I want everyone to think of their FAVORITE class ever…now think why was that your favorite class?

Was it because of the subject? The teacher? Or how it was ran?

My favorite class was a biology class my freshman year of college. First time ever, I walk into the class with massive TV screens, tables in a circle, smart boards at every table, and chairs around the tables. All I kept thinking was…did I just walk into first grade??Every single day the teacher gave us a topic/assignment and away we went with it. We decided how we wanted to present our findings via the smart board, TV, or an oral presentation. Class was never boring and moved along quite quickly. I came from a very small high school, my graduating class was only twenty-two, we never had the opportunity for this. Now after the fact, I think the class size I had would have been perfect for this. It just takes the right mindset from the instructor and institution to make it work.

At first, I was so lost and felt like my whole thought process of how I learn was crashing like the ocean into the rocks. I thought this was a lazy way for the professor not to have to do anything, but did my way of thinking change quite fast. After only a couple weeks, I was always so excited for this class, never missed it, felt more bonded to class and felt more included, like I was needed there for my group.

Being student-centered does not mean, however, that a teacher gives up organizational and leadership responsibilities completely. It only means a relative shift in the teacher’s role, toward one with more emphasis on guiding students’ self-chosen directions.

Seifert and Sutton (2009)

Student centered learning (SCL), I thought, was a modern way to include technology, but also a way to get our nose out of our phones. Everyone thinks of  SCL linking to Dewey’s work in the 50s, but Hayward actually came up with the concept back in 1905 in a non-educational concept though( Attard, A., Di Loero, E., Geven, K. and Santa, R. (2010).

I soon realized that everyone in my group liked doing things very differently. We had people who had to read the material six times, others would write out what they read, and others used physical materials to learn. This is where student-centered learning really helps, EVERYONE is able to explore different options and use what works for them. This gave everyone the freedom to learn their own way, but learn what others like.

We were given the responsibility of how we learn and what we want to do with it. Being able to learn from peers and the ability to show our professor how we understand the material, not how they think we should understand it. The whole concept changed what I thought a classroom was.

“..student-centered typically refers to forms of instruction that, for example, give students opportunities to lead learning activities, participate more actively in discussions, design their own learning projects, explore topics that interest them, and generally contribute to the design of their own course of study. Additionally, student-centered instruction is often associated with classrooms that feature desks arranged in circles or small groups (rather than rows of desks that face the teacher), with “self-guided” or “self-paced” learning, or with learning experiences that occur outside of traditional classroom settings..”

Partnership, G. (2014)

A big concern that I have noticed people wonder about is how do we teach student-centered learning with certain subjects such as politics, English, etc. this video really shows that it is possible to find a way. At the very end, seeing all the different stats can show how SCL is beneficial to not only the student, but the school district as well. There are so many ways that SCL can be included even if the classroom is not set up for that educational setting. Here are several ways to incorporate SCL into the classroom.

“Is it within my potential?”

Ayla Postelnek

Ayla Postelnek speaks about her personal story with student-centered learning and explains very well why and how it can be beneficial.

What is your favorite student-centered learning method?

Attard, A., Di Loero, E., Geven, K. and Santa, R. (2010). Student-Centred Learning: Toolkit for students, staff and higher education institutions. [online] Esu-online.org. Available at: https://www.esu-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SCL_toolkit_ESU_EI.compressed.pdf 

Edutopia (2017). Student-Centered Learning: Building Agency and Engagement. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXS5FnaWyDk&feature=youtu.be

Kelvin Seifert & Rosemary Sutton. (2009). Educational Psychology, 2nd Ed.

Partnership, G. (2014). Student-Centered Learning Definition. [online] The Glossary of Education Reform. Available at: https://www.edglossary.org/student-centered-learning/ 

Postelnek, A. (2017). The Power of Potential: Student Centered Learning | Ayla Postelnek | TEDxYeshivaUniversity. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI1GtWRI55A

Staff, T. and MacMeekin, M. (2019). 28 Student-Centered Instructional Strategies –. [online] TeachThought. Available at: https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/28-student-centered-instructional-strategies/