SAN JOSE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Education Department
San Jose, Malilipot, Albay

Output in
Prof. Ed. 5:
Facilitating Learner-
centered Teaching

Prepared by:

Angelou C. Bacolod
Teaching Methods
Module 1
(Prelim)
Unit 1: Learner-centered teaching: Foundation and Characteristics

Activity 1: Challenge me!

1. How does learner-centered teaching differ to traditional teaching? Give an example.

2. Reflect on the five characteristics of learner-centered teaching. Do you agree with Weimer’s
characteristics of a learner-centered teaching? Why or Why not?
3. What skills will be developed in the learner-centered teaching? Why?

Answers:

1. Traditional teaching is differentiated from learner-centered teaching by how they approach

the center/focus of teaching learning process. In traditional teaching (such as teacher-
centered teaching and subject-centered teaching), the teacher is considered the center of
teaching learning process and main source of knowledge which leads to spoon-feeding the
students, meanwhile in learner-centered teaching, the learners are more engaged and have
control over their learning process; the teacher considers the differences of all learners’
learning styles. In traditional teaching, if a teacher asks a question or give an activity to the
student, the teacher constantly monitors and corrects every misstep of the student; and
only the teacher evaluates the student’s learning. While in learner-centered teaching,
when a teacher asks a question or give an activity, the student can talk or work without
constant monitoring; the teacher provides feedback first then give correction so that the
student won’t feel bad but feel more motivated, instead of just correcting them; also it’s not
just the teacher who evaluate their learning progress but the student is given a chance to
evaluate their own work and reflect on it.

2. Yes, I do agree with Weimer’s five characteristics of learner-centered teaching because

those characteristics really focus on the student’s learning and prioritize the student’s
involvement in their own learning progress.

3. I think with learner-centered teaching approach… students will develop their skills in – 1.
problem solving, critical thinking and reflection, because this method of teaching engages
students in the hard, messy work of learning and encourage them to reflect on what they
learn and how they learn it, which will train them physically, mentally and emotionally on
how to understand, process and reconstruct idea to solve a problem and reflect on what
they learn to use it in real life situation. – 2. team work and social interaction, because
students are encouraged to become more interactive with the teacher (as the facilitator and
mentor) and co-students (collaboration and team work); also with collaboration, students
will have more support and become more motivated to study and work. – 3. Creativity and
innovative, because every time the students engage themselves in work of learning, their
understanding, data processing and reconstruction, becomes better and better which will
make it easier for them to pin point the problem and create solutions. In a creative and
innovative way possible.
 Activity 2: Apply it!

Describe each philosophical perspective on the given chart. What do you think are their similarities
and differences?

Answers:

Essentialism Perennialism Progressivism Humanism Constructivism

 Essentialism is  Perennialism  Progressivism is  Humanism is a  Constructivism
teacher- is subject- the opposite of philosophical is similar with
centered and centered and Essentialism stance that talks Progressivism.
Traditional book-based. and improved about human Learners are
being the
version of taught to
starting point or
 The schools  Both teacher Perennialism. construct
foundation of
and teachers and learner meaning and
something big
only prepare utilize books  Unlike or serious knowledge that
students to in teaching- Essentialism, it therefor will be useful in
function learning encourages humans should their lives.
effectively and process. teachers to go be responsible
efficiently in a beyond basics, for the  Most activities
democratic  These books abandon book- promotion and require
society; include based development communicating
cognitive instructions and human or
 Teachers and lessons that and encourage relation to the collaborations.
schools spend develop world.
students to do
time and effort rationality and the actual  Teachers
 Basically, it’s
in teaching morality of work. facilitates
saying
Basic/Essential learners. This understand the
learners and
skills to helps learner  Learners learn world more by taught them
learners. - think by actively understanding how to learn
(3Rs – Reading, rationally exploring and the humans; instead of
Writing and which is way doing actual spoon-feeding
Arithmetic) more useful things;  Emphasize the them with
and everlasting value and information.
skill.  Teachers teach agency of
lessons that are human beings.
practical and
will be useful in
real life
situations.
Activity 3: Think about it!

1. Which of these educational philosophies would you describe as authoritarian? Which is/are
non-authoritarian? Why?
2. Which educational philosophy is most similar with your educational beliefs? Why?
3. As future educators, what do you think is the importance of learning these Philosophical
perspectives?

Answers:

1. I would describe Essentialism as Authoritarian because it is teacher-centered,

where the teacher is considered as the only source of knowledge in the classroom
therefor the teacher is the one who is in complete control of the learners’ learning
process. The learners depend on the teacher’s skill and knowledge. And most of
the time, the communication in the classroom goes from-teacher-to-learner and
lacks learner-to-learner or learner-to-teacher communication, which leads to
students being competitive with each other (in a toxic way) just to seek approval or
attention from their teacher and get higher mark.

