Lesson 1: Overview of Student-

Centered Learning

PROFED5: Facilitating Student-Centered Teaching

By: Dr. Vivian B. Titular
 A. Definition/Concept
B. The SCL Philosophies
C. The principles of SCL
D. TCL versus SCL
E. Common Misconceptions
F. Key Advantages for Learners and Teachers
G. Types of SCL Assessment

Topics
Overview of Student-Centered Learning

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 Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

▰ Define what student-centered learning (SCL) is;

▰ Differentiate student-centered learning from teacher-centered
learning;
▰ Identify the principles, philosophies, common misconceptions
and advantages of student-centered learning; and
▰ Devise an assessment suited for student-centered learning.
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The Student-Centered
Learning (SCL)

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 Student-Centered Learning (SCL)

▰ SCL is a concept that can be traced back to the early

twentieth century.
▰ It was first mentioned in the writings of Frank Herbert
Hayward in 1905 and was later credited to John Dewey’s
work in the 1950s (O’Sullivan, 2003; O’Neill &
McMahon, 2005).
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 Student-Centered Learning (SCL)

▰ The term ‘student-centered learning’ was also associated

with the work of Carl Rogers and Jean Piaget and more
recently with Malcolm Knowles’ notion of self-directed
learning in adult education (Burnard,1999).

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 Student-Centered Learning (SCL)

▰ Over the past century, strong educational movements to

shift away from an emphasis on teaching to an emphasis
on learning have occurred; this shift encourages the
movement of power from the teacher to the student.

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 Student-Centered Learning (SCL)

▰ The term ‘student-centered learning’ is widely used in

the educational literature.
▰ Many terms have been associated with SCL (e.g.,
flexible learning, active learning, experiential learning
and self-directed learning) (Burnard 1999; Taylor 2000).

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 Student-Centered Learning (SCL)

▰ The various concepts and terminologies have the

potential to be confusing (O’Neil & McMahon, 2005).
▰ Nevertheless, it is crucial to note that despite the various
terminologies, there is a broad consensus on the common
conceptualization of SCL in the literatures (Lea,
Stephenson, & Troy, 2003)
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Student-Centered Learning (SCL)

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 Student-Centered Learning (SCL)

▰ In general, SCL represents both a mindset and culture

within a given HEI.
▰ It is characterized by innovative methods of teaching
that emphasize students as the key players in learning
and promote their active participation at all stages of the
learning process
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 Student-Centered Learning (SCL)

▰ More time is allocated for students to construct their own

knowledge, to explore, to solve problems and to self-reflect.
▰ In other words, students play active roles in planning, monitoring
and evaluating all forms of learning activities, which include
interacting with lecturers, tutors and other students, researching
issues, problem solving and engaging in self-assessments, while
lecturers act as facilitators during all of these processes.
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The SCL Philosophies
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SCL Philosophies

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 Progressivism

▰ People who believe in progressive ideas about education see

students as individuals who have the right to progress at their own
pace and they demand that teachers to allow that to happen.
▰ John Dewey, a major proponent of this philosophy, highlighted
this idea as a democratic principle in education, whereby each
student is considered to be an individual who brings his or her
experience into the classroom and who also has his or her own
needs and concerns.
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 Progressivism

▰ The student also has his or her own interest and curiosity
about the surrounding environment.
▰ Under such circumstances, teachers need to respect
diversity among learners and differences between
individual students.

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 Progressivism

▰ Therefore, the teacher’s role is to help each student learn

to ask meaningful questions about things about which
they are curious and to devise strategies to seek answers
to the questions.

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 Progressivism

▰ Consequently, the teacher’s role is less about

transmitting information or providing information to
answer students’ questions and more about facilitating
students’ ability to arrive at the answers.
▰ Within progressivism, teachers also allow students to
progress at different rates that take into account their
individual characteristics.
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 Progressivism

▰ The SCL approach is in line with the ideas of

progressivism because students are at the center of SCL,
wherein schools should be organized around the
concerns, curiosity and real-world experiences of
students.

