A fundamental aspect of teaching has been the way teachers arrange the classroom environment so students can interact and learn while also, the instructional strategies teachers use help shape learning environments and represent professional conceptions of learning and of the learner. With increased internationalization, growing knowledge-intensive work, and increasing use of information technology, schools are required to produce graduates who do not only possess relevant knowledge but also interpersonal relations and communication skills, ability to work in various contexts, and information literacy skills (Gravoso, Pasa, Labra, & Mori, 2008).
Some instructional strategies consider students empty vessels to be filled under the firm direction of the teacher, other strategies regard them as active participants learning through inquiry and problem-solving, still others tell children they are social organisms learning through dialogue and interaction with others. Teaching methods can be defined as the methods in which a teacher delivers his or her subject matter to students, based on pre-determined instructional objectives, in order to promote learning in the students (Uwameiye & Ojikutu, 2008).
According to Smaldino, Heinich, Molenda and Russell (2008), teacher-centered instructional strategies are those directed specifically by the teacher who is the focus and who serves to direct the learning in very purposeful ways. Teacher-centered instruction is the traditional approach of teaching a lesson in front of a classroom and it involves planning for instruction, implementing the instructional plan, and evaluating students’ learning toward the instructional objectives (Para eLink, 2009b). Teacher-centered instructional approaches are more traditional and didactic, and students are passive recipients of information who acquire knowledge by listening to the teacher, by reading a textbook, or both (Uwameiye & Ojikutu, 2008). Moreover, teacher-centered instruction is useful for conveying new information and materials to small or large groups at one time and it literally means that the teacher is the person who is imparting knowledge or information to the student and the student is the receiver of this knowledge (Para eLink, 2009b). Examples of teacher-centered approaches include lecture, Socratic questioning, team-teaching, and demonstration (Uwameiye & Ojikutu, 2008). As Halperin stated, with the teacher-centered model, “students sit quietly, passively, receiving words of wisdom being professed by the lone instructor in front of the class” (Catalano, G.D. & Catalano, K., 1999, p.1).
As reported in Para eLink (2009b), three methods of teacher-centered instruction can be used: (a) direct teaching, which is a traditional way to provide instruction for the mastery of skills and which requires that the teacher understands the overall content as well as the appropriate order of knowledge and tasks required for students to learn and master the subjects they are studying; (b) assisted learning, that is based on the theory that students should be guided and directed by teachers toward attaining knowledge and learning principles in a subject matter without having to discover them on their own; and (c) reciprocal teaching, which is an instructional method focused on the comprehension of reading material and students are taught to comprehend reading material based on a model of analysis demonstrated by the teacher while also, this method is dependent upon developing an active dialogue between the teacher and the students to discuss points of clarification.
According to Smaldino et al. (2008), student-centered instructional strategies are those oriented to meeting student needs and in which the teacher serves as a facilitator, offering guidance as students engage in learning activities and experiences that are directed by the students. Student-centered instruction emphasizes students’ efforts to learn by regulating the flow of knowledge constructed from available material while also student-centered instruction requires the teacher to exercise appropriate guidance to nurture students’ interests and academic growth according to their abilities (Para eLink, 2009a).
Student-centered strategies focus on the student directing the learning situation while also, the teacher still is responsible for planning and developing lessons that focus on the student at the center of the learning while also in general, the teacher’s role shifts to that of facilitating the learning and helping students to focus on achieving the intended outcomes (Smaldino et al., 2008). Student-centered approaches to instruction provide a learning environment that invites students to actively participate in, and help to shape, their own learning experiences (Uwameiye & Ojikutu, 2008). Moreover, student-centered approaches to teaching and learning stress the importance of students’ past experiences, exploring individual needs and interests, promoting active participation, stimulating higher-order thinking and encouraging life-long learning (Hirumi, 2002).
Examples of student-centered approaches are discussion, debate, role-playing, discovery, inquiry, simulations, individualized and independent study (Uwameiye & Ojikutu, 2008). In student-centered learning, technologies should shift their role from being conveyors of information to a means for engaging students in thinking and specifically, technologies should be used to pose problems to students, provide information resources, as a social medium to support learning through collaboration and interaction (Gravoso et al., 2008). The most student-centered approach is a problem-based instruction in which students work actively and independently on problems that interest them and this requires an environment that is open and safe for asking questions, forming hypotheses, and sharing ideas while also, the teacher’s role is to pose problems, ask questions, facilitate investigation and dialogue, and provide support for learning.
As reported in Para eLink (2009a), the following three methods of student-centered instruction can be used: (a) inquiry learning, which is an instructional method that is student-centered, yet teachers generally maintain direction and control over how learning takes place while also, inquiry learning begins with the teacher presenting new materials to the students and students then develop and explore approaches to solutions by themselves; (b) constructivist approach, which focuses on a student’s performance and understanding rather than the measurement of skills and knowledge, while also this approach, asks students to construct new levels of understanding and in general, with this approach students build on prior knowledge to explore and construct new perspectives and meaning; and (c) situated learning, that relies on the students’ unique experience in the learning process and it emphasizes that the curriculum is centered on real-life situations while also, one underlying goal of situated-learning is to engage students in real, simulated, or conceptual situations.
