Premises of the Learner-Centered Model

1. Learners are distinct and unique. Their distinctiveness and uniqueness must be attended to and taken into account if learners are to engage in and take responsibility for their own learning.
2. Learners’ unique differences include their emotional states of mind, learning rates, learning styles, stages of development, abilities, talents, feelings of efficacy, and other academic and nonacademic attributes and needs. These must be taken into account if all learners are to be provided with the necessary challenges and opportunities for learning and self-development.
3. Learning is a constructive process that occurs best when what is being learned is relevant and meaningful to the learner and when the learner is actively engaged in creating his or her own knowledge and understanding by connecting what is being learned with prior knowledge and experience.
4. Learning occurs best in a positive environment, one that contains positive interpersonal relationships and interactions, that contains comfort and order, and in which the learner feels appreciated, acknowledged, respected, and validated.
5. Learning is a fundamentally natural process; learners are naturally curious and basically interested in learning about and mastering their world. Although negative thoughts and feelings sometimes interfere with this natural inclination and must be dealt with, the learner does not require “fixing.”

After reviewing the above definitions I have reached the conclusion that defining learner centered is varied and without much to ‘hang your hat on” in regards to using as a foundation for quality, student success, development of quality and measuring the effectiveness of the program or course.

The most current term that I hear bandied about is “self directed learning..” exactly what is self directed learning and what does it mean for students?

Defined as:

Be sure and read Roger Hiemstra’s article on self-directed learning which includes the following definition:

Regardless of how we apply these terms, how learners learned, and how teachers teach those students who are now working their way through the public school system (elementary and secondary), virtual schools, and charter schools, will be the genesis for tranformative change in our higher education institutions.   One question that I kept returning to is how do measure success or failure when through these definitions we are seeking to put more and more of the accountability for learning on the student.  And who should be accountable in this age of “no child left behind,” standardized testing of everything and the cookie cutter approach to education that entails ..if “student centered learning” en-vogue movement of the day, especially in online education.

What is quality in online education, what should we be measuring and evaluating?

There are new paradigms in education that should be considered in evaluating the online course or program.  How does that course or program engage the students, provide them with opportunities for synthesis of the materials, critical thinking, multi “everything,” validates their learning, provides for opportunities of natural and designed collaboration, communicate across multiple modalities to multi dimensional/diversified audiences?  How do we measure how students create content that is pertinent to the outcomes of what they need to learn, how they are teaching and learning with others.    How the use of PowerPoint is applied in an online course suddenly doesn’t seem so important as we prepare students for working, accessing information, communicating, and collaborating in a fast paced global society. Finally we must ask ourselves why it is so compelling that we
“control” our students.  Why must we funnel their access to content through our ‘filters,” and why do actually think we are really exerting any control any way.

So how do we define quality and does it make sense to measure the quality in online education against that of face to face..in my opinion that is a cop out…we should stretch the boundaries of where technology can take us in online education by expanding our definition of what that means outside of the parameters of face to face education.  There is so much more that we can do with technology, increasing the amount of time that a student spend reviewing online content, researching on  their own, and multi-modalities of delivery that meets an individual student’s needs.

It has been asserted that students, who have been dissatisfied with the content in their courses have actually reviewed the content in similar open courses available on the web. they do this in order to  supplement their face to face and online courses.

So then what is the role of teachers, faculty, and administrators.  This is the disruption of education that is occurring, we don’t know, our roles are in transition.  Do students and learners need us, can the tools of technology facilitate and define what student need to learn …will technology remove the education “middle” ground of delivery in much the same way that the music industry has been disrupted, cable televisions, newspapers, and publishing.  I ponder that in order for the ideal definitions of “student centered learning” and self directed learning to be achieved the educational institutions, the teachers, and administrators have to be removed from the equation?

As an educator I acknowledge that my profession is changing, when the student or consumer defines how to validate what he or she has learned and that validation is widely accepted then our educational institutions have been disrupted.   While I am excited by change, as always ..I am apprehensive and selfishly concerned how this change will impact me.

McCombs, B. L., & Whisler, J. S. (1997). The learner-centered classroom and school: Strategies for increasing student motivation and achievement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.