the assessment, compared to the time they have to study at the end of the semester because of course
they have other assessments too.

An interviewee went further to mention that

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 “…I think it really helps us like we can know what we have to improve. And yeah, those kinds
of things make me satisfied.”

This is an indication that the assessment in the year works as some kind of feedback to let them know
where they stand, and what they could do differently as students in order to make better progress. This
is also a main subject in the student-centered teaching style which hammers on the growth of the
students and self-actualization.

Another participant of our research had a different view on this and said

“Not really, because they are separate tests. The first exam is something that tests your skills
on the first half, and afterwards it’s just gone, and you do not have that part anymore. So
maybe if I did badly on that part, then I will focus more to get a good result on the final exam,
but generally I don’t find any link/correlation between the two exams. I don’t see how it
motivates me.”

This interviewee emphasizes on the fact that the two assessments don’t have anything to do with each
other since the material assessed in the first assessment session has nothing to do with the second
which boils down to the fact the students do not have enough assessment periods that forces them to
study throughout the semester on probably, a daily or weekly basis.

3. Autonomy support

In a learner-centered approach, the teacher guides the students through the material. In particular, the
teacher provides a plan recommending which timings and activities should be followed in order to
facilitate learning. Usually, students who organize their studies upon it are more likely to avoid
cramming in the exam period and thus have better results. They are also able to construct their own
learning experiences: they do not merely attend class, but they receive a greater input into what they
learn, how they learn it, and when they learn it (Ahmed, 2013). The teacher invests in autonomy support:
the decision whether to study or procrastinate depends on the learner, but having an already-made
structure greatly promotes the former. Students feel respected as learners, develop their critical thinking
skills, and have high levels of motivation and achievement (Ahmed, 2013).

The core patterns analyzed from the secondary research conducted are asked with the following
question:

- “How does she support you to study on your own time? How does it impact your learning?”

In our study we found confirmation of the above. All of the participants agreed that incentives such as
non-compulsory homework, material always available on Toledo (the university’s online platform), and
knowing what content will be covered in the following class had a positive impact on their studies.

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 “She always encouraged students and me to practice and do a lot of exercises at home,
because she told us that doing a lot of exercises is the only way for you to improve and get a
higher score in the exam. Because of her encouragement, I tended to do a lot of exercises at
home. As a result, I got 15 out of 20 at the final exam.”

“I'll say if you're someone who can self study, it's easier for you because you have more
chances to organize your own studies.”

Moreover, the nature of the subject should also be taken into consideration. In order to effectively learn
mathematics, a constant study is highly recommended.

“Math is something you cannot really understand in a second, you practice in the sense daily,
like what she gave us was very perfect because at the end of class she proposed us to solve
this question by next class. So that's what we did. And it definitely helped.”

However, the same interviewee also recognized that the burden would become too high if every teacher
had a similar way of guidance.

“You didn't feel like that was kind of like, too much pushing?

No, no, no, not at all. Not. Not at all. I mean, if all professors in any other subjects if they did
that same thing, of course, it would be a big pressure, but basically, Math was the only thing.”

Students feel therefore incentivated to study on their own.

4. Instructional support

The instructions discussed here represent the leading instructions, which supply the how-to-do and
guiding explanation, but not the mandate on what the students need to do. The teacher provides
instructions for students in and after-class. To make a distinction, autonomy support could be simply
understood as assignments and study materials needed to study on your own. Instructional support
normally goes along with the explanation simplicity and efficiency, and they create a positive learning
atmosphere. Opdenakker et Damme (2006) stated that the learning climate in Mathematics classes is
completely class-related and only a small part of the relationship seems to be school-related, which
means the student experience is mostly based on the classroom practices. A positive and caring yet
progressive climate can be achieved by the teacher letting go of the “teacher” role and allowing students
to explore ideas and teach themselves. In doing this, the teacher becomes a coach or instigator, who is
always there to assist, but never to give away a direct and easy answer (Brown, 2019). Ahmed (2013)
concluded that the more the teacher adopts the learner-centered teaching style, the more he/she invests
in instructional support.

The core patterns analyzed from the secondary research conducted are asked with following question:

- How has the fact of her caring students helped you in engaging in the course? How does it
impact your learning?

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In our study we found the increase in motivation and preference to classes of participants when the
teacher provides instructional support as well as creates a positive learning climate. These
augmentation, which are the increase in motivation and preference, are big advantages of applying
learner-centered style in education.

“She was always trying to give very, very good ideas and but not answers, ideas, which is
important in Math. So, yeah, I really liked that.”

