Helping Students Learn in a

Learner Centered Environment

Developed for Walsh College by Professor Terry Doyle
Ferris State University
 Learning Outcomes
As a result of participating in today’s activities faculty will:
1. Have a clearer understanding of the reasons most students resist
learner centered teaching.

2. Take away rationales explaining why LCT is the best

approach to college instruction.

3. Have a clearer understanding of the skills students will need to be

successful learners in a LCT environment.

4. Take away ideas for teaching students the learning

skills and strategies they will need to be successful in LCT environment.
Not a single grad school or employment
recruiter has ever indicated that what they are
really looking for in a college graduate is:

‘A great note taker and someone who is

excellent at multiple choice tests!’
Learner Centered Teaching
Learner Centered Teaching
Learner Centered Teaching
 This can be
Learner Centered Teaching
A Key to Understanding Learner Centered
Teaching

It is the one who does the work

that does the learning

www.wmin.ac.uk/.../Students-working-together.jpg
 The Definition of Learning

Learning is a change
in the neuron-
patterns of the brain.
(Ratey, 2002, Goldberg, 2001)

www.virtualgalen.com/.../ neurons-small.jpg
 A Teacher’s Definition of Learning

Learning is the ability to use information after

significant periods of disuse
and
it is 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 taught.
(Robert Bjork, Memories and Metamemories, 1994)
What is the optimal learning outcome of any course?

What would make us

happy (from all that we
taught—the skills,
content and behaviors)
that our students
remembered and could
use a year after they
finished our course?
 A Definition of
Learner Centered Teaching
 Learner Centered Teaching

Each decision we make as teachers is based on

one simple question—

Given the context of my teaching assignment

(# of students, learning environment or
physical space etc.), will this teaching action
optimize my students’ opportunities to learn?”
Eight Reasons Students
Resist Learner
Centered Teaching
 1.Old habits die hard

The expectations our students have for their

roles and responsibilities as college learners
are based on strongly formed habits learned
through twelve or more years of teacher-
centered instruction.
 2.High Schools Remain Teacher-Centered Institutions

• “Despite the efforts of many, the organization and

structure of most comprehensive high schools look
very similar to those of high schools of generations
ago. High schools have stood still amidst a maelstrom
of educational and economic change swirling around
them.” (The National Commission on the High School Senior Year in 2001, p.20).
 3. Learning is not a Top Reason Students give for Attending College

Many first-year college

students are sick to
death of school by age
eighteen and see
college as just the last
hurdle to be crossed.
(Leamnson 1999, p.35).
 4. Students don’t Like Taking Learning Risks

• “But as we grow older we develop a great

tendency to hide from failure.”
(Tagg, 2003 p. 54).
 4. Students don’t Like Taking Learning Risks

Students that don’t take risks and make

mistakes, which are the very actions
successful thinkers must do, are in the
business of protecting their unblemished
record of mediocrity
• (Covington, 1992, p. 231)
 5. LCT Doesn’t Resemble what Students Think of as School

By age 18, our students have spent 70% of

their waking lives in school (Leamnson, p.35),

Each school year looks a great deal like the

year before.

Eighth Twelfth
First Fifth Grade
Grade Grade
Grade
 6. Students don’t Want to Give More Effort and LCT Requires It.

K. Patricia Cross in her 2001 talk Motivation Er… will that be on the
test? in discussing American students’ views about effort said:

“One of the oddities of traditional American culture,

especially the youth culture, is that it is better to be
thought lazy than stupid. Thus, in the competition of
the classroom, students prefer to be seen by others
as succeeding through ability rather than through
effort.”
 If I have to
work at it I
must not
be smart !
(Carol Dweck, Mindset, 2008)

 
 7. Students’ Mindsets about Learning Make Adapting to LCT More Difficult

Thousands of students each semester pay tuition to

take courses in subject areas they firmly believe they
cannot learn.
7. Students’ Mindsets about Learning Make
Adapting to LCT More Difficult
This strange scenario occurs because of the
fixed mindset these students have developed
about learning a particular subject. (Dweck, 2006)
 8. Many Students Follow the Path of Least
Resistance in their Learning.
Minimalist learners.

