A presentation delivered in a in the EU-CONEXUS international staff training week. EU-CONEXUS is one of the 17 European Universities funded by the European Commission’s flagship European Universities Initiative. It gathers 6 leading universities focusing on smart urban coastal sustainability.

1. EU-CONEXUS International Staff Training Week
15 June 2020
How to Develop a Teaching and
Learning Ecosystem That Is
Truly Student-Centred?

2. About me
Mantas Pupinis
Research Manager
PPMI

3. Manja Klemenčič
(Harvard University),
Mantas Pupinis (PPMI),
Greta Kirdulytė (PPMI)
Peer reviewer: Sabine
Hoidn, University of St.
Gallen

4. Achievements of the report
1.It maps notable real-world practices of student-centred
learning and teaching
2.By reviewing recent, top-level academic research on the
subject, it puts into context the practices that have been
mapped
3.Provides a self-assessment tool that enables higher
education institutions to assess the existence and effectiveness
of student-centred learning and teaching elements

5. Student-centred learning and teaching is founded
on the concept of…
Student agency
vs.
student engagement or student satisfaction
student satisfaction and student engagement may be also achieved within a teacher-centred paradigm

6. Student agency
Student-centred learning and teaching primarily concerns the capability
of students to participate in, influence and take responsibility for
their learning pathways and environments, in order to have a
transformative learning experience and thus achieve the expected
learning outcomes.

7. A shift in focus
From what
teachers
teach…
…to what
students
learn
Student-centred paradigmTeacher-centred paradigm

8. Function
of content
Learning
outcome
s
Supportive
environments
Self-
regulatio
n and
reflection
Role of
assess
ment
Student
agency
and
autonom
y
Balance of
power
between
student
and
teacher
Role of
teacher
Function
of
learning
Role of
student
Respon
sibility
for
learning
Areas
where we
can feel
the
change

9. Student-centred learning and teaching
Classroom
practice
Ecosystem
with many
elements
NOT ONLY RATHER

11. (Institutional) policies, rules and regulations
Institutional
governance
Funding for
SCLT: PBF,
project funding
Specific initiatives
on advancement
of SCLT
Institution-wide
policy on SCLT
Data on SCLT
gathered to
support decisions
Integrated with
other policies
Hiring, promotion,
remuneration
considers SCLT
Strategic
leadership
Guidelines for
student conduct,
involvement
EU and national policies

12. Would you say that the
following factors had an
influence on the recent
changes in your
institution’s internal
quality assurance?
Please assess the extent
of the influence.

13. Curriculum and pedagogy: do learning outcomes…
02
01
03
04
… aim at “decoding” the disciplinary,
subject-specific knowledge, model
knowledge expert practices of inquiry and
scaffold student adoption of these
practices?
… enable students to connect lived
experiences to disciplinary
knowledge by solving discipline-specific
or real-world problems?
… reflect gradual progression towards
the upper level of the Bloom’s taxonomy
of learning objectives(i.e. apply, analyse,
evaluate, create)?
… lead students from more directed
instruction in foundational courses
towards more independent learning
and independent knowledge
construction?

14. Peer to
peer
Collabo
rative
Enquiry
-based
Project-
based
Technol
ogy-
enhanc
ed
Differen
tiated
Self-
regulated
Design-
based
Commu
nity-
based
Flipped
classroo
m
Proble
m-
based
High-
impact
classroo
m
practices

15. Implications of student-centred curriculum and pedagogy
- Responsibility for learning shifts from teacher to students
- The teacher’s role shifts from lecturer to facilitator
- Changes occur in the beliefs, habits, roles, and power structures
(mindset) of teachers as well as in their teaching methods and
strategies (practice)
- A shift occurs in the relationship between teachers and students,
with both becoming partners and co-learners who communicate,
cooperate and collaborate

16. Student-centred assessment
More frequent, in
different forms: peer to
peer, self-assessment,
quizzes
Formative feedback,
rather than
summative
Reflects progress in
terms of Bloom’s
taxonomy, connects to
other fields Reflects learning
outcomes
Possibility to
learn from
mistakes, repeat

17. Flexible learning pathways: what, how, when and where to learn
Pathways
Mobility
Recognition
Self-designed
programme
Flexible entry routes
Flexible delivery
modes
Preventing dropout
How to exercise
flexibility
Across
programmes
Of prior learning
Alternative credentials
Comparable course in
other programmes
Evening classes
Flexible
schedules
Combining
education, work,
family
Guidance
Flexibility

18. Learning and teaching support
• Learning support services
• How accessible?
• How are they linked to study programmes, courses?
• How is the effectiveness of these services monitored,
measured?
• Mind the diversified student body, vulnerable students
Learning support
• Professional development opportunities for teaching staff
• Adequate workload, working conditions, which allow for
professional development
• Recognise teaching excellence
• Unit offering support for teachers, including advice on
classroom practices
• Sharing experiences with colleagues, in-house learning
• Teaching preparation programme
Teaching support

20. Active learning spaces…
• Movable furniture
• Writing surfaces (digital?)
• Integrated information technologies
• Acoustics and lighting
• Air quality
• Temperature and ventilation
• Encourage cognitively active learning
• Seamless transition between different learning
activities: lecture, group work

21. … and academic libraries
• Variety of services
• How well resourced?
• With integrated active learning spaces, meeting rooms
• Opinion of students included in re-design solutions
• Direct link between study programmes and library
support
• Common services with learning and teaching support
• Data collected on library use, satisfaction

22. Learning technologies infrastructure
A
B
C
D
Training for teachers and students on
how to use technology
What technology support is available
for students and teachers?
Programmes and courses offer online
or blended learning
Incentives for using technology to
enhance learning

23. Community learning connections
Institutional level: intra-institutional
partnerships with research units,
entrepreneurship centres, innovation labs,
visiting scholar roles for practitioners,
partnerships with local community
Inter-institutional domestic level: joint
programmes, student and staff exchanges,
joint projects, sharing of learning ant
teaching resources with others
Inter-institutional international level
(same activities as below)
System level: partnerships with
independent research centres, businesses,
non-profit organisations

24. Quality
assurance at an
institution
Data is
publicly
available
Who reports
to whom,
who decides
about quality
Clear list of
data to be
collected
Responsible
unit,
commitment
to SCLT
Students and
other
stakeholders
are involved
Relationship
s to the
national and
EU policies

25. For the most part, we are still living in a teacher-
centred paradigm
- Deteriorating (?) working conditions in higher education: increased teaching
workloads, expanding class sizes
- Recruitment and promotion policies favour research over teaching
- Declining investment and job security in tertiary education
- Increase in the number of bureaucratic tasks for instructors
- Strong tradition of teacher-centred practices
- Terminology we use: “going to a lecture”

26. Student-centred
learning and
teaching is firmly
embedded in the
EU policy agenda –
it is the way to go!

27. Thank You
PPMI Group UAB Gedimino ave. 50, LT-
01110 Vilnius, Lithuania
www.ppmi.lt

28. Speaker
Mantas Pupinis
Research Manager
PPMI
mantas.pupinis@ppmi.lt