“She felt like a material advisor, you know, she really cared when you ask questions. And she
was really kind. She always expressed that her wishes are for everyone in a class to pass, you
know. So she always emphasizes on that fact and I felt it was natural. I thought she actually
wanted everyone to pass, and it was shown the amount of times like how she felt. I went to her
a couple of times during office hours and she gave her time and explained as much as possible.
She didn't rush through it.”

The study also found that by creating a positive learning climate, students are more motivated to ask
questions. They are more active in generating and thinking about questions, thus enhancing their critical
thinking and problem-solving skills.

“She is willing and comfortable to answer your questions, and she also gave answers in a
thorough way. So it motivates you.”

Another plus for this practice is that in a good way it would positively affect the students’ personal
choice of attending classes. The decisions to attend lessons of some students depends on whether they
feel comfortable coming to class or not, which sometimes depends largely on the friendly atmosphere
of the class created by the teacher.

“First of all, I know that my answers would not be judged by her, because she’s very
welcoming in receiving the questions. I would be more willing to pose any questions in the
class. And also because I know that she is a friendly professor, so I will be more willing to go
to class because I know that it is a welcoming class.”

5. Openness to questions

Building relationships with students is an important component of student-centered teaching.

Friedlaender, Burns, Lewis-Charp, Cook-Harvey, and Darling-Hammond conducted a study in 2014,
where they chose four schools that adapted student-centered learning, and where the school structure
supports connections to adults within the school. A survey conducted in the study showed that students
think that their school’s practices of relationship building, high standards, deeper learning, and
instructional relevance contributed to their success in college.

20
(Pedrosa de Jesus & Watts, 2019) argues that if students ask questions within sessions in class, it
indicates that these students have some form of interaction with both the teacher and fellow students,
which is important for understanding within the domains in which they are working and studying, and
for some resolution in their thinking. We argue that there needs to be some form of comfortability in
the atmosphere of these sessions which makes students feel they can say whatever they have on their
mind concerning the material that is being taught. Having the opportunity to ask questions or interact
with the teacher or fellow students is a form of autonomy, as taking initiative to try to understand the
lecture materials. (Pedrosa de Jesus & Watts, 2019) goes on to add that “there is strong evidence that if
‘good’ conditions are created (appropriate conditions conducive to the generation and asking of student
questions) then students will ask and respond to a range of questions – specifically, learners will ask
questions when they have high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem within the learning context,
and when their questions are seen to be valued.” It is therefore the teacher’s responsibility to make sure
that students know they are welcome to ask questions and react. They are responsible for creating that
atmosphere.

The core patterns analyzed from the secondary research conducted are asked with the following
question:

- What do you think are the advantages of her being open to questions?

Responses collected restate our theoretical hypothesis that when the teacher is more open to questions,
students are more willing to express their doubts, since they feel more free to seek for help. They also
have a tendency to think and reflect more on questions, thus enhancing their critical thinking skills.

“...Like I said, you're more willing to ask and you are more interested in the course in general,
because you don't feel, like, you don't feel afraid to ask so you don't feel weighed down by
something you don't know. So that's just a very big advantage of her being open to students.”

“The students would be more likely to engage in her lectures, and there would be a more
positive atmosphere in the class, so everyone is in a better mood to study.”

6. Other features

The core patterns analyzed from the secondary research conducted are asked with the following
question:

- What are the strengths of this class?

The reason behind asking this question was to establish the link between the teaching style used in this
class and the characteristics that a class portrait a student-centered teaching style has. The responses
collected match with what student-centered teaching style is about namely, the student has to have some
form of independence from the teacher in order to have enough space for self-actualization, the lecturer

21
caring about the students enough to come down to their level and being open to receive them whenever
they want to approach the lecturer. However, these advantages are already discussed before in other
features.

“...You have to take the responsibility of taking two hours less of math. So, I think these are
the strengths.”

“This class, I would say the way she cared about students because in other classes after that
semester I had her, the lecturers just focused on the lecture and didn't pay much attention to
interactions between students or between themselves and the student, my opinion though.”

“That it is to-the-point and structured because of the exercises and she's always very open to
questions and she's not irritated when few people asked the same questions multiple times or
stupid questions, I would get irritated but Goedele, she didn’t.”

Disadvantages

1. Openness to questions and its disadvantages

The core patterns analyzed from the secondary research conducted are asked with following question:

- What do you think could be the disadvantages of her trying to answer every question from
every student?