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 Social Reconstructionism

▰ A social reconstructionist teacher creates lessons that

both intellectually inform and emotionally stir students
about the inequities that surround them.
▰ Social constructivists believe that education plays a
crucial role in helping to solve society’s problems.

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 Social Reconstructionism

▰ As our society develops and lives with problems, this

approach emphasizes that education should address such
problems.
▰ We need to reconstruct our society through education,
which traditionally has been a channel to transmit
accumulated knowledge about various disciplines to our
future generations.
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 Social Reconstructionism

▰ Knowledge conventionally is divided into various

categories of disciplines.
▰ In contrast, the problems that society faces are ill-
defined and do not fall into separate categories like the
disciplines of knowledge.

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 Social Reconstructionism

▰ We can only categorize them into certain themes, such as

poverty, disease, floods and unemployment.
▰ Under the SCL approach, problem-based learning (PBL)
is a teaching and learning strategy that emphasizes
learning in the context of solving real-world problems.

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 Existentialism

▰ If teachers follow existentialist philosophy, they must

readily accept their students as they are (i.e. as they
exist) and not decide what and how the students should
learn.
▰ Existentialists believe in the importance of human
existence and free will to decide and be responsible for
oneself.
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 Existentialism

▰ Something that is considered good by one may be

considered bad by another and each individual has to
respect that.
▰ Teachers can provide opportunities for students to
experience genuine learning activities themselves in
order to learn.
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 Existentialism

▰ Through such activities, students will self-actualize (i.e.

become aware of and realize their own meaning of the
experience) and find answers to their own questions.
▰ Thus, it is the student’s responsibility to choose and
decide on the direction of learning.

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 Existentialism

▰ In the existentialist classroom, subject matter takes

second place to helping students understand and
appreciate themselves as unique individuals.
▰ The teacher’s role is to help students define their own
essence by exposing them to various paths they may take
in life and by creating an environment in which they can
freely choose their own way.
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The Principles of SCL
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 Principle 1: SCL requires active learning and
ongoing reflection

▰ The philosophy of SCL is such that students need to be active

learners.
▰ Bonwell and Eison (1991) defined active learning as instructional
activities that involve students in doing things and thinking about
what they are doing.
▰ They must take ownership of their own learning processes and
continuously find ways to improve their experiences.
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 Principle 1: SCL requires active learning and
ongoing reflection

▰ Lecturers and HEIs, on the other hand, need to continuously

reflect on their teaching and infrastructural systems.
▰ This step is crucial to ensure that the intended learning outcomes
of a given course or program component are achieved in a way
that stimulates students’ thinking (e.g. critical and creative
thinking) and promotes transferable skills (e.g. time management
skills, social skills and cooperative skills).
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 Principle 2: SCL does not have a one-size-fits-all
solution

▰ A key concept underlying SCL is the realization and

acknowledgement that all HEIs are different, all lecturers are
different and all students are different; thus, there is no one-size-
fits-all solution.
▰ For effective SCL to take place in such a diverse context and
across various subject disciplines, there must be adequate support
structures, whether physical or non-physical, to accommodate and
promote SCL activities.
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 Principle 3: SCL recognizes student diversity

▰ SCL recognizes that students have different pedagogical needs.

▰ They may have different learning styles, motivations, needs and
interests in learning.
▰ Some students learn better through trial and error, whereas others
learn more effectively through practical experiences.
▰ For some learners, much is learned by reading literature, while
others need to debate and discuss theory in order to understand it.

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 Principle 3: SCL recognizes student diversity

▰ Moreover, some students may be more motivated and ready to

learn than others.
▰ Students also may come from various socio-cultural backgrounds,
which can translate to different learning needs, different levels of
language competency and difference in readiness to learn.
▰ There may also be a small number of special needs students (e.g.
students with hearing impairment, visual impairment and physical
disabilities) who require assistance to learn effectively.
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 Principle 4: Students have different experiences
and background knowledge

▰ Learning will be more meaningful if students can connect their

life or professional experiences and existing knowledge with the
content of the course and advance their knowledge in the field.
▰ For instance, students should be encouraged to relate their existing
understanding of the usage of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) when taking an ICT-related course.