Comparing teacher-centered and student-centered instructional strategies some differences are found to exist, some of which are next mentioned and discussed. In the teacher-centered instruction, knowledge primarily comes form the teacher who is the major source of information while on the other hand, in the student-centered instruction, knowledge is the combined efforts of the teacher and the student and specifically, under the guidance of the teacher, the students synthesize the gathered information using problem solving, critical thinking, and inquiry skills (Markusic, 2009). In a student-centered approach, the student is at the center of attention while in the teacher-centered model, the teacher is the focus while also, active learning is more likely to occur in the student-centered model and passive learning is more likely to result in a teacher-centered model (Catalano, G.D. & Catalano, K., 1999). In the teacher-centered approach, teaching strategies are usually that of the lecture or exposition type and much emphasis is placed on the faster pace and greater bulk of knowledge transmitted from teacher to student but on the other hand, in the student-centered instruction, greater emphasis is given on the meaningfulness of knowledge and students acquire knowledge to address real-life issues and problems (Markusic, 2009).
Moreover, in the teacher-centered classroom, students receive knowledge passively, while in the student-centered classroom, the students are actively involved in seeking out knowledge (Markusic, 2009). As Gravoso et al. (2008) supported, the teacher-centered approach only promotes misconceptions and inert knowledge, a form of knowledge that can be recalled when prompted but cannot be applied in practical situations while on the other hand, the student-centered approach, building on students’ current knowledge and abilities, enhances the development of higher-order skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving, while also, this method enables students to acquire knowledge that transfers to unique and novel situations. Furthermore, the fundamental purpose of conducting assessment in a teacher-centered classroom is similar to that of the student-centered classroom and that is to increase the effectiveness of instruction in the classroom, however, the approaches to conducting assessments are different in these two paradigms (Markusic, 2009).
Apart from these, the tools used for assessment in the teacher-centered instruction, are those that clearly delineate the right answer from the other answers while on the contrary, in the student-centered classroom, the importance of right answers is overshadowed by the importance of creating better questions and thus, assessment tools vary to embrace the multiple facets of learning and besides paper tests, there will be portfolios, performance tests, and others (Markusic, 2009). In addition, student-centered instruction helps students take more responsibilities and initiative and requires them to use more creativity than teacher-centered instruction (Para eLink, 2009a). Moreover, student-centered methods have repeatedly been shown to be superior to the traditional teacher-centered approaches to instruction, a conclusion that applies whether the assessed outcome is short-term mastery, long-term retention, or depth of understanding of course material, acquisition of critical thinking or problem-solving skills, formation of positive attitudes toward the subject being taught, or level of confidence in knowledge or skills (Felder, n.d).
Each teacher has his or her own teaching philosophy and some teachers have eclectic teaching philosophies to enable them to choose the best features of major pedagogic systems of beliefs but whichever philosophy is supported by the teacher, it should respond to the needs of the students and today, when students are no longer viewed as tabula rasa, that teaching philosophy should be student-centered (Markusic, 2009). The emphasis of today’s instruction in the classroom is to shift teaching strategies, classroom discipline, and classroom assessments from the teacher-centered paradigm to the student-centered paradigm (Markusic, 2009). Shifting the center of attention of classroom activities from the teacher to the student metaphorically seems to be a significant paradigm shift in education (Catalano, G. D. & Catalano, K., 1999). But as Mdagana et al. stated: “the success in the use of the method depends on an intelligent analysis of the educational purpose, the pupils in the class, the curriculum content of the moment or the type of subject matter being taught” (Uwameiye & Ojikutu, 2008, ¶ 7).
References
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Education Encyclopedia (n.d) Instructional Strategies. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from http://www.answers.com/topic/instructional-strategies
Felder, R. (n.d) Student-Centered Teaching and Learning. Retrieved September 11, 2009, from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Student-Centered.html
Gravoso, R.S., Pasa, A.E., Labra, G.B. & Mori, T. (2008) Design and Use of Instructional Materials for Student-Centered Learning: A Case in Learning Ecological Concepts. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 17(1). Retrieve September 11, 2009, from http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:OPV1FbQJieMJ:www.philjol.info/index.php/TAPER/article/viewPDFInterstitial/353/306+Design+and+Use+of+Instructional+Materials+for+Student-Centered+Learning:+A+Case+in+Learning+Ecological+Concepts.&hl=en
Hirumi, A. (2002) Student-Centered, technology-rich learning environments (SCenTRLE): operationalizing constructivist approaches to teaching and learning. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-96416239/student-centered-technology-rich.html
Markusic, M. (2009) Instruction Paradigms: Learner-Centered versus Teacher-Centered. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from http://www.brighthub.com/education/special/articles/5486.aspx
Para eLink (2009a) Student-Centered Instruction. Retrieved September 11, 2009, from http://ici2.umn.edu/elink/91mrw92mrw/c91mrw92mrw_2.html
Para eLink (2009b) Teacher-Centered Instruction. Retrieved September 11, 2009, from http://ici2.umn.edu/elink/91mrw92mrw/c91mrw92mrw_1.html
Smaldino, S., Heinich, R., Molenda, M., & Russell, J. (2008) Instructional technology and media for learning. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Uwameiye, R. & Ojikutu, R.A. (2008) Effect of Team Teaching on the Academic Achievement of Students in Introductory Technology. Retrieved September 11, 2009, from http://itdl.org/Journal/Oct_08/article05.htm
