Teaching Methods: Learner-centered Teaching

In learner-centered teaching, the focus is on the student as learner, on improving student learning and success, rather than on the transmission of information. The articles and websites below first introduce and define learner-centered teaching. The following links present the theory and research that support the learner-centered approach and offer classroom strategies to achieve it. The final two articles approach learner-centered teaching from an institutional perspective, as a paradigm shift throughout the university.

Definition of "Learner Centered" (University of Oregon, Teaching Effectiveness Program).
Defines learner-centered teaching.
Link: http://tep.uoregon.edu/workshops/teachertraining/learnercentered/overview/definitions.html

Learner-Centered Psychological Principles (American Psychological Association).
Fourteen principles pertaining to learners and the learning process. Includes cognitive and metacognitive factors, motivational and affective factors, developmental and social factors, and individual differences.
Link: http://www.apa.org/ed/lcp2/lcp14.html

"Navigating the Bumpy Road to Student-Centered Instruction," Richard M. Felder (North Carolina State University) and Rebecca Brent (East Carolina State University).
Discusses the inevitable "bumps" in trying to institute student-centered instruction from both the student and faculty point of view. Provides responses to faculty concerns over this approach to teaching and learning with specific suggestions for overcoming them.
Link: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/Resist.html

"Review and Summary of Learner-Centered Teaching by Maryellen Weimer," Bill Peirce, Coordinator of Reasoning across the Curriculum.
This site provides a complete summary of Weimer's 2002 publication by Jossey-Bass. Describes her five key changes to practice, principles to guide instructors who wish to move toward learner-centered teaching, challenges, strategies, and assessment issues.
Link: http://academic.pg.cc.md.us/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/weimer.htm

33 Ways to Make Your Classroom More Learner-Centered. Adapted from Weimer, 2002. (University 0f Oregon, Teaching Effectiveness Program).
Specific methods that promote learner-centered instruction.
Link: http://tep.uoregon.edu/workshops/teachertraining/learnercentered/overview/33ways.html

"The Learner-Centered Syllabus: From Theory to Practice in Allied Health Education," Kimberly S. Peer (Kent State University) and Malissa Martin (College of Mount St. Joseph). (International Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, Vol. 3, No. 2).
Suitable for all disciplines, this article discusses the paradigm shift from teaching to learning and describes the elements of a syllabus that focuses on student learning.
Link: http://ijahsp.nova.edu/articles/vol3num2/peer.htm

"From Teaching to Learning: A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education," Robert B. Barr and John Tagg (Palomar College, San Marcos California). Article reprinted from Change magazine, November/December 1995, pp.13-25.
This article discusses the paradigm shift now taking hold in higher education from the traditional "Instruction Paradigm" to a "Learning Paradigm." Outlines principles and elements of the Learning Paradigm, its relationship to student outcomes assessment, and its implications for higher education institutions.
Link: http://critical.tamucc.edu/~blalock/readings/tch2learn.htm

"Learner-Centered Outcomes in Subject-Centered Institutions: Metaphors for Muggle Learning," Leon Fulcher (Zayed University, Abu Dhabi).
Discusses learner-centered teaching from an international perspective, using the Harry Potter literature of J. K. Rowling as metaphors describing the changes needed for learner-centered teaching to occur at the university level.
Link: http://www.zu.ac.ae/lthe/vol1/lthe01_05.pdf