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 Principle 4: Students have different experiences
and background knowledge

▰ If students already have considerable knowledge about research

skills, perhaps it would be better to help them apply these skills in
practical research projects.
▰ Personal experiences can also be used to motivate students (e.g.
by allowing them to share a personal story to illustrate a point and
to reflect on their overall experiences).

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 Principle 5: Students need to have choice and
control over their learning

▰ When students are given choices in learning, they are empowered

to take control of their own learning processes.
▰ Thus, it is crucial to provide students with opportunities to make
decisions concerning the subject matter, learning methods and
pace of study.
▰ By doing so, they are no longer completely dependent on the
lecturer to tell them what, when and how to learn.
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 Principle 5: Students need to have choice and
control over their learning

▰ Students should be seen as active partners who have a stake in the

way learning transpires in the higher education context.
▰ One of the best practices to ensure that learning focuses more on
students is by engaging them in shaping their own learning
experiences (i.e. to have a say in their own learning processes).

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 Principle 6: SCL enables higher-order thinking

▰ Instructional approaches that are examination-oriented and focus

on rote learning do not promote higher-order thinking skills
among students.
▰ Learning at the higher education level is not just about
transmitting information from lecturers (who are the experts in
their respective fields) to students but also about having students
construct their own knowledge and engage in higher-order
thinking activities.
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 Principle 6: SCL enables higher-order thinking

▰ Higher-order thinking includes critical, logical, reflective and

creative thinking, which can be promoted through learning
activities that require students to analyze, synthesize, criticize,
apply or solve problems.

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 Principle 7: Learning requires cooperation
between student and lecture

▰ Even though the paradigm of learning has shifted to students, this

does not mean that lecturers have lesser roles to play.
▰ In fact, cooperation and mutual respect between student and
lecturer must occur in order to develop a shared understanding
and to come to a consensus about learning methods, type of
assessment and pace of study.

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 Principle 7: Learning requires cooperation
between student and lecture

▰ Such cooperation in a particular course will have a positive effect,

as both the lecturer and the students increasingly come to consider
the other as a partner in the process of optimising the learning
outcomes.
▰ Such a partnership is central to the philosophy of SCL.

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SCL Principles

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SCL vs TCL
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TCL versus SCL

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Common Misconceptions
On SCL
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 SCL requires greater resources

▰ There is a common misconception that the shift towards the

student-centered approach requires a greater amount of resources.
▰ In reality, adoption of the student-centered approach in teaching
does not necessarily require additional resources.
▰ Much can be done to achieve SCL without having to spend large
amounts of money and time.

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 SCL requires greater resources

▰ For instance, lecturers can design learning activities with greater

emphasis on group work, class discussion, pair work, quizzes,
debates, reflective diaries, peer monitoring and role playing,
which encourage students to be active learners.

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 SCL is inappropriate for teaching large and
diverse groups

▰ As the student population in HEIs is becoming increasingly larger

and more diversified, some lecturers believe that it is
inappropriate to promote SCL in such scenarios.
▰ Lecturers will need to think outside the box and be more creative
in incorporating the elements of SCL with large and diverse
groups of students.
▰ However, it can be done.
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 SCL is inappropriate for teaching large and
diverse groups

▰ For instance, lecturers can get each student to think and reflect on
the learning process by requiring them to write down aspects of
the course that they really like and reflect on their individual
learning experiences.
▰ Even having one such session is a concrete step towards
implementing SCL.

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 SCL undermines the teaching profession

▰ Some people have preconceived ideas that the student-centered

approach is undermining the teaching profession, particularly at
the higher education level where lecturers are commonly regarded
as experts in their respective fields.
▰ Some people assert that the academic profession may no longer be
valued if SCL is widely adopted.