Example:
Teacher as Authoritarian
If the teacher asks a question, the learner can only answer if he/she is being called. If
the learner’s answer is incorrect or not exactly the same as the teacher taught them,
the teacher will consider it wrong. Also, learners are not allowed to talk back to
teacher or make an argument. If the teacher says it’s wrong, it is wrong.

For Non-Authoritarian, I chose Progressivism and Constructivism because it

promotes communication between teacher-and-learner, healthy competition
between learners, and teacher does not judge and control the learners and their
learning process. These educational philosophies make the teacher the facilitator
of learners and encourages them to learn on their own and not be dependent on
their teacher. The teacher becomes facilitators and helps develop the learner’s
cognitive and metacognitive skills. The learners’ capacity and ability to learn is not
limited anymore (by removing the authoritarian) and letting the learners explore
ideas and experiences and construct meaning and knowledge based on their
interests and needs.

2. The educational philosophy I’d choose that is similar to my educational beliefs is

Constructivism because in our world today, teachers would have difficulty in
keeping up with the learners need that will help them function in the forever
changing society, especially if each learners’ learning style are different. We cannot
use traditional teaching style (like in Essentialism) for it takes too much time of the
teacher and cannot meet today’s society’s demands in time. With Constructivism
 learners can construct their own knowledge while still being facilitated by the
teacher to make sure that they are on the right track. Students can also ask help or
interact with other students or teach themselves how to learn new knowledge
through the internet, social media, e-library, etc., which broadens the learner’s
ability to learn more and not depend on the teacher or the books that their school
provides. Also, with this philosophy, learners become more prepared to face life
challenges and handle it well on their own, which is helpful and efficient in today’s
era.

3. As a future educator, for me it’s important that all teachers should learn these
Philosophical perspectives to understand the following things…

a. how teaching style and subject matter changes based on its goal
and society’s demands – For example, before the computers were
invented, most of subject matter instructions are about 3Rs, basic science
and engineering, then came the war and they needed talented engineer to
create a machine that will help them crack the code of each bombs/missile
location so a computer was invented. After the war, the computer was
continuously developed and improved until someone introduced it to us for
commercial and personal use. Since then, computers were continuously
used by everyone so new subject matter and courses for computer such as
Computer Engineering is developed to meet the society’s demand for more
improved and helpful computers everyone can use. The same with the
invention of Internet. With these new subject matters/courses, an
appropriate or new affective teaching styles are also needed.

b. how each of them are different from each other and how/where to
use them – For example, all these philosophical perspectives such as
Essentialism, Perennialism, Progressivism, etc. have different meaning,
goals, methods and teaching styles. By knowing their differences, we can
develop a curriculum that is more appropriate and efficient to country’s
educational goals. We can combine or revise these philosophies to create
new one and/or new curriculum. Like here in the Philippines, we can
combine Constructivism and Perennialism because of our country’s
geographical features. Not every school can afford computers or other
modern devices so teachers stick to book-based instructions or find other
way. The same thing with skills that are being taught and learned, most
provinces are not developed so schools only teach basic skills. But if learner
wants to learn more, he/she can go to the City and pursue his/her career
there.

c. how to properly utilize them – For example, schools using

combination of Constructivism (learner-centered) and Perennialism
 (subject-matter centered) for more appropriate teaching and learning
method – as stated above (letter b.).

Activity 4: Let’s do it!

1. What are the roles of teaching in the learner-centered approach?

2. How do the five dimensions important in adapting learner-centered approach of teachers
today?
3. What skills should be developed by the students in the learner-centered teaching?

Answers:

1. Roles of teaching in the learner-centered approach:

“Teacher intentionally uses various teaching and learning methods that
appropriate for students learning goals”

 Teacher should have vast knowledge in different teaching and learning styles,
and utilizing different teaching materials that suits the learner’s learning
ability.
 Learner’s learning goal should be achieved through various teaching methods.

In my own understanding, this means that each learner is unique in their own
way, the same with how they learn, process things and achieve learning goals.
In the classroom, teacher must use different various teaching style intentionally
for each learner such as fast, average and slow learners; learners that can
process and understand information easily through visual aids/visually,
aural/hearing, reading/writing or kinesthetic/actual experience (use of VARK
model).

For example, the teacher can use visual aids or videos (visual) when discussing
the lesson (audio/aural) and then create an activity, by group or individual,
where the learners can use the information teacher taught them in real life
situation, activities such as play, science experiment or story making/writing
(kinesthetic and reading/writing). And for slow, average to fast learner, the
teacher should start with lessons that are easy to understand and gradually
increasing the difficulty; the teacher makes sure that the learning goal is
achieved by doing a recap or give a short test before jumping in to the next
lesson.

