Learner Centered Teaching July 2007

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Learner Centered Teaching

Teaching in the absence of

learning is just talking.

Thomas Angelo


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We all learn in different ways

Add 17 + 56 in your head


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We dont all Learn Alike

A--In columns like on paper

BAdded 10 to 56 and 7 to 66

CAdded 20 to 56 and subtracted 3from 76

DRounded 56 to 60 added 17 andsubtracted 4


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Seven Keys to Facilitating Students

Learning in College

1.Recognizing that No employer has as their

priorities for their new college hires-

WANTED good note takers and people who

do great on multiple choice tests!


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Learning in College

2.Learning almost

always happensoutside the

classroom.

.../www.mssa.sailorsite.net/ images/student6.jpg


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Learning in College

3. Giving students some choices and control

over their learning will result in them actively

engaging in their own learning.


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Learning in College

3A.Students control almost nothing about

the teaching and learning processes but

they are the ones doing the learning.

This is a significant obstacle to their

learning.( Maryellen Weimer, Learner-Centered Teaching, 2002)


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Learning in College

4. The more often you explain WHY

Why you want them to learn certain material

Why use a certain learning strategy

Why use a certain problem solving approach

Why I want you to work in groups

Why I want you to be more independent

Why this learning will prepare you for future learning

The more students will see the RELEVANCE of their

educationwhich leads to greater engagement


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Learning in College

5. Assessments that

are not cumulative

in design tell us littleabout what students

have learned.(Robert Bjork, UCLA, Memories and

Metamemories, 1998)

images.crosswaybooks.org/. ../663575727156.jpg


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Learning in College

6.Students have 12or more years ofneural networksfor how schooland learning aresupposed to be.

Changing thesebeliefs will nothappen over night.

www.stevespanglerscience.com/. ../bg/WMCH-100.


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Learning in College

7. We teach much

more than just the

cognitive brain learning is a

social/emotional

process as well.

(John Bransford, How People Learn,

2000)

www.lccs.edu/.../ teens-working%20together.jpg

www.ric-swpa.org/ mellon.jpg


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What do we mean when we say

someone has learned?

Learning is a

change in the

neuro-patterns

of the brain(Ratey, 2002)

www.bris.ac.uk/.../2002/ images/er1.jpg


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Definition of Learning

Robert Bjork, UCLA, Memory and Metamemory

The ability to use information after

significant periods of disuse

And the ability to use the information to

solve problems that arise in a context

different ( if only slightly) from the context

in which the information was originally

used


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The Brain and Learning

The key message

about the brain is this:

The neurons that fire

together wire

together (Hebb, 1949,Ratey 2002)


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Meaning that the more we

repeat the same actions

and thoughts

the more we encourage

the formation of certainconnections

the more fixed the neural

circuits in the brain for

that activity become.

(Ratey, 2002 pg 31)

graphics.fansonly.com/.../ gregg03action.jpg


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Use it or lose it Isthe corollary:

if you dont exercisebrain circuits, theconnections will notbe adaptive and willslowly weaken and

could be lost. (Ratey2002, pg.31)

www.pge.com/.../PGE_dgz/ images/body/1-4bi.jpg


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Teaching to the Brain

The brain is an analog processor,meaning, essentially, that it works byanalogy and metaphor.

It relates whole concepts to oneanother and looks for similarities,

differences, or relationships betweenthem. (Ratey, 2002, pg.5)


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The brain is nothing like a computer-it isnot about bits of data

Instead, the brain is largely composed ofmaps, arrays of neurons that apparentlyrepresent entire objects of perception orcognition, or at least sensory or cognitivequalities of those objects such as color,texture, credibility, or speed.( Ratey, 2002, pg.5)


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Learner-Centered Teaching

Being a learner-centered teacher means focusing attention squarelyon the learning process:

What the student is learning

How the student is learning

The conditions under which the student is learning

Whether the student is retaining and applying the learning

How current learning positions the student for futurelearning.

( Maryellen Weimer, 2002)


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In learner-centered instruction the action focuseson what the students are doing not what theteacher is doing.

Teachers cannot do it for students.

They must set the stage and help out duringrehearsals, but it is up to the students to perform

When they do learn it is the students not theteachers that should receive the accolades

( Maryellen Weimer, 2002)


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Major Elements 1. Engaging students in first hand learning.

Empowers students by providing them with opportunities tofigure things out for themselves

Students learn to believe in the analytical abilities of their ownminds

Students connect with the world around them.

It feeds a learners innate curiosity and the desire to investigatereal phenomena.


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Major Elements 1. Engaging students in first hand learning.

It requires close engagement with the immediate environment.

It generates questions that focus subsequent investigations.

It invites learners to gather and record their observations, toanalyze and interpret them, and to arrive at provisional answers.


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Finally, engaging students in first hand

learning

involves communication of the results of this

investigative process. sharing evidence and discussing findings with

others

This underscores that learning is a social

process. http://www.firsthandlearning.org/about.html


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Major Elements2. Choice and Control

Sharing power creates community

Having choices leads to a sense of controlwhich is at the heart of being human ( James Zull,The Art of Changing the Brain)

Sharing control leads to greater trustbetween teacher and student


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Major Element

3. Building Life Long Learning Skills and

Attitudes

Learning how to learn

Learning how to locate needed information

Learning how to collaborate with others

Learning how solve problems Learning how to transfer knowledge


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Major Elements 4.Ownership of Learning

The feeling that I did it

Builds confidence and self esteem

Learn to take risks

Builds Metacognition I know how I did it


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Major Elements 5. Promotes Relevance

I understand why I need to learn

I understand how this is preparing me for the

future

I understand why I need to be able to learn on

my own

Documents

Learner Centered Teaching July 2007