2. Characteristics of learner-centered instruction
Students are at the center of the learning process
Teachers encourage them to be responsible for their own
learning.
Teachers guide student learning and intervene only
when necessary, so that they do not develop
misconceptions.
Teachers emphasize a deep understanding of both
the content and the processes involved.
Understanding involves explaining, finding evidence,
justifying thinking, providing additional examples.
3. Strategies to use with the Student-Centered
Approach
Cooperative Learning: A general term to designate a
collection of teaching strategies that foster
interaction among students.
In this type of strategy, there are no “winners or losers,”
instead, students are encouraged to work as a team and help
each other learn a common goal.
Group goals, individual accountability and development of
social skills.
Group work
Think-pair-share
Jigsaw
4. Helpful interactions during Cooperative Learning
Listening and questioning.
Encouraging other students to verbalize their understanding
and listening to others.
Checking for understanding.
Asking for elaboration when answers are incomplete.
Staying on task.
Making sure the discussions remain focused and time limits
are met.
Emotional support.
Offering supportive comments for incorrect answers. (e.g. That
is ok, why don’t you try again. )
5. Classroom Discussions
Classroom discussions are instructional strategies
that use teacher-centered and student-centered
interactions as the primary vehicle for higher-level
learning goals.
Characterized by a high interaction among students.
6. Goals for classroom discussions
To understand the connections and relationships
between ideas.
To become an active listener.
To develop leadership skills.
To summarize group opinions.
To develop self-directed learning skills.
To develop analysis, synthesis, and evaluative skills.
To arrive at a consensus.
To handle controversy and different opinions.
7. Planning for a class discussion
It is critical that teachers organize their thoughts
before this activity. Many teachers allow the
discussion to disintegrate into chaos.
Consider a goal. What do you want your students to
understand as a result of this discussion?
Should this activity be implemented in large group or in a
small-group setting? To make this decision consider your
goals.
Consider background and experience of students.
The discussion should elicit a product: list, summary, series of
conclusions, or something concrete can be shared with the
class.
Consider the time allotted for the activity.
8. Implementing
Example on p. 272
In your groups, practice organizing classroom
discussions. Pick a topic from the following list and
consider the time frame, concrete outcomes of the
discussion and lesson goal.
Global warming
Weapons of mass destruction
Privacy issues
Renewable energy
Juvenile crime
Capital punishment
9. Problem-Based Instruction
Problem-based, as its name implies, uses a problem
as a focal point for student investigation and inquiry.
Lessons begin with a problem or a question.
Students assume primary responsibility for investigating
problems, and pursuing questions.
Teacher’s role in this process is primarily facilitative.
Problem-based instruction has three major goals:
To develop students’ ability to systematically investigate a
question or a problem.
To develop self-directed learning.
To understand the content.
10. Problem-Based instruction
Much of the content students learn in problem-based
is implicit and incidental in the sense that the
teacher does not know exactly when the investigation
will proceed.
Because of this, problem-based strategies can be less
effective for teaching content than more teacher-
centered strategies.
However, there is evidence that information learned
in this way is retained longer and transfers better.
11. Inquiry Learning
Inquiry is the process for answering questions and
solving problems based on the logical examination of
facts and observations.
Example on p. 275-278. While you read, try to
identify the following:
Identification of the problem.
Form of hypothesis
Gathering of data
Analyzing data for conclusion
12. Implementation of problem solving
Select the strategy
Indentify the Represent the
problem problem Inquiry Learning
Topic Hypothesis Classroom
Discussion
Carry out the
strategy Evaluate Results
Collect data Conclusions
Analyze data