• These are students that adhere to the

philosophy: “What is the least I have to do to
get the grade that I need.”
 8. Many Students Follow the Path of Least Resistance in their Learning.

This behavior reflect a life time of learning

in an environment where trying to gain a
reward or avoid a punishment was the
goal.
Why Learner
Centered Teaching is
in our Students Best
Interest
 Students need to Know WHY

Teaching is, in most

ways, no different than
any other human to
human interaction
 If I don’t know WHY you want me to work on
a project or learn a concept or if I can’t see
how taking on a certain task has some benefit
to me I am hesitant to do it.
 3 Key Rationales for Explaining the Change to LCT

1. The best answer to

WHY we have
changed to a learner-
centered practice is this
is where the research
has led us.

.
WHY Learner Centered Teaching
New discoveries about
how the human brain
learns and the
subsequent
recommendations for
how to teach in harmony
with these discoveries
has guided the
development of a learner
centered approach to
teaching.
 Rationales for Explaining the Change to LCT

LCT requires students to

adopt new learning
roles and
responsibilities. These
are based on what we
now know optimizes
the way the human
brain learns.
 3 Key Rationales for Explaining the Change to LCT

2. Readiness for Careers

The rationale for teaching the

learning skills, behaviors,
attitudes and critical thinking
strategies that are part of a
learner centered courses is our
students will need these skills to
be successful in their careers.

As students understand this their

buy in to LCT will be greater.
 Rationales for Explaining the Change to LCT

3. Preparation for Life Long

Learning(LLL)

One of the significant changes our

students need to accept is that
college is no longer their terminal
educational experience.

A college education gives students

their learners’ permit.
3. Preparation for Life Long Learning(LLL)

Our responsibility as
college educators is to
prepare our students to
be life long learners.

Many of the LCT actions

we take are done to
develop LLL skills.
 Rationales for Explaining the Change to LCT

For Example

One of the reasons

students are being
asked to take on more
responsibility for their
own learning is because
they will be responsible
for it the rest of their
lives.
 LLL Preparation Includes Sharing Power with Students

Having choices in learning and some control over the

learning process and accepting the responsibility that comes
with choice and control is an authentic expression of how the
work place and the home place operate.

It is excellent preparation for life after college.

 Hospitality Industry Key LLL Skills

Must be able to read large Must be able to learn

amounts of information, on their feet from
determine what is
others—be able to
important to the task at
hand and then quickly observe and listen to
summarize it for others. others and quickly
adapt.
 Hospitality Industry Key LLL Skills

Must know the Must be able to learn

difference between the from your mistakes ( or
information you need to you will be out of
know and all the other business.)
information that is out
there. Must be able to
communicate clearly
and concisely so others
so can apply what you
have given them.
 Hospitality Industry Key LLL Skills

Must have the skills to Must be computer/

work and learn on your technically literate.
own.
Must know how to plan
and organize your own
Must know what your time and that of others.
strengths and
weaknesses well. Must know your self well,
your values, moral and
ethics as they will be
constantly tested.
 Hospitality Industry Key LLL Skills

What was not identified by the board members as

being important????

Ironically, it was the skills colleges often have

students spend a great deal of time mastering
• Note taking
• Memorizing
• Test taking
• Cramming
Eight Skill Areas
Students Will
Need Help with
to Succeed in a
LCT Classroom
1. Helping Students Learn How to Learn on their Own

There are two important

messages:
1.Many of our students are
not well prepared to do a
great deal of their learning
on their own.

2. If they are to develop the

skills needed to learn on
their own we will have to
teach them these skills.
 Learning on One’s Own
The broad categories include the ability to
handle four areas of task management:

1. Task analysis
2. Identifying resources and planning actions
3. Taking action based on planning
4. Assessing actions and revising plans.
• (adapted from work done at the University of Surrey, University Skills Program.
Rationales for Having Students Learn on Their Own

It teaches them to
figure things out for
themselves and trust
their own thinking
abilities in order to
complete a task.
 Learning on One’s Own
But perhaps the most
valuable outcome of
learning on one’s own is--

The satisfaction and

confidence that
comes when
students are
successful.
 2. Learning to work with others

Knowing and
learning are
communal acts.

(Parker Palmer, 1987 p. 24).

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 Three Vital Questions
1. What do our students know about effectively working
with other students?

2. What have their previous experiences taught them

about how groups and teams work?

3. What concerns do they have about working with

others?
A Rationale for Working with Others
The rationale for students learning to effectively
work with others is a simple one—if they can’t learn
to do it fairly well their career success may be in
jeopardy.
A Rationale for Working with Others
Of the three main
modes our students use
to learn, writing,
reading and speaking--
the one that is least
used is speaking (Nystrand
and Gamoran ).
 Some Advice for Faculty
Teachers like to talk and
they can’t stand silence
so they fill it up with
talk!

However, the best

advice for facilitating
students’ discussion is
for us to keep our
mouths shut!
 3. Helping Students take Charge of their Learning

As instructors we are
conditioned to be in
control of the learning
process -- moving away
from that idea makes
many of us uncomfortable.

Taking on more control

also makes our students
uncomfortable
 Some Good Reasons to Share Power.

1. Our students cannot .

improve their abilities to be
more responsible for their
learning with out being
given greater responsibility
for it.
 Some helpful reasons to share power.

2. The more control our

students take and the
more choices we can
offer them the greater
their desire and
willingness to engage in
the learning process.
( Zull p.52)
 Who Makes the Decision?
Teacher Students Together NA
8. Office hours
1. Course Textbook 9. Due dates for major papers

2. Number of exams 10. Teaching methods/approaches

11. How groups are formed

3. When in the course exams will be
given 12. Topic of writing or research projects

4. Attendance policy 13. Grading scale

14. Discussion guidelines for large or small group

5. Late work policy discussions

6. Late for class policy 15. Rubrics for evaluation of self or peers’ work

16. If rewriting of papers will be allowed

7. Course learning outcomes
17. If retesting will be allowed
 Let Students Teach Each Other

Teaching others requires

the person doing the
teaching to thoroughly
understand the knowledge
or skills being taught.

Teaching others promotes

deep learning for the
student doing the teaching.
www.csulb.edu/depts/chls/images/MorenodiceLat...
 
 Teaching Students how
to Teach Others

4. Having students teach

promotes independent
learning and the taking on
of increased responsibility
for their own learning.
 5.Helping Students with Presentations and Performance
Assessments

Your work will be made public!

www.uog.edu/dns/NSF/mbCl_files/image004.jpg
By making work public students…

Take their work more seriously

Are more accountability for their

work

Take more time and care in

preparing their work

Get to have additional

audiences assess their work
 Your work will be made public!

It’s an authentic
expression of how work
is done.

Professional work is
done for others.

www.iowasenatedemocrats.org
 Performance Assessment
“We can teach students
how to do math, do
history and do science,
not just know them.

(Jon Mueller)
 Metacognitive Skills and LLL
Metacognitive skills are among the most
important LLL skills.

Metacognition consist of two basic processes

occurring simultaneously: monitoring your
progress as you learn, and making changes
and adapting your strategies if you perceive
you are not doing so well. (Winn & Snyder, 1998)
7. Helping Students Recognize What They Know, Don’t Know
and Misunderstand

Our students prior

knowledge significantly
influence what they
notice about the
environment and
affects their abilities to
remember, reason,
solve problems and
acquire new knowledge.
(Bransford, et. al. p.10)
7. Helping Students Recognize What They Know, Don’t Know and Misunderstand

If the only learning tool

our students have is
memorization than
everything we teach
them will likely be seen
as something to be
memorized.
7. Helping Students Recognize What They Know, Don’t Know and
Misunderstand

We need to do a great
deal of checking.

preexisting understandings
among college age and
older students often
persist even after new
models have been taught
that contradict their
naïve understandings.
(Bransford et. al.p.16)
7. Helping Students Recognize What They Know, Don’t Know and
Misunderstand

We need to ask our

students to tell us what
they have learned in
their own words, using
examples and analogies.
7. Helping Students Recognize What They Know, Don’t Know and
Misunderstand

We must create activities

and conditions that allow
our students’ thinking to be
revealed.

Example -- use of
narratives in math

(Ramaprasad, 1983; Sadler, 1989).

7. Helping Students Recognize What They Know, Don’t Know and
Misunderstand

The most helpful type

of feedback provides
FEEDBACK
specific comments
about errors and
specific suggestions for
improvement (Bangert-Drowns,
Kulick, & Morgan, 1991; Elawar & Corno, 1985).
7. Helping Students Recognize What They Know, Don’t Know and
Misunderstand

Make certain that

students are using the
feedback they have
been given.

Expect to see the

improvements in their
future work
 8.Helping Students to Evaluate—Themselves, Others and the Teacher

• Friend to Groucho Marx:

“Life is difficult!” 

• Marx to Friend: “Compared

to what?”

imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/CLASS/1. ..
 Student Self-evaluation

Self-evaluation is defined
as students judging the
quality of their work,
based on evidence and
explicit criteria, for the
purpose of doing better
work in the future (Rolheiser
and Ross, 1999).
 Student Self-evaluation

When we teach
students how to assess
their own progress, and
when they do so against
known and challenging
quality standards, a
great deal of learning
can take place.
 Peer Evaluation

Those receiving the

feedback discover the
accuracy of their self
assessment.
 How to Do Peer Evaluation

Peers should focus their

feedback on a few
important aspects of the
work.

Using a rubric or set of

questions that focuses the
peer review process will
improve the feedback.
 Seeking Students' Feedback
Ask students three questions

1. What do you like about the

course and course instruction?

2. What would you change about

the course or course
instruction?

3. What could you do to make

the learning in this course
better for you and your peers?
 References

• Angelo, T.A. & Cross, P.K. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques, 2nd Edition.
San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass
• Bjork, R.A. (1994). Memory and Metamemory Considerations in the Training of
Human Beings. In J. Metcalfe and A. Shimamura (Eds.) Metacognition: Knowing
About Knowing. (pp. 185-205). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Givens, Barbara, Teaching to the Brain’s Natural Learning Systems, ASCD
Publications, 2002.
• Ratey, John. A User’s Guide to the Brain. Pantheon Books, New York, 2001.
• Sousa, David. How the Brain Learns, 2nd Edition. Ed 2001 Corwin Press, INC,
Thousand Oaks, CA
• Doyle, Terry. Helping Students Learn in a Learner Centered Environment: A Guide
to Teaching in Higher Education. 2008.Stylus, Sterling, Virginia
 References
• Rethinking Teaching in Higher Education, Edited by Alenoush Saroyan, Cheryl
Amundsen, Stylus Pub.2004
• Sprenger, Marilee. How to Teach so Students Remember. ASCD Publication, 2005.
• Sylwester, Robert. A Celebration of Neurons: An Educator’s Guise to the Human
Brain. ASCD Publication, 1995.
• Zull, James. (2002), The Art of Changing the Brain. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus
Publishing.
• Tagg, John. The Learning Paradigm College. Anker Publishing , Bolton MA 2003
• Covington, M. V. (2000) Goal , theory motivation and school achievement: An
Integrated review in Annual Review of Psychology ( pp 171-200)
• Dweck, Carol ( 2000) Self Theories: Their roles in motivation, personality and
development. Philadelphia, PA Psychology Press
 References
• How People Learn by National Research Council editor John Bransford, National
Research Council, 2000
• Goldberg, E. The Executive Brain Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind ,Oxford
University Press: 2001
• Ratey, J. MD :A User’s Guide to the Brain, Sprenger, M. Learning and Memory The
Brain in Action by, ASCD, 1999
• Pantheon Books: New York, 2001
• Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes' error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain.
New York, NY, Grosset/Putnam
• Damasio AR: Fundamental Feelings. Nature 413:781, 2001.
• Damasio AR: The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of
Consciousness, Harcourt Brace, New York, 1999, 2000.
 References
• Weimer, Maryellen, 2002, Learner Centered Teaching, Jossey Bass, San Francisco.
• Smith, Peter, 2004. The Quiet Crisis; How Higher Education is Failing America,
Anker Publishing, Bolton MA
• (Barbara L. Mcombs & Jo Sue Whistler, The Learner-Centered Classroom & School,
1997)