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 SCL undermines the teaching profession

▰ Lecturers need to be aware that while the role of the lecturer is

somewhat different in the SCL context, their roles are not
diminishing.
▰ Instead, the lecturer plays crucial roles in facilitating student
learning by guiding them through the course or program
component as active learners.
▰ They are not spoon feeding or transmitting information passively
to the students.
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 SCL undermines the teaching profession

▰ In fact, the academic profession will become more valued if

greater emphasis is placed on students’ learning experiences
because it will bring students in as part of the academic
community, where research-led teaching can become a reality and
where feedback is more constructive in nature.

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 SCL undermines the teaching profession

▰ In a nutshell, the 14 student-centered approach in teaching will

not in any way undermine the teaching profession.
▰ On the contrary, lecturers are playing vital roles in nurturing
talents and contributing towards human capital development.

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 Students have more work

▰ When students have to be accountable for their own learning

activities, does this mean that students have more work to do? It is
important for all stakeholders to understand that SCL does not
necessarily create a greater workload for students.

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 Students have more work

▰ Instead it requires a reorganization of students’ study time, when

they will focus more on genuine learning activities rather than
memorization of information via rote learning.
▰ When students become more competent learners and thinkers,
they can plan and manage their learning activities and solve
learning problems more efficiently, which eventually leads to
more fruitful learning outcomes and students who are equipped
with lifelong learning skills.
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 Lectures have more work

▰ It is quite often the case that lecturers have a lot of preparatory

work to do in order to make sure that their students are able to
take notes during lectures, learn the content and pass the
assessments.
▰ However, in the SCL environment, students play equal, if not
more important, roles because the responsibility for learning has
been transferred to them.
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 Lectures have more work

▰ Accordingly, lecturers will have lesser ‘traditional’ work to do,

such as preparing detailed lecture notes and learning materials
needed for students to pass the examination.
▰ In the long term, preparatory work will not increase and teaching
at the higher education level will become more enjoyable and
rewarding as students become capable of learning and
constructing new knowledge on their own.
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 PBL = SCL

▰ There is a general assumption that PBL is the same as SCL.

▰ This is a misconception, as SCL actually is an umbrella term
under which PBL falls.
▰ PBL can be defined as a student-centered pedagogy in which
students collaboratively solve problems and then reflect upon their
own learning experiences.

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 PBL = SCL

▰ Other pedagogical approaches that are student-centered in nature

include case studies and student projects
▰ In other words, lecturers can utilize a range of pedagogical
approaches to promote SCL and they need not confine themselves
to PBL.

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 SCL is not suitable to all disciplines

▰ Some lecturers may feel that SCL can only be applied in certain
disciplines.
▰ This is a misconception because SCL is easily adaptable to all
subject matters and courses, although the practical manner in
which it is implemented may differ.
▰ Studies show that students can be the central focus of learning
processes across disciplines (Hirumi, 2001).
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 SCL is not suitable to all disciplines

▰ Some differences, however, do arise when teaching across

different subject and disciplines, with a notable distinction being
between the humanities and the sciences (Student-Centered
Learning Toolkit, 2010).
▰ Nevertheless, SCL provides an underlying learning philosophy
that can be used across disciplines.

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 Students learn less of the subject matter in
SCL

▰ Under the traditional method of teaching, students are constantly

provided with facts, materials and information related to the
course.
▰ When the learning paradigm is shifted to students, there may be a
misconception that students are learning less of the subject matter
because the lecturers are no longer transmitting as much
information to the students
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 Students learn less of the subject matter in
SCL

▰ Moreover, students may be viewed as having limited capacities to

learn independently.
▰ The reality, however, is that students are likely to learn more.
▰ They may know fewer repeatable facts, but they are likely to
understand the content area better and be capable of solving
problems in a more effective and analytical manner

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 Students learn less of the subject matter in
SCL

▰ This implies that students are equipped with transferrable skills,

such as problem-solving skills, critical and analytical skills and
research skills, that are useful for future employment and lifelong
learning instead of being able to regurgitate exact accounts of
information imparted to them.

