Hi Ramona:
One of the things instructors should keep in mind to promote this attitude is the idea of being flexible - for example, if the learning environment allows, one way to be flexible is to have discussion sessions to allow the students to talk out the ideas in hopes of helping them gain better understanding.
Regards, Barry
Hi Nancy:
To expand on a comment you made, to meet the student's needs, an instructor needs to embrace the concept of flexibility. Ideally, every learning environment would allow the use of different learning methods in support of this idea. Unfortunately, the reality is this is not plausible for every learning topic or situation.
Regards, Barry
Hi Ramona:
You are describing the essence of this philosophy very well. Essentially, the instructor would act in a flexible way to allow the student enough time to absorb new information, say with discussion activities. Of course, this is not always plausible for every learning situation.
Regards, Barry
Hi Michael:
One of the ways an instructor can be sure to be student centered involves the idea, concept, and philosophy of FLEXIBILITY.
While not completely practical for every learning environment, being willing to change up the flow of class and try new things can only serve the student's learning in the end.
Regards, Barry
Hi Ralph:
That's very true - instructor's should ideally be flexible enough to see when something isn't working, to change up the activity or energy of the class, and try new things.
Regards, Barry
Hi Terry:
Group work is also nice because it may offer a less threatening view point about the topic matter when it comes from a fellow classmate than from the instructor.
Regards, Barry
Hi Ralph:
True, student-centered teaching isn't always practical due tot he time element, and the need to conform to an outline. However, even just keeping this philosophy in mind when teaching may help an instructor be more effective.
Regards, Barry
The great John Dewey once said, " if learners ca not learn the way we teach then we should teach the way they learn". Education revolves around the learner. After all an educators primary goal is to educate. To educate is to coach, cultivate, inform and improve others. Being a student centered instructor affords the opportunity for me to experience learner success currently on a daily basis.
Hi Rebekah:
The methods you are describing here are basically showing us that the best way to be "student centered" is a combination of accounability on the student's end mixed with flexibility and keeing the student's needs foremost in mind on the instructor's end.
Regards, Barry
I agree, students see the instructor as genuine when they listen and try to be flexible with learning abbilities of the students in their class. This is so important to know who you are teaching and what they need. Experiances differ in everyone and every experiance shapes where we are going.
Hi Meg:
You're so correct - as instructors, we need ot always be mindful that the student's needs are being met. One of the best ways to analyze this is in the outcomes from evaluations. If the students are having poor outcomes, maybe there is something else we can do as an instructor to meet their needs.
Regards, Barry
Hi Sandy:
These concepts you are describing are a great way of having the student's interest always in mind.
The term "flexibility" comes to mind as well.
Regards, Barry.
Gary, I agree 100%. I remember having a teacher whose only concern was that we follow her example and do everything the way she did it. She wasn't student centered at all and I was determined not to be like her.
I taught for years in an indiviualized program and therefore I lean more to getting my students wherever they are and trying to reach the final destination. For some that means a lot of tutoring and individual attention but it is worth it in the end.
Hello!
One of the nice things about feedback is that similar to keeping a teaching journal that reflects what works and what doesn't, the direct feedback can help us make changes in course content that may be more successful for future classes.
Regards, Barry
Hi Nancy:
I like the idea of thinking about the student as a customer. We can also think about them as our "product" as well. What do you want your product to be able to do for their future customers?
Regards, Barry
Hi Walter:
Yup! For me, student centered means we try (as best as possible) to put the individual student learning needs ahead of our fixed, unchanging way we want to do things or are most comfortable with. In doing so, we've "individulaized" the instruction and made the learning process align closer to how each student learns best.
Regards, Barry
Hi Barry:
Great! You're engaging and involving students, fostering original thought and critical thinking, and keeping the class attention and interest. That's a fun way to have a class conducted.
Regards, Barry
It goes with understanding the motivations of the adult learner...I have found ( early in my career ) that you cannot use a "cookie cutter" or "recipe" approach for all your classes...a good instructor will assess his class early and adapt future assignments and assessments to his/her class...I have found that my students like to hear anecdotes from my work 'life', so I include them...that's something I may not do in another class..
In the Genaral Forum of each class, I encourage students to suggest topics which they find of most interest.
In teaching Food Science this allows me to emphasize topics where the students ahve already shown interest or need for improvement.
Then in both forum entries and class discussion, I ask other students for their input, so that we can all see the idease and concerns from multiple perspectives.