2. The five dimensions are important in adapting learner-centered approach of

teachers today by serving as a guide to teachers on how to effectively and
appropriately put learner-centered approach into action. It helps teachers provide
the learners the constructive assessment and knowledge they will need in the
future.
 3. With learner-centered teaching, the students will develop their cognitive and
metacognitive skills, they will become more aware of their environment, develop
high sense of responsibility for their own learning, become more compliance and
cooperative. They will become more creative with their ideas and be great, if not
good, at solving problems. As well as their socializing skills.

Unit 2: Learner-centered Psychological Principles

Lesson 1: Learning principles associated to cognitive, metacognitive, motivational,

and affective factors

Activity 1: Assess!

Read and analyze the sentences. Explain why you agree or disagree in the following statements.

1. Differentiated instruction attempts to resolve diversity of learners in the classroom.

2. The motivation of a learner from the urban community is similar to that from the rural area.
3. The development of higher-order thinking skills is attainable among the lower years.
4. Praising a slow learner for a little effort exerted is a stepping stone for his or her progress.
5. The practice of unlocking difficulties for a difficult lesson provides scaffold to the learner.

Answers:

1. Agree. I agree because each of the students are unique in their own way. Learners
learn and process things differently so it is important for them to have
differentiated instruction in the classroom.
2. Disagree. I disagree because while learning might be influenced by different
things such as environment, culture, learning goals, etc. The motivation of
students to learn can also be different and needs different forces of motivation.
Learners from urban community might need more motivation because they lack of
teaching and learning materials that will help them engage more to the lesson but
at the same time, they can also become the most motivated learners because they
want to leave their community and move to rural area hoping for better education
as well as better career path. Meanwhile learners from rural area may be motivated
to become the best or be less emotionally motivated unlike the other, because
everything they need to learn is already in their hand or information is easier to
gather.
3. Agree. I agree because higher-order skills require a learner that can think on
her/his own and solve problems with their own understanding of the
information/knowledge he/she gathered from experience or lesson they learned. It
 may require someone with average or high IQ level but it is attainable in lower
years. Besides, higher-order skills can be developed through various activities such
as reading, doing experiments, playing, etc. which can be done in lower years, it
only depends on teacher’s quality of teaching, knowledge and her/his skills.
4. Agree. I agree that praising a slow learner for a little effort exerted is a stepping
stone for his or her progress because it helps them build their confidence. With
each praise and positive/constructive feedback they receive, they gain more
confidence to reach their goal and not to be held back by their negative emotions
after feeling bad for accomplishing only little. Teacher’s praise motivates learners.
5. Agree. I agree that the practice of unlocking difficulties for a difficult lesson
provides scaffold to the learner because just like building a house, scaffolding helps
the construction men reach the lowest to highest area they need to finish in order
to achieve the goal of building a beautiful and sturdy house. For teachers, it is
important to analyze the difficulty levels of lesson and start from the easiest level
to average then difficult to make sure that even the slowest learners can tag along
and no one is left behind. The same with average and advanced learners. By
unlocking difficulties for a difficult lesson, we can monitor the progress of learners
and develop effective teaching and learning strategies.

Activity 2: Let’s think!

In a three-paragraphed essay, explain the cognitive, metacognitive, motivation, and affective factors
of psychological learner-centered principle of learning in your own words. Cite at least two
classroom situation that apply two principles of these factors.

Answers:

Cognitive factors refer to the mental processes the learners undergo as they process an
information like gathering, retaining and remembering information (memorizing details
or step by step instructions or sequence of events), all the basic stuff. While
metacognitive factor refers to the way learners think about their thinking as they engage
in mental tasks; it is the higher-order skill where the learners compare “what they know”
and “what they do not know”, reconstruct/construct new information from it, and reflect
or relate to the new information they have.

Motivation refers to the factors that pushes the learner to achieve their learning goal and
value learning; it can be

For example, the ICT instructor asked a student to make a report about the Computer
Hardware

Activity 3: Challenge me!

 1. “Variety is a spice of life” How is this statement applicable in the selection of instructional
motivational and affective strategies?
2. “This subject is my Waterloo” – a statement most learners attribute to subjects they find
difficult. If you were the teacher, what motivation and affective strategies would you use to
alter this perception?
3. Make a graphic organizer showing novel classroom practices that addresses the
psychological principles of learner-centered learning.

Answers:

1. “Variety is a spice of life”

2. “This subject is my Waterloo”
3.

Lesson 1: Learning principles on Development and Social factors, and Individual

Differences

Activity 1: Assess!

