Amongst theorists there is considerable disagreement around the effeteness of a student centred approach to teaching and learning. Kirschner, Sweller and Clark (2006) state that student centred, or discovery learning is not an adequate approach to teaching. The main focus of their paper supports the idea that direct instruction is a much more effective approach. They argue “minimal guidance during instruction is significantly less effective and efficient than guidance specifically designed to support the cognitive processing necessary for leaning” (Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006, p. 76). They believe discovery learning ignores the structures that establish human cognitive architecture. Kirschner, Sweller and Clark’s paper does serve as a reminder that student led problem based learning, in some cases, is not the most effective way for learners. While the paper has its strengths, i think that within education learners need a more direct or guided approach to build foundations. Once these foundations are in place, student led learning can be encouraged.
In contrast to Kirschner et al (2006), Ashman and Conway (1997) believe that learning is more than memorising, it is acquiring knowledge through experiences and observations. They are very much believers that discovery learning is key to a learners development, allowing them to solve problems and struggle with new concepts, aiming to build a learners overall understanding, but there is little focus on how you are to help
As her essay promotes the significance of confusion in learning growth, she also is able to indirectly raises the concern in our education system that lacks support from teachers making students suffer intellectually and creatively. “Chickering suggests that an optimum learning climate uses a balance of challenge and support appropriate for each student’s educational level” (Chitwood 231). Education systems lacking supportive demeanors from teachers leave students with an unhealthy amount of confusion and lack of motivation to learn the material. Chitwood acknowledges the idea that a teacher needs an awareness of a student’s ability to be faced with challenges with their support. While emphasizing that confusion is essential in the learning processing, she identifies it as only beneficial when there is a balance between challenge and support. Without this balance, students will become frustrated and unmotivated to learn about the material; if the confusion or challenge is too great then students will not learn. Chitwood’s hidden agenda within this essay involves her pushing towards teachers being more active in class. The hidden agenda adds a deeper purpose to her argument suggesting a broad claim of policy. Arguing that action should be taken with students to motivate them to learn the material aids her main claim. Her value of confusion correlates
It can be argued that the more modalities employed and presented to students, the greater their chance for successful learning becomes. As educators, if we appeal to all strategies of learning, we are more likely to enhance the learning of everyone in our target audience. This may be challenging as we ourselves tend to flock to a particular learning style, and in turn, tend to teach the same way. It also may be a challenge to address each individuals learning style, as it may be difficult, or even impossible to know each and every one of their learning preferences. However, the first step in overcoming that challenge is to be well versed in our own learning preferences. If we are well versed in our own
This way I can be a source of knowledge rather than a teacher who fills the students head with knowledge. This technique should also be able to direct students’ enquiries as well as allow them to ask their own questions and follow what directions their enquiries about Science might take them. My next key learning element would be the value of group work and the peer collaboration between students to enable better understanding about the topic being investigated or the experiment being conducted. My other key learning experience that was gained from this lesson was the determination of what prior learning had the students done on a particular subject so that their constructs can be added to or modified to achieve better scientific results. My thoughts are that, even more careful planning has to go into a design and make (discovery learning) lesson than into a mere investigation through books and the internet. These tasks increase student motivation and the willingness to accept Science as practical, necessary and important in today’s modern
The established higher education model that I tend to gravitate toward and support in my higher education philosophy is the student centered learning theory also sometimes called learner-centered teaching or a student-centered model. The theory of student-centered learning can be contributed to Hayward as early as 1905 and in 1956 to John Dewey (O’Neill and McMahon, n.d.). The student centered model is driven by a need for a change in the traditional educational environment and when incorporated and implemented correctly we will see
After completing the Discovery Wheel and the Learning Style Inventory assignments which are presented by the text book Becoming a Master Student (Ellis, 2006, pp. 78-82), I discovered that I should trust my instinct now more than ever. I’ve always felt most confident when I had a chance to implement my knowledge and understanding in a lab or a real life setting. I learned that facts, figures, and examples are important parts in the way I learn. Breaking something down into smaller units and examining these units individually is something I enjoy doing, but that is not my preferred learning style.
The lack of student centered learning is an issue because of the fact that it is not widely known. Student centered learning is a teaching approach that incorporates participating in self-paced learning programs and/or group scenarios, substituting lectures with active learning, leading up to holding the student responsible for his or her own improvements in education. The focus on this kind of learning could greatly improve our education system in America because it makes the students responsible for their success. The teaching of that type of responsibility will make for a more reliable and advanced generation.
During this final paper, there will be a number of topics discussed. These topics will cover how I personally found a better understanding of my customized learning theory. First, I will go over the Learning Theory and its’ importance. Secondly, I will give a description of an effective teacher and learning environment. Next, I will discuss the different learning characteristics. Finally, I then will give my personal reflection on all the different things I was able to learn during this course. All of these four sections helped build a better understanding on how to be a more effective educator. Most importantly, I gained a better understanding how to build better rapport with students who have all different learning styles and ways of thinking. While managing a classroom, it is highly important to make lessons that will be appealing to the students that you are teaching interest. This will increase engagement and academic learning.
For this “Guided Activity 2” I was asked to write some of the implications of moving away from teacher-centered to student-centered teaching. But, before to start answering to that point I am going to make a brief introduction to explain both approaches. For many years, the teacher-centered approach was the most used method. Taken to its most extreme interpretation, in this method, teachers are the main authority figure. Students receive knowledge from their teachers through lectures and direct instruction, with an end goal of positive results from testing and assessment.
Learning is more than a person sitting at a desk and studying off a book. Everything that we do is a result of what we have learned. We respond to things that happen to us, we act and experience consequences from our behavior, and we observe what others say and do. Psychologists explain our many experiences with basic learning processes.
Students have their own best way in effectively learning the lesson. With the diversity of students, the problem is each student has a preferred learning style. It becomes undeniably one of the reasons that make it difficult to achieve the best expected outcome out of teachers’ effort. However, teachers try to incorporate various teaching techniques to make every learning opportunity become productive, meaningful, and relevant for the learners.
Learning is a multifaceted perception unique to each individual. In looking to address the intricacies of learning, there have been a multitude of learning theories established over the centuries. To this day new theories are developed and traditional theories continue to be developed and expanded upon. (Swinburne Online, 2016)
Learning, as defined by Slavin (2012), is “a change in an individual caused by experience” (p. 116). Learning can occur intentionally or unintentionally. All learning, however, is stimulated by something that is the learner (student) has encountered. As an instructor, your goal every day is to use the right stimuli to capture the student’s attention so they can absorb the knowledge you are trying to share.
There are several ways that student-centered learning can be described, and they all lead back to the same basic idea, the student. First, student-centered learning can be defined as a discipline that involves the interaction of a team of students that experience creative learning to be used in the real world (Thornburg, 1995). Thornburg (1995) also mention that students are essential to the classroom, just like a team member is essential to a game. He says that teachers are part of the definition of student-centered learning, but they are not the main attraction. The students are the focus, and the teacher is the one who can assist among small groups of students. Eaton
Learning is on a continuum that does not stop but constantly changes and develops for both teachers and students. Learning is more than memorizing facts; it is about
Education has long been the center of reform with new ideas about learning and teaching. Educators are regularly introduced to new teaching strategies, curricula and rigorous standards in an effort to provide effective instruction to students. However, the pursuit of proficiency in mathematics and reading through the use of research-based methods requires an understanding of the learning models and theories that both drive instruction and learning in the classroom. In this paper I will address the evolution of ideas about learning and teaching in education as well as address the shifts in learning in the 21st century.