Helping Students Learn in a Learner-Centered Environment - A Guide to Facilitating Learning in Higher Education Free & Full Download

I am one of those education lifers. Every fall since I was 5 years old, I have headed off to school, and I’ve been on one side of the desk or the other for the past 51 years. In that time I have experienced some amazing teachers, including Mr. Zelinski in 8th grade, and Sr. Marybride Ryan and Dr. Dave Yarington at Aquinas College. I have also experienced some of the poorest teaching ever perpetrated on a student. I learned in spite of some teachers and because of others. What I have learned from going to school for the past 51 years is that teachers can make learning fun, interesting, exciting, and challenging, or they can make it awful, boring, painful, and useless. Teachers can encourage learners or discourage them. My best teachers were not only encouraging and supportive, but they also taught me how to learn. They helped me not only to see the value of the content, but to grasp the greater value of being able to learn whatever I became interested in on my own.
Creating a learner-centered environment is the most important thing an educator can do to optimize students’ learning. At first this concept might be a bit uncomfortable for students, most of whom are accustomed to teachercentered learning experiences. Their learning has largely been controlled by teachers and, as students, they have had few, if any, choices about what and how to learn. They have spent most of their time in traditional learning environments, and, for most, their academic success has reinforced the value of those traditional experiences. Students have no reason to think their college learning experiences will be any different. As college- and university-level educators, we can, and should, change this.

Share This Post :