EDU 601 Promoting Student Success in the Online Learning: Student-Centered Learning vs. Instructor-Centered Learning
References:
Instructor-Centered Learning
Student-Centered Learning
ÇUBUKÇU, Z. (2012). TEACHERS' EVALUATION OF STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS. Education, 133(1), 49-66. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=8dabce89-7b8a-4a9a-8c7b-a47fc20e1a4f%40sessionmgr120&hid=126
Garrett, T. (2008). Student-Centered and Teacher-Centered Classroom management: a Case Study of Three Elementary Teachers. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 43(1), 34 - 47. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ829018.pdf
Ahmed, K. A, (2013). Teacher-Centered versus Learner -Centered Teaching Style. The Journal of Global Business Management, 9(1). 22-34. Retrieved from http://www.jgbm.org/page/3%20Ahmed%20Khaled%20Ahmed.pdf
Characteristics: According to ÇUBUKÇU (2012), some characteristics of student-centered learning are that it, "emphasizes tasks that attract students various interests, organizes content and activities around the subjects that are meaningful to the students, contains clear opportunities that let all students develop their own learning skills and progress to the next level of learning, contains activities that help students understand and improve their own viewpoints, and supports challenging learning activities even if the learners find them difficult" (p. 51).
Benefits (3) + Examples:
Drawbacks (3) + Examples
Characteristics: According to Garrett (2008), some characteristics of teacher-centered learning are, "discipline comes from the teacher, the teacher is the sole leader, students are allowed limited responsibilities, the teacher makes the rules and posts them for all students, and consequences are fixed for all students" (p. 35).
Benefits (3) + Examples
Drawbacks (3) + Examples
Alexas_Fotos. (n.d.). student-1571488_960_720. Licensed under Creative Commons on Pixabay.com 
Willo290971. (n.d.). student-1571488_960_720. Licensed under Creative Commons on Pixabay.com
Definiton: According to ÇUBUKÇU (2012), student-centered learning is, "a model which puts the student in the center of the learning process" (p. 50). This means that students take a more active role in their education.
Definition: According to Ahmed (2013), instructor-centered learning, is where "students become passive learners, or rather just recipients of teachers’ knowledge and wisdom" (p. 22). This means that students are being instructed by their teachers in what they learn at school.
Barrett, Poe, Spagnola-Doyle (2012). Power Up: A Practical Student's Guide to Online Learning, 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall.
Benefit #2: Students become active learners: Students take ownership of their own learning. Example: Rather than wait for their instructors to motivate them and tell them what to do, the students take action and ownership for their learning by getting to work on their self-motivated projects.
Benefit #3: Students take on more responsibility: Students are actively shaping their learning experience and how their classroom is run. They are collaborating with each other more and making democratic decisions. They are also self-assessing their performance and their behaviors. Example: Students are collectively deciding on classroom responsibilities and finding individual ways to assess themselves.
Benefit #1: Students pursue their own goals: According to ÇUBUKÇU (2012), "because students pursue their own goals, all of their activities are meaningful to them" (p. 50). This gives the students a reason to want to learn. Example: Students get to choose which topic they want to research and how they want to present it either in a project, presentation, or other method.
Drawback #2: Instructors must have a different plan for each student: Rather than have a set plan for the whole class, teachers in student-centered learning environments must have plans for each student. They must keep track of each plan and have relationships with each student while also managing the class. Example: One student is working on a project. The teacher discusses the project with the student. Then he/she shifts gears and talks to another student who is doing a completely different project. He/she must be organized and be able to focus on one student at a time. Then another student needs his/her help but there are too many students to manage at once.
Drawback #3: Assessment is a Challenge: When every student is working on a different project then the instructor must create ways to assess each project. Since every student has specific needs and is learning different things, the instructor has to access what each student is learning. Example: One student may be learning about the ocean and is creating a presentation. The instructor could access his/her knowledge of the ocean and their presentation skills. While another student is working on a research paper of Space. The instructor would assess their ability to write and their thesis.
Drawback #1: Possibility of Unmotivated Students: If students are not motivated to learn that the student-centered learning approach will be very challenging for them. Students need to know what they want to learn as well as take the steps to begin to learn it. This requires that students can work independently. Example: A student is having trouble coming up with an idea. He/She wants the teacher to give them an idea. The teacher gives them an idea. The student then wants the teacher to do the work for them. The teacher refuses.
Benefit #2: Classroom Management is Easier: In this case, the instructor has full power on how the classroom is run versus having students bicker about how they think things should be done. Having rules for students to follow creates order. Example: The students know that when they come in to class they need to sit down and be quiet. This was a rule created and enforced by the instructor. The students comply with this rule.
Benefit #3: Set Curriculum: The instructor doesn't have to learn brand new content for each student. Instead they have a set curriculum which helps them know what they should teach. Example: Rather than creating content for each individual student, the teacher has lessons planned to teach the students about volcanos. He/She knows what to teach and how to teach it.
Benefit #1: Every Student is Learning the Same Thing: Instructors know that students are coming into class with knowledge and walking out of class with the content they are teaching their students. Example: An Instructor wants to teach students about the solar system. The instructor chooses what facts they want the students to know and then assesses them on that material.
Drawback #2: Students may be unmotivated by subject content: Most of the time students have to be motivated to do anything. This is no different with learning. If students don't like what they are doing then they will not care about it. Example: If an instructor was teacher his/her students about equations but no one cared then the students ability to learn might suffer or they might not put as much effort into learning as they would if they were learning something they were interested in.
Drawback #3: Students may lack agency and intrinsic motivation to learn: Students might wait around for the teacher to tell them everything instead of seeking out answers by themselves. This could teach them to be passive and to not work hard to individually find the answers they seek. Example: The student always comes up and asks the instructor what the answer is. The instructor gives them the answer. There is a test the next day. The student can't answer the questions because they don't know how to try because they have relied on the teacher to tell them what to do at every turn.
Drawback #1: Lack of one-on-one instruction: Since there are so many students in each class and everyone is required to learn the same content in the same timeframe, instruction may not be varied and students who need additional help will not get it. Example: The teacher is giving a lecture. One student is confused. The teacher tries and explains to the student to try to get them to understand but because of time then keeps going with their lecture. The student is still confused about the content and gets discouraged and feels lost.
Examples: 1) Students are sitting in a classroom while their instructor uses a powerpoint to give them a lecture. The students listen to the content that the instructor is presenting and take notes. 2) The Teacher creates a behavior plan that the students must follow. He/She goes step-by-step explaining the steps of the plan. 3) The Instructor posts jobs for each table. The students are required to do those jobs as the teacher instructs. These jobs are only small things compared to the