Posts Tagged ‘learner-centered instruction’
February 7 - Long-Term Benefits of Learner-Centered Instruction
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching and Learning
Often these questions are raised about courses using learner-centered approaches: What if this is the only learner-centered course taken by the student? Is one course enough to make a difference?
There is growing evidence that courses with learner-centered approaches—those approaches that use active learning strategies to engage students directly in learning processes—enhance academic achievement and promote the development of important learning skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and the ability to cooperatively work with others. But does the experience of being made responsible for learning transcend that individual course?
September 14 - Learner-Centered Technology: Aligning Tools with Learning Goals
By: Mary Bart in Online Seminars
The technological tools available for learner-centered instruction continue to advance, presenting faculty with opportunities and challenges. This seminar provides faculty with a roadmap for matching the best tools to course learning outcomes.
July 21 - 7 Learner-Centered Principles to Improve Your Teaching
By: Mary Bart in Online Seminars
Most of us are being asked to do more—teach more, assess more, report more, publish more. This seminar will help you use your limited time wisely, because it’s done all the heavy lifting. You’ll not only gain new insights into how students learn but also learn about practical and effective teaching strategies that reflect the latest research.
July 15 - A Learner-Centered Approach Affects Student Motivation
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching and Learning
Most of the time research evidence grows by bits and pieces—not all at once, and the evidence documenting the effectiveness of learner-centered approaches is no exception. It continues to accumulate, as illustrated by this study. It occurred in a third-year pharmacotherapy course in a doctor of pharmacy program. The students were randomly assigned to five- and six-member groups, with each group being assigned a patient case with multiple drug-related problems.
June 1 - Changing the Way We Teach: Making the Case for Learner-Centered Teaching
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
“Why should we change the way we teach?” a marketing professor asked with an honest gaze and a smile that bespoke sincerity. It was early in a workshop session just after I’d introduced the idea of learner-centered teaching and explained why students should be doing more of the learning tasks themselves.
April 8 - Standards and Pedagogies of Student Engagement
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
A colleague raised a very interesting point in response to the February 17 post on evidence-based teaching. That entry explored some of the reasons instructional practice is not better informed by research findings.
February 25 - Strategies for Teaching Unfamiliar Material
By: Rob Kelly in Effective Teaching Strategies
The prospect of teaching topics outside one’s area of expertise can be unsettling for even the most confident faculty member. Nevertheless, due to factors such as budget cuts and curricular changes, faculty are increasingly being asked to teach in unfamiliar territory.
August 23 - The Benefits of Making the Shift to Student-Centered Teaching
By: Mary Bart in Effective Teaching Strategies
Would you let your students decide when you hold office hours?
How about whether projects are worth more points than exams, or vice versa?
Would you let your students decide some of the topics that will be covered in the course?
July 9 - Learning from Experience
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Learning Styles
In an editorial published in the Journal of Geoscience Education, a geography faculty member offers a testimonial in favor of learner-centered teaching. “Through my 15 years of teaching Earth System Science, I have explored various ways of teaching it and have become convinced that the Learner-Centered Environment, that builds upon constructivist theory principles and fosters teaching practices that recognize the active roles students must play in their learning, is particularly suitable for Earth system science education.” (p. 208)
June 8 - Practicing Learner-Centered Teaching in Large Classes
By: Mary Bart in Online Seminars
Creating a learner-centered classroom involves more than just engaging students; it is a philosophical shift in how the instructor approaches the class. This 75-minute audio online seminar is a step-by-step guide to integrating learner-centered strategies into existing courses.
Carol Hurney, Ph.D.,is the executive director at James Madison University’s Center for Faculty Innovation. She’s the driving force behind campus wide programs to enhance scholarship, leadership, and service roles of JMU faculty.
Dr. Hurney is also an associate professor of biology and in 2005 was honored as the Distinguished Teacher in General Education.