One of the downsides of the learner-centered teaching style is time control. In fact, teachers
sometimes tend to overly focus on responding to students’ problems, hence neglecting to deliver the
content on time. Then the teacher has to rush and quicken the theory to the next classes, which results
in a negative information acquisition of students towards the end of the course. Despite the learner-
centered teaching style being helpful in the first stages, there is the risk that it could lead to confusion
because of difficult time management. This is especially true in Math, where since each topic is built
on the previous one, the last concepts are the hardest to understand as they require the implementation
of most of the methods seen earlier. Therefore, this aspect can cause difficulties to the students, and if
the teacher finds him or herself in lack of time, then their explanations will not be as thorough as
needed.

This type of disadvantage has been agreed among our sample of the participants of Mathematics fast
track classes.

“I did feel that we lost valuable time because of those stupid questions. The thing was, those
questions could have been answered by yourself, you know, and also sometimes we will take
advantage of being free to ask the questions that they ask every question like, or why is the x

22
 here but you can just study it at home and then have a background of the thing that's gonna
be taught in classes. … I remember in the first semester, the last part, we didn't do all the
exercises of the last part, I remember, like, extra part with those graphs and stuff.”

“First, it’s time consuming for her. Some questions are very good and she would answer
them in front of class, but some students don’t know how to limit themselves, so they just
keep on asking questions, and it costs a lot of time for the whole class, so I think that when
the professor tries to answer everybody, it’s good, but if she tries to answer many questions
from one person, and that person isn’t asking any particularly constructive questions, then
that’s going to be time wasting.”

However, when asked if he believed that, in the case of reducing the time dedicated to questions and
increasing the time to explain the content, he would still have questions, one of the subjects replied:

“Yes, definitely. Definitely. Definitely. I mean, it is impossible to make students fully

understood [sic], in a second, especially in math. That's impossible.”

2. Other features and its disadvantages

The teacher most of the time delivers a positive attitude and sometimes is soft; therefore, she tends to
lose a degree of management over the classroom practices.

Serin (2018) mentioned, that in student-centered classrooms control may become an issue, due to
behavior problems of the students. Since students are interacting, classrooms may get noisy or
chaotic. Teachers may have to attempt to manage all students’ activities at once, which can be
difficult when students are working on different stages of the same project (The Room 241 Team,
"Which is Best: Teacher-Centered or Student-Centered Education?", 2012).

One of the participants stated that:

“I mean, even students in fast track class can be bothering, they made some weird noises
that actually distracted us. So I feel like even the fast track students, they are kind of
sometimes very distracted, they make others distracted as well. So that's the thing that she
cannot really control the students. She's like, very soft, not very strict.”

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DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This study was approached in a qualitative way to analyze the aspects as primary data and to compare
and refer them to other previous research that were done in this field. We found out that the results
correlate with and add some further insight into what we have already investigated in literature reviews.
Overall, the findings of the paper suggest that student-centered teaching style has a very positive
perceived value on student engagement, student independence. This approach contributed to them
feeling respected as learners, developed their critical thinking skills, and encouraged their self-
directedness and other benefits. The results suggest that students would benefit from educators and
policymakers making it possible for universities to facilitate more learner-centered teaching in potential
courses.

The study identified some of the possible disadvantages of student-centered teaching, such as time-
control issues and classroom management problems which can cause distractions to the students.
Further research should be concluded on how to address these concerns.

Previous research about this topic studied by (Ahmed, 2016) and (Conti, 1985) aimed to show the
relationship in the student-centered teaching style and student achievement. However, these two studies
represented its data based on the quantitative method used which was PALS (Principles of Adults
Learning Scale). PALS was to measure the extent to which teachers adopt learner-centered style.
Eventually, they were not able to conclude the positive correlation between these two variables, student-
centered teaching style and student achievement as there were many other factors that influence student
achievement, and they did not provide further insight into the pros and cons of the teaching style clearly
thus giving us a gap to fill in. Compared to the aforementioned paper, the strength of our research is
that some aspects we focused on actually showed causation and not just correlation between the teaching
style and student achievement. The analysis of this research paper, composed of the Explanation
Simplicity and Efficiency, the Student Evaluation and Observation, Autonomy Support, Instructional
Support, Openness to questions and Other Features that have been found during the interview, are all
crucial parts as to how we were able to answer our main research question. Through defining and
analyzing these six core aspects, this research demonstrates a brief indication on whether the student-
centered teaching style should be applied. Moreover, the study represents the main indicators of student
engagement and independence from students’ point of view. Throughout this research, the participants
showed that they have a tendency to regularly attend the studied Mathematics fast track classes. In order
to summarize and give a better overview, the template below demonstrates the outcome of 10
interviewees based on these six core aspects which indicates the conclusion of this research.

