1. What is learner-centered teaching?
Learner-centered teaching is a format of teaching in which the students share in the decision making process. Power and control in the classroom is shared among the students and instructor. "Shared" is the key word of both of these points. Power and control over decisions are not given completely to the students. Faculty still make key decisions, but no longer make all of the decisions. The instructor is seen more as a guide and a coach. According to Learner-Centered Teaching, the goal is to equip students with the learning skills necessary to teach themselves through a gradual process. It is important to distribute the power in amounts that are representative of the students' ability to handle the power and make the decisions.
An important part of equipping students with the necessary self-reliant skills is motivating the students to learn. McKeachie outlined several ideas for increasing motivation in students. He states that student's need to feel there is a reasonable possibility of success and that the work is valuable in order to be motivated to learn. I feel that by utilizing a learner-centered approach and involving the student's in the decision process, they would not only feel that there is a higher chance of success, but will also feel that the material they chose to cover is more valuable, and in turn also be more motivated to learn. This could be implemented through a simple explanation of the relevance of the material being taught. McKeachie also stated that classrooms that are mastery focused increase students' motivation to learn. I feel learner-centered teaching is a great example of a mastery focused approach. It provides students with opportunities to demonstrate their power, improvement, and take "intellectual risks", all of which are valuable in motivating students through a mastery focused approach. Therefore, by sharing power with the students, they will be more motivated to learn and more likely to learn and be successful in the classroom.
Examples of power and control over decisions in the classroom include the syllabus, the assignment and test structure, the pace, classroom policies, and evaluations or grading. In a traditional sense, many of these aspects of the classroom are controlled by the instructor. In learner-centered teaching, many of these decisions can be jointly made by both the instructor and the students. For example, student's can be involved and have input on the due dates of assignments, what content they feel is important to be covered, the structure of exams (multiple choice, essay, etc.). In the remainder of the blog, I will discuss how some of these aspects can (or can't) be incorporated in teaching while utilizing a learner-centered approach.
2. Which aspects of LCT could I incorporate in my own teaching?
One suggestion made by both McKeachie and Learner-Centered Teaching that I hope to incorporate in my own teaching is to provide multiple options for class assignments. I feel this is an important aspect to implement because by providing options, the power to decide is transferred to the students, and they are more likely to choose a topic they are interested in and more likely to feel motivated to complete and learn from the assignment. This idea can be implemented in many ways.
The first way that I like and hope to include in my final project, is that for a required paper, I will provide a list of topics for the students to choose from, and each of these topics are also broad and can be narrowed to specifically focus on a student's particular interests. For example, some of the topics for a paper designed to evoke critical thinking about the influence history and culture has on our view of abnormal behavior and psychological disorders could include:
- Choose a historical figure (either known for having a mental illness or known for abnormal behavior) and discuss the influence of culture and time on our perception of this character
- Choose a popular icon of today's culture and discuss how their behavior might be viewed 200 years ago and discuss why the view did or did not change
- Choose a mental illness and discuss the development of and changes in our cultural perception of it and discuss why it has or hasn't changed
- Choose a mental illness or abnormal behavior and discuss differing current cultural views of it and discuss why the differences might or might not exist.
A second way I hope to implement this idea is through providing three options for completing two required assignments. This could mean at three different times in the semester I would provide a chance for the students to complete the paper. For instance, I would like to require two papers in the class. I will utilize this idea by providing three separate paper ideas. The first could be the historical/culture influences paper, the second could be a critical review of the literature surrounding the treatment of one psychological disorder, and the third could be a paper about the role of environment and genetics in the development of a psychological disorder. The students would only be required to complete 2/3 papers. This provides the students with the power of choice and decision as well as the motivation to learn about a topic that is of interest to them.
The second suggestion from the readings that I hope to implement in my own teaching is involving the students in the process of creating the syllabus for the class. I hope to do this because, not only will it involve the students in the decision making process, but it involves them in important decisions, not just minor ones. I feel that this gives the students an aspect of control in the classroom that they've never had before and it can be used as a learning experience in itself. Also, as an instructor, I might not be aware of the likes/dislikes, time conflicts, or opinions of my students and this helps me to gain corrective feedback on my syllabus.
I hope to implement this in a way that was described in the reading. The instructor distributed a syllabus on the first day with the word "DRAFT" displayed across the top. I will first cover the points I have made in the syllabus and discuss why I made them and why I feel they are relevant and important. Next, I will have students gather into small groups of 2-3 and have them discuss the syllabus and generate a list of ideas, corrections, and feedback. I also think I would like the students to take the syllabus home with them, look it over, and return to class with individual suggestions. Not only will this empower each student individually, rather than in small groups, but it also helps to motivate the students to read the syllabus! I will collect these lists and look over the ideas and try to include as many as I feel are beneficial, helpful, and possible. Of course, many of the classroom policies, such as late work, cheating, attendance, and conduct, will probably be unchanged for the most part, since I have written them because I feel they are essential and beneficial to the students. I will try to incorporate as many ideas of the students as possible and will voice to them prior to the activity that I will do so and that although not all ideas may be implemented, all ideas are important for me to hear.
The last aspect of learner-centered teaching that I hope to implement in my own teaching is to let the student's decide what content gets worked on. This is important because not only does it engage the students in the decision making and power process, it also ensures that I cover material that is important and of interest to the class. I still plan to create the basic structure of the course's lectures. However, I had a teacher use this method that I also hope to use in my own teaching. On the first day, the instructor distributed note cards to the students and asked them to write down 1 or 2 ideas/topics that they are most interested in (keeping in mind the class subject). As the TA, I then divided these cards according to chapter, lecture, and an other category. By doing this, the teacher ensures that she is more likely to include the information the students are interested when she writes her lectures.
3. Which aspects of LCT would be difficult or unwise to incorporate in my own teaching?
As stated in the reading, I think the students should not be given all the power. It would be unwise to let the students completely control the syllabus. I stated this earlier, but I would still decide the major aspects of classroom policy (attendance, late, conduct, academic honesty). I feel that this is important because I feel that this is my job as an instructor and that if these policies weren't important to the classroom and learning environment, I wouldn't write them. Learner-Centered Teaching states that it is unethical to transfer a level of power that is inappropriate to the level of student ability to make decisions.
I also feel it would be difficult to involve the student's in the process of deciding the timeline of the classroom. I do not think it would be impossible, and shouldn't be tried, but I do think that incorporating anywhere from 30-500 student opinions and schedules would be extremely difficult. It would be easier with smaller classes, of course, and this will need to be kept in mind when deciding whether or not to implement this idea. Instead, I think I could ask student opinions on whether to keep the deadlines of larger assignments (such as papers) distributed throughout the course or whether to have the 2 required papers due by finals week and allow the students to self-discipline and time manage.
RECOMMENDED LINKS:
No comments:
Post a Comment