Student-centered learning

To deploy student-centered learning, we shall first understand how human beings learn - The basic science of learning

Student-centered learning environments emphasize constructing personal meaning by relating new knowledge to existing conceptions and understandings. It is the central focus of the EMVITET project. To support learning (i.e. helping students reconstruct given information), give students opportunities and support them to solve problems through the use of available resources and tools is one of the ways of designing student-centered instruction. In this sense, technology is seen as a means to promote access to resources and tools that facilitate construction. 

In addition, in the perspective of student-centered learning, learning is seen as a dynamic process of “reflection-in-action” where students are expected to take actions in leading the learning direction, pace and focus. Hence, stimulating students’ reflection & self-regulation become a central focus of learning & teaching. Eportfolio can be a useful tool to stimulate self-reflection and monitoring. By creating their own learning portfolios, students track their progress and difficulties. Such a monitoring process can help them self-regulate their learning behaviour and seek help to reach targets. This DCU presentation offers a brief introduction on what eportfolio is and how it can contribute to student-centered learning.

Extra Resource

In order to help you understand better what “student-centered” learning means,  a few extra readings are recommended. This article discussed the foundations and assumptions of technology-enhanced student-centered learning environments (Hannafin & Land, 1997).  This web information summarized Merrills’s first instructional design principles which suggests that to enable student-centered learning, teachers shall think about various learning activities (demonstration, activating prior knowledge, application and integration) by engaging students in different learning tasks (i.e. solving diverse problems). In the aforementioned webpage, not only the 5 principles are explained, possible applications are also suggested. For more ideas on how to implement Merrill’s design principles to create student-centered learning you can also have a look at this webpage and this article (especially table 1, p.6-8). The above info can provide a solid background and concrete tips for anyone who is interested in adopting student-centered teaching.