24
Table 2. Overview of results found

Aspect Advantages Disadvantages

Explanation Simplicity ● Students feel classes are

and Efficiency easy to follow and did not
feel demotivated

Student Evaluation and ● Students feel encouraged ● Students could experience

Observation to study along the course some types of constant stress
and avoid cramming
before the final exam

Autonomy Support ● Students feel encouraged ● Some students attend classes

to study on their own time less which can affect their
results
● Students acquire
independence

Instructional Support ● Student motivation and ● Students learn the way to

satisfaction are increased solve problems by
themselves
● Students feel comfortable
to ask for instructions

Openness to Questions ● Students feel supported ● Time consuming

and welcomed by the
teacher, and they are ● Other students in the
more likely to ask classroom may get distracted
questions. and misunderstand some
concepts due to too many
questions asked and answers.

Other Features ● Students feel cared for ● Teacher has difficulties in

due to the interactions classroom management
between students and the
teacher.

25
However, we must recognize the limitations of this research. Firstly, the sample size of this research is
10 bachelor degree students majoring in Business Administration at KU Leuven Campus Brussels.
Therefore, it is impossible to generalize the result of this research to the total population of 2019-2020
BBA students. Secondly, participants had to recall detailed information from the previous year which
might have been tasking, causing a lack of result reliability. Thirdly, the study is restricted to the
mathematics course, which might not necessarily provide information applicable to other courses.
Lastly, this research does not consider other influencing factors such as social background, age and
gender.

Therefore, it is suggested to do further research about other factors which can influence both
engagement and independence of students. This research could be further improved by expanding the
sample size to a larger measure and including students from various faculties or potentially, also other
universities. Also, if it is proven by further research that there is a positive correlation between the
learner-centered teaching style and study performance, then addressing the disadvantages can lead to
improving overall student scores.

This research paper aimed to prove our hypothesis that student-centered teaching style is positively
correlated with the engagement and independence of students. However, there will always be
inconsistency as to whether there really is a direct link between these variables or none at all.

26
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ANNEXES

Appendix A: Interview guideline

In this interview, you will be asked questions about the advantages and disadvantages of a learner-
centered teaching style. I will first ask you some general questions about learning communities. In a
second step, I will ask you more specific questions about the learner-centered teaching style and finally
I will ask you questions about some recommendations. Before starting, I will first give you some
definitions of a learning community that we collected from secondary sources to introduce you to the
topic: “In simple terms, a learning coutual support, and shared values and experiences” (Jonassen,
Peck, & Wilson, 1999).

General questions

Participant’s name, which program?

1. On a scale of 1 (not important) to 10 (highly important), how important is it for you to feel that
you are a member of a learning community?

2. On a scale of 1 (not at all) to 10 (totally), to what extent do you feel part of the KUL learning
community?

Questions about learner-centered style

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, what is your level of satisfaction for the Mathematics class fast track by
professor Godele?

2. What do you think about the way she gives lectures ? (Hint: Do you feel her caring about
student progress ? and answering student problems? Or do you feel her focusing only on the
content itself and go through everything without noticing students' attention?)

3. What do you think about the way she explains the content in class? (How easy are the classes
to follow?)

4. What different teaching strategies can you point out that the teacher used in class? (Lecturing,
demonstrating, discussing…)

5. What are the strengths of this class?

6. Do you think that assignments and mid-terms that count in the final grade a good element to
motivate you during the school year to avoid procrastination and cramming before the exam?

7. How does she support you to study on your own time? How does it impact your learning?

29
 8. How has the fact of her caring students helped you in engaging in the course?

9. What do you think are the advantages when she is more open to questions?

10. Since there are lots of materials on toledo posted by her, does it make you feel you could
study at home and attend class less?

11. What are the weaknesses of this class?

12. What do you think could be the disadvantages of her trying to answer every question from
every student?

13. What could the teacher do differently to help you learn?

We have some recommendations about how to improve teaching styles of professors.

We found that learner-centered teaching style has numerous advantages, by implementing many
sources including visionary and auditory in lectures, conduct tests and observe student progress,
maintain a certain concern on the student understanding in class more than the sufficiency content
delivered. Thus we are thinking of proposing a training course for professors to adapt learner-centered
teaching style when possible. What do you think about that?

If all the courses at KUL have a learner-centered style, how does it affect you academically and
socially ?

30