Learner-centered teaching (LCT)
Based on readings by McKeachie in his Teaching Tips text and the Learner-Centered Teaching excerpt, I think LCT is about power balance and motivations for learning shared between the teacher and students. As the Learner-Centered Teaching excerpt concluded in the very beginning, today's students are not self-motivated or very confident. So, it is up to the teachers to teach in a way that motivates the students to learn. Knowing the motivational theories McKeachie discussed can change the way one teaches a great deal. I think each motivational theory can be applied to any classroom with diverse students. Within my first week of teaching I noticed that some students are motivated by different things when some students always questioned if they should be taking notes or if specific bits of information would be on the test. I also had some students that didn't take any notes but were very engaged in discussion or the activities we did. Now knowing that these are known as extrinsic and intrinsic motivations respectively, I can tell which students are here just for the grade and which are genuinely interested.
As McKeachie suggests, giving students a sense of autonomy, or letting them be in charge of what is happening in the class in regard to due dates, topic selection etc. is sharing the power of teaching with them. This power will help motivate them to do the work and learn because they made a decision about it. When the student gets a bad grade, they then are more likely to blame themselves because they chose the topic. If students feel they played a part in shaping the course, they will be more engaged and eager to learn, according to the Learner-Centered Teaching excerpt.
An example of learner-centered teaching in regards to my definition above could be:
A classroom with many students that learn better by application and visual representation of the material. If I were to practice learner-centered teaching, I would early in the course ask the students how they could best show their understanding. Many students would add a project or presentation instead of only three exams. I would then allow the students the power to eliminate a test and add in a project that they are allowed to choose their own topic and they would be motivated to learn because they had some power in choosing a major assignment.
Incorporating Learner-Centered Teaching
While I do believe it is important to accommodate all students in the classroom, I do not think it is OK to compromise the teacher's sense of power and control in the class. Giving students some control will make the teacher seem more human and open to change, which can be comforting as a student. There is no reason why students should go to class fearing their teacher's power like I did in some of my undergrad classes. I think LCT can be more easily incorporated into fields such as communication, psychology, sociology, and the like because there are more options on how to learn the material. I think letting students choose assignments or projects is more practical to show their understanding compared to classes such as biology or chemistry as the Learner Centered Teaching article suggested on page 45 that some classes will always remain in full control of the professor. I would not want future doctors or pharmacists deciding they didn't need to be tested over a chapter of human anatomy and physiology! However, I will try to incorporate the following suggestions McKeachie offered:
- Giving motivational feedback and suggestions for improvement on extrinsic rewards (graded assignments). Giving feedback will motivate students by seeing what they did well and how they can improve. It can be disheartening to get something back that you worked very hard on with only a grade and no justification for that grade.
- Showing my motivation for assignments - by telling the students what my motivations are behind giving an assignment will leave them less likely to think I gave it just as busy work. When the students know what they are supposed to get out of an assignment, they may be more motivated to give it their best attempt and be able to remember and apply the information. Also, if I am excited about an assignment, the students may also feel this way.
- Give feedback often to promote mastery through revision - This is something I want to incorporate immediately. My students seem to be missing points on the same things over and over again. To overcome this, I will start having students do peer reviews or perhaps I can take a look at rough drafts to catch these mistakes students might not even know they are making. If you do not bring attention through revision, some students will just keep making the same mistakes over and over. I think I am doing a good job of looking at the students' work, but they have not taken the corrections into account because I have not emphasized them to take advantage of my feedback yet.
- I will definitely try in most situations to let students choose their own topics. I cannot think of a time when I was given a topic to research or do a project on that I enjoyed completely. The freedom to choose something that interests you is always motivating and keeps you wanting to work on your project. For most projects, you spend a lot of time getting to know your topic so if a student does not like it, they may be less likely to put the time and effort into it. I think in the end if a student receives negative feedback, they then are more likely to attribute it to themselves for choosing a tricky topic rather than the teacher being poor or having other motives for giving a bad grade.
- Lastly, I would like to just be a good teacher, as McKeachie suggests. Being a good teacher will make students want to come to class and engage. Matching learning styles was suggested in the chapter regarding culturally diverse students, but I think that applies for all students. Being concrete, conversational and accessible to the students will allow me to give some of my power to the students in a way that I still have control.
Things I will NOT be incorporating:
- While I stated above, I do think it is important to let students make some decisions regarding the class, I don't think I would let students choose the textbook in the class. The text should be chosen long before the class begins. The only sharing of power in textbook selection that I can think of is previewing a few texts for feedback with current students that will be used in the upcoming semester with new students. Ultimately, I believe that the power of deciding what content the students learn in the classroom (as discussed in the Learner-Centered Teaching excerpt) should be left up to the teacher.
- I would never leave the syllabus up to the students to help me with in the way suggested in the readings. In class we are learning how much time goes into make a syllabus and how important objectives and policies are. Teachers have a credibility to hold up and not having a completed syllabus would annoy me as a student. I would be grateful for being able to give input, but I think the teacher should know what they want to teach and what the students are responsible for learning. Having students decide course objectives, assignments, and due dates is giving away too much power. A syllabus is created as a contract for learning. A syllabus can always be eased up on as the semester goes on, but in the beginning must be concrete. If the syllabus is too vague as student input could result in, students will say they had alternative meanings when they created it and try to find holes in the policies to slip through with their excuses.
I think the text has given me a good idea of what learner-centered teaching is and how I would and would not incorporate this strategy into my teaching. I think ultimately, time and experience in diverse classrooms will give me even more ideas of what works and does not work when allocating power to students and helping each of them individually achieve in a diverse class.
More Motivating Students Tips
These tips are taken from Barbara Gross Davis' 1993 book, Tools for Teaching.
Are We Giving Students Too Much Power Over Teachers
This article addresses grade inflation, parent responsibility, and the impact of giving students power in the classroom.
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