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Advantages of SCL
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Advantages of SCL

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Types of SCL
Assessment
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 Peer Tutoring

▰ In peer tutoring, students are taught by peers who have been

trained and are supervised by lecturers.
▰ A student works in a pair with another student.
▰ Peer tutoring functions to supplement, but not replace, the teacher-
directed instruction in the classroom

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 Peer Tutoring

▰ Advantages of peer tutoring include the following:

 Greater opportunities for students to practice what they have
learned by talking about what they are learning, reading out
loud and writing;
 Students receive feedback and error correction immediately
and more frequently;
 Students are engaged in active learning;
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 Peer Tutoring

▰ Advantages of peer tutoring include the following:

 Allows for a faster pace, as students are more frequently
responding to academic material than they do in a large-group
setting;
 Allows students to be matched based on their learning style;
and
 Provides opportunities to practice communication and
interaction skills
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 Oral Presentation

▰ Oral assessments come in a variety of forms, from individual

speeches to group projects.
▰ This type of assessment involves explaining something to an
audience and the assessment is made based on the quality of the
information presented as well as the method of presenting it.
▰ An oral presentation is similar to giving a speech, but it usually
requires the presenter to use visual aids rather than simply spoken
words.
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 Oral Presentation

▰ The prime purpose of assigning an oral presentation is to get

students to learn something new and then be able to teach their
classmates.
▰ As such, everybody can learn the new knowledge or skills as they
watch the presenter

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 Oral Presentation

▰ The advantages of oral presentation as an assessment tool include:

 It adds variety to the classroom and provides an opportunity
for students to learn from each other instead of always
learning from the lecturer;
 It allows for immediate feedback from the audience; and
 It is flexible and easily adaptable.

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 Peer Observation

▰ Observation is a skill often used to provide students with feedback

to improve performance.
▰ Observation is widely used to illustrate complex assessment
concepts in psychomotor domains because they are easier to
visualize compared with the cognitive domain.
▰ In order to obtain useful information, it is necessary to record the
observation.
▰ Students and their peers can assess others using observation.
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 Peer Observation

▰ They can use a checklist to record the number of times a behavior

occurs.
▰ One example is keeping basketball game play statistics.
▰ Observation also works well when the teacher wishes to monitor
how students work together in groups or individually.

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 Worksheets

▰ Like teachers, lecturers can also use worksheets as formative

assessments.
▰ The primary purpose is for the lecturer to gauge the students’
understanding of the materials covered.
▰ As such, unlike assignments, worksheets will not contribute to the
students’ grade.

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 Worksheets

▰ For teachers, student-centered worksheets provide the basis for

evaluating whether the work is too easy for the students or
whether they do not comprehend the information well enough.
▰ Thus, the teachers can make modifications as needed.

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 Worksheets

▰ Other advantages of worksheets include:

 Students feel less pressured when completing a worksheet
than when taking an examination. These sheets can be
assigned as homework or seatwork and can be given right
after a particular lesson. It is also one way of evaluating how
much information students have absorbed after SCL-related
activities.
 As the name suggests, worksheets are just sheets of papers
and therefore are handy and easy to use. 78
 Journal Writing

▰ Within the context of SCL, journal writing refers to the recording

of a variety of events, such as topics of personal interest,
observations and the imagination.
▰ There are many forms of journal writing, several that are related
to SCL-learning are briefly described as follows:

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 Journal Writing

▰ Learning journals:
 A learning journal is typically hand written or created using
recording devices (such as a tape recorder or MP3) to record
thoughts, reflections, feelings and personal opinions.
 The process of maintaining a journal helps students become
more organized and focused on the areas they are studying

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 Journal Writing

▰ Diaries:
 A notebook or booklet of blank pages in which students can
record their thoughts can be called a diary.
 Diary writing usually involves the unstructured, chronological
recording of the events of a person’s life as they are
perceived.

