We have all seen the stereotypical version of what a lecture-based classroom looks like in television and movies. Whenever popular media wants to portray school as being dull, we are shown an unfashionable teacher standing at the front of a class speaking in a monotone voice about a dry topic. This (hopefully minus the dull, monotone, and dry parts) is what’s referred to as a teacher-centered classroom. In contrast, there are student-centered classrooms that encourage learning to be directed by the students. Assignments in this format typically involve small group collaboration and/or autonomy for the learner to choose how and what to learn. The student-centered arrangement has quickly been gaining popularity and is considered by many to be a more dynamic method of learning. However, both structures have their advantages, and I will discuss how each can be implemented in order to create an effective learning environment for all.

Student-Centered Classrooms

Student-centered classrooms find the teacher acting more as a guide than an authority. Teachers are placed in a role where they can focus on asking open-ended questions that facilitate critical thinking and further inquiry rather than simply communicating facts and demonstrating pre-solved problems. Guidance can be customized to meet the needs of each student or small group on a more personal level. From the student’s perspective, this classroom setup often finds peers collaborating with each other on projects that improve communication and conflict resolution skills. Ideas and opinions are liberally shared among students that promote diverse viewpoints. Therefore, student-centered learning can be a tool that helps build empathy and a more compassionate understanding of unfamiliar cultures.

Another benefit of student-centered learning is that it promotes failure as an opportunity to learn. Without the teacher providing a clear structure on how to succeed, there is typically a greater probability that failure will occur. This can be highly beneficial to students’ development. Students will have the opportunity to identify aspects of their process or contributions that didn’t work as initially planned and think about how to improve them on subsequent attempts. This process helps develop critical thinking and self-reflection habits that can elevate long-term intellectual growth and that can even be applied to many contexts in one’s personal life.

At the assessment level, student-centered group assignments provide instructors with a better opportunity to perform informal assessments of individual students. While students are working in groups during class, instructors can meet with each group or individual to assess their progress on the given assignment, discuss any difficulties they may be having, and offer personalized feedback. This is also a more effective way to learn about each student’s learning dispositions, which is a critical step in developing instructional techniques that fully meet the needs of each student.

Student-centered activities can range from simple and quick to lengthy and involved. Here are some examples of effective assignments teachers can use to create a more student-centered environment.

Teacher-Centered Classrooms

Although the teacher-centered approach is currently out favor among many progressive educators, it does exhibit positive characteristics that can be useful in improving student learning. First, it provides teachers with a very effective forum in which to communicate large doses of important information to the entire class in a short amount of time. Discussions and assignments are facilitated by the teacher which can be helpful in clarifying confusing topics and ensuring that important material isn’t accidentally skipped. Additionally, teacher-centered classrooms tend to have more order and organization. This allows for less distractions and a more focused environment where important subject matter can be explored in depth. Students benefit from having an expert (the instructor) provide them with pertinent information and relevant contexts to industries students are looking to work in.

Context

Most professional industries require some form of collaboration, so designing assignments that require students to develop interpersonal skills alongside technical proficiencies can be valuable for their development in a more holistic manner. If a particular group of students shows a lack of effective communication during a student-centered assignment, it can be an opportunity for the instructor to intervene with feedback regarding the importance of communication skills. Even if the instructor is a subject matter expert in a more technical field and doesn’t have the requisite knowledge or time to give informed instruction on effective group work, simply emphasizing the significance of peer collaboration and its relevance to real-world work can be a valuable benefit to students. Student-centered group projects are primarily reliant on student problem solving, but instructors can and should take liberties to help guide thought processes, ensure learning objectives are being met, and ensure students are working together effectively.

As I have so far outlined, it’s clear that both teacher-centered and student-centered approaches have their advantages. However, implementing only one of these approaches in the classroom may not meet the needs of all students in the class. Each student has a unique way of processing and communicating information, so conjoining the two approaches into one’s instructional design can give all students a chance to participate in the learning process and satisfy the class objectives. Striving for balance and continuously gauging students’ reactions to different teaching methods can be effective devices to ensure all students are being reached and that your classroom doesn’t end up like the ones typically portrayed in popular media.