Write yes or no in each item if the teaching practice satisfies the development and social factors,
and individual differences of learning.

YES 1.A teacher varies the level of difficulty of the task for bright and slow learners.
YES 2.A teacher allows a learner in Social Science to explain the answer to the question in the
dialect in which the learner is fluent and the class understands.
YES 3.A teacher cites cultural practices of the students as examples for learning.
YES 4.Miss Pascual tells Rema, the class singer, to enroll in the Special Program for the Arts
Track.
NO 5.The Science teacher asks the help of the school nurse to explain fertilization.

Activity 2: Let’s think and write!

Through symbolism, present the development and social factors and individual differences of
learning creativity. In a short paragraph, explain the implication of the symbol presented.

Answer:

Activity 3: Challenge me!

1. Why is it important for beginning teachers to be aware of the learner-centered psychological

principles for the school reform?
2. With your knowledge on the salient features of R.A 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education
Curriculum, what is the importance of applying the learner-centered psychological principles
to teaching?
 3. Do you agree that the length of service in teaching guarantees effectiveness in implementing
the learner-centered principles? Why or why not?

Answers:

1. It is important for beginning teachers to be aware of the learner-centered

psychological principles for the school reform because it can save them a lot of
hard work, time and effort in understanding each learner and their teaching
learning method preferences. It will make them become efficient and affective
teachers. By applying LCP, through time of teaching practices, they will gain more
teaching skills and develop the best method they can use.
2. Based on my knowledge about RA 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education
Curriculum, the importance of applying the LCP to teaching is Teachers could
create a Perfect Academic Plan or for them to be more specific, with a focused Subject.
There is a collaboration effort for a successful, effective and efficient curriculum.
3. AGREE AND DISAGREE.
I kind of agree that the length of service in teaching guarantees effectiveness in
implementing the learner-centered principles because teaching is not a talent that
all people are born with and great at, it is a skill that teachers develop through
times of practice. Teachers who are in service for a longer period of time have
stronger skills and more reliable knowledge due to their experiences with different
students and lessons learned from past teaching mistakes. These teachers can
implement the LCP effectively because over time, they already tried different
teaching learning methods and implementing LCP will not be that hard for them.
I kind of disagree because somehow, it still depends on teacher’s abilities and
hard work to develop a good teaching skill that will guarantee effectiveness in
implementing the LCP. Some teachers might be new to teaching but they may
already have an experience related to teaching that will help them implement LCP
or the skill.

Activity 4: Harness my mind!

1. Interview a new and seasoned teacher in your school. List down his or her practices in terms
of implementing the learner-centered principles of learning. Which among his or her
teaching practices is the best or is most effective?
2. Search or download an article on teacher’s best practices in conducting an assessment to
diverse learners. Which among these practices is very effective? Why?

Answers:

1. Interview with the new teacher and seasoned teacher:

2. BEST TEACHING PRACTICES IN CONDUCTING AN ASSESSMENT TO DIVERSE
LEARNERS. - By ESS

1) UNDERSTAND CHILD DEVELOPMENT - having a basic understanding of

the typical capabilities of children at various ages and developmental stages
is essential.
2) LEARN NAMES and USE THEM – making an effort to address them by their
Names makes a difference. a 1st Step towards meeting students’ needs, it
shows personal connections and acknowledges students as individual. A
Seating Chart is very helpful here.
3) BE CONSISTENT – Consistency is important, since it affects both
Classroom Management and Student Security.
4) MAKE CONNECTIONS – New connections is facilitated when students can
connect it to prior knowledge and past experiences. When a Teacher takes
time to share their own connections and gives the students the opportunity
to verbalize them as well, it provides scaffolding for the lesson.
5) BE FLEXIBLE and MAKE ADAPTATIONS – with regular classroom
Teachers have the advantage of time to learn about their students’
individual needs. Quickly recognize a need and make adaptations for it.
6) UTILIZE COOPERATIVE LEARNING TECNIQUES – acknowledging the
social nature of students and recognizing that cooperative learning provides
a strong foundation for learning.
7) USE INFORMAL ASSESSMENTS – Teachers uses more checks to see if
students are comprehending the lesson.
8) MAINTAINING DIVERSE LEARNING BEST PRACTICES – a Teacher can
impact classroom culture and influence student learning in a positive way.
9) ENSURING SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS HAVE THE CAPACITY TO
SUPPORT DIVERSE LEARNING – many Substitute Teachers are motivated
by Passion for Student learning. It can be much more challenging to
ascertain student needs when substitute teachers are armed with Standard
Training in Best Teaching Practices, learning will continue in spite of
Teacher absences and Students will thrive.

Answer:

 BE CONSISTENT – Consistency is important, since it affects both

Classroom Management and Student Security.