Renee,
Good comment. We all have past experiences to draw from and to share with students, and many students can relate to some of these experiences. Keeping the student perspective, among other instructional strategies just makes classes more successful.
Barry Westling
Peter,
I agree. Flexibility, personalization, and working with individual student needs can only contribute to improved student outcomes.
Barry Westling
I believe that if my focus is on students learning (taking their perspective and sorting out what it is that is most relevant to them within all of the material there is to teach), then I have a better chance of helping students understand and process information. It is difficult for students to retain material if it has no meaning to them, so I try to relate everything that I teach back to student's lives (and my own experiences as examples).
It is important to know your students and create your teaching plans based on the types of students you have. This may mean you have to change your teaching style from class to class. Doing this will create the best learning environment for the student and also make it a more enjoyable, and less frustrating teaching experience for the instructor.
Leslie,
Segmented time sounds great. Keeping student interest is enhanced when instructional segments are shorter. I think the more we think as the student thinks, the closer we come to meeting their needs.
Barry Westling
I use several approaches to achieve student centered learning. I keep lectures to a minimum of 15 - 25 minutes in length. Going through an interactive study guide follows. We also go through interactive online test questions that the students help each other with. Students work in groups to answer review questions. With these activities, students are actively involved in the learning process.
Student-centered learning helps them focus on realavent material without having to listen to a long lecture. Varied activities, hopefully motivate the student to learn more, achieve greater satisfaction from what they are learning, and hopefully retain more information for a longer period of time.
The advantages of student centered learning are that it places responsibility for learning on the students, allows the instructor to become more of a facilitator and less of an information giver.
Jason,
The cool thing for me is how I can customize my curriculum to feel that I am really helping students, especially when they expierence difficulties along the way.
Barry Westling
being a student-centered instructor keeps educators on their students and their outcomes. Focusing on students allows an instructor to examine how their material and delivery affect student sucess.
Diane,
It would be wonderful if all instructors shared this sentiment (unfortunately not all do). Some defer to their fixed inflexible curriculum and just hope the students will conform to the preplanned lessons.
Barry Westling
Rita,
Right, and when an instructor is willing to modify their curriculum or delivery methods to cater to individual students, the students benefit not only from increased attention, but also feel more connected to their instructor, thus proting greater trust and respect.
Barry Westling
The entire purpose of teaching is to provide a student with the opportunity to learn. Maintaining the attitude of student-centered teaching is the only way to be a successful teacher and allow the student to be a successful learner.
I believe that it is extremely important to be a student-centered instructor. Your student will retain more information and you will be a much more effective instructor if you have a better understanding of who your students are and how they best learn.
Sokpheap,
Also, pretesting helps the instructor plan their course with emphasis added (or removed) where it may assist students meet the learning objectives better.
Barry Westling
It help you build a rapport with your students and you will gain their trust and respect.
Dionne,
Sure. Our canned curriculum may be wonderful, but if students miss learning the material, then it has all been for naught.
Barry Westling
Student-centered instruction promotes active learning with higher retention. No "talking head".
Leon,
I agree. And, too, when students feel the caring touch of their instructor, their trust and respect for their instructor increases as well.
Barry Westling
Jeanine,
Right! When we focus our efforts on student performance rather than our comfortable packaged curriculum, student performance is likely to improve.
Barry Westling
It will make me more attentive of each student's learning style, needs, strengths and waeknesses.
Leon
Very important since you are committed to the success of each and every student in your class.
You get to know each one well, their learning styles and srength/weaknesses, etc.
And then varied approaches to help each learner succeed.
Leon Guendoo