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 Journal Writing

▰ Interactive reading log:

 An interactive reading log encourages students to critically
reflect on materials and summarize it in their own words.
 The reflection is particularly meaningful or provocative.

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 Journal Writing

▰ Electronic journaling:
 The advance of computer technology has changed the way in
which students record their reflections.
 Blogs, webpages and social networks are examples of
journaling in electronic form.
 Any journaling technique can be carried out fully or partially
in an electronic form.
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 Case Study

▰ Cases studies often are actual scenarios that are purposely used for
teaching and learning.
▰ Case studies are suitable for most curricula where students would
benefit from the application of learned facts to a real world
situation.
▰ A case study often is complex and the solutions are vague.

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 Case Study

▰ Some characteristics of good case studies include:

 Is aligned to the course’s learning outcomes;
 Entails difficult choices;
 Has emotional power;
 Is open-ended, allowing multiple interpretations and
solutions; and
 Entails value conflicts.
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 Case Study

▰ Advantages of a case study include:

 Develops analytic and problem solving skills;
 Allows for exploration of solutions to complex issues; and
 Allows student to apply new knowledge and skills.

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 Research Projects

▰ Research projects are very effective for both developing research

and language skills.
▰ In a research project, students engage in intensive reading for
specific purposes (e.g., to identify information, put together ideas
and communicate with others).
▰ Students are encouraged to read a variety of reference materials
and resources to gather useful information.
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 Problem Solving

▰ Problem solving is based on three important principles: (1)

knowing the issues; (2) considering all possible factors; and (3)
finding a solution.
▰ It allows for finding the best possible solution rather than the
easiest solution or the first accepted solution.
▰ The nature of problem solving makes it suitable to use to help
students understand complex issues, planning for the future or
proposing strategic planning.
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 Problem Solving

▰ Some people argue that problem solving also is useful for

developing critical thinking as it challenges pre-conceived
thinking or values.
▰ Two of the most highly cited types of problem solving are
reflective problem solving and creative problem solving.
▰ In reflective problem solving, students take into consideration
multiple factors when making complex decisions
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 Problem Solving

▰ Creative problem solving focuses less on the solution but more on

brainstorming (i.e., gathering a list of possible solutions from
group members).
▰ The focus is generating ideas in place of solving the existing
problem.

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 Problem Solving

▰ Reflective Problem Solving:

 Define the problem: Define the problem by listing characteristics of the
problem and by providing evidence of it, such as symptoms, things
affected and resources related to the problem.
 Analyze the problem: Use the evidence to explain why the problem exists.
 Establish criteria for a solution: What are the objectives of trying to solve
the problem? What are the criteria for a solution that must be met?
 Propose a solution: Select a solution that meets both the objectives as well
as the criteria.
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 Problem Solving
▰ Creative Problem Solving:
 Orientation: Similar to defining the problem; the group generates evidence
as well as headings to provide a clear picture of the problem.
 Preparation and analysis: Similar to analyzing the problem; group
discusses similarities and differences among the headings and focuses on
the root cause of the problem.
 Brainstorm: Generate as many solutions as possible; all ideas are
considered acceptable.
 Incubation: Leave the problem for a period of time to develop distance
and rethinking.
 Synthesis and verification: Establish criteria for a good solution and then
review the brainstormed solutions that are aligned with the criteria. 92
 References:

▰ Abdullah, M.N.L.Y et.al. (2012). Training Module Series: Student-centered

Learning (Scl) Approaches For Innovative Teaching Module 2: Philosophy of
Student-Centered Learning (SCL). Centre for Development of Academic
Excellence (CDAE)
▰ Kabilan, M.K. et.al. (2012). Training Module Series: Student-centered
Learning (Scl) Approaches For Innovative Teaching Module 6: Assessment in
Student-Centered Learning (SCL). Centre for Development of Academic
Excellence (CDAE)

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Thank You
Dr. Vivian B. Titular

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