I would like to mention the 'student-centred' pedagogical approach in my assignment.
More specifically, I would describe a project the students engaged in. The project in question included a certain degree of freedom, whereby the students were given the option of selecting between a list of different topics and to elaborate on the chosen theme in different ways.
Could this be considered an example of a 'student-centred' approach given that students' preferences are balanced with concise project completion guidelines? I am not fully clear on the contexts where the term 'student-centred' can be used.
Many thanks in advance for your help. I really need it.
Hello Costanza,
Student-centred learning can be considered in comparison with teacher-centred learning, whereby in the latter students are passive and teaching hold the power in curricula design and delivery. Therefore, in student-centred learning, students are active and hold power. I feel that your description is not fully student-centred learning - there are elements of shared power between teachers and students. My suggestion would be to use "active learning" which has been defined as doing + reflecting on what was done.
Student centred learning
http://eprints.teachingandlearning.ie/3345/1/O'Neill%20and%20McMahon%202005.pdf
Active learning
http://www.dl.ueb.vnu.edu.vn/bitstream/1247/10092/1/Active%20Learning%20Strategies%20in%20Face-to-Face%20Courses.pdf
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1469787408090841?casa_token=oN1pbxeKhyMAAAAA:CNLU0g4ixQn6_RMdtpgbl2wAPDE3S8qcRKeFukeO6cRyZ260WrDaMo_2XzrBCQB1e602lZdH-iQe
From an academic research perspective, that is not my area of focus, so Im not sure if it would strictly sit within the bounds of student centred or not (it may require more of the actual structure/topics to be developed by the students). As a practicising teacher, however, i would say it sounds like it is heading in the right direction. The learning needs to be directed and discovered by the stduents, rather than provided for them. And if the choices were extremely structured with little personal freedom, then perhaps no. But if the various options have areas for genuine personal choice eg they choose the specific topic within the broader provided topic to focus on, or they choose between a number of substantially different methods of completing and presenting the task, and they are discovering the content/learning themselves, then it certainly has student centred aspects. Whether the teacher acts as facillitator, rather than instructor, is another indicator.
No!
All lessons have a certain degree of freedom...
So, for example, if the teacher decides what the question or focus of a project is and then gives the student oportunities to explore it that is a kind of agency but nothing like as much as if you let the student, appropriately supported, decide on an engaging focus or question.
You might find it helpful to have a continuum of student freedom and specify what behaviours/habits you might expect to see from very low engagement to high.
This blog is interesting
https://education-reimagined.org/what-do-you-mean-when-you-say-student-agency/
I have written about this here - Book Expansive Education: teaching learners for the real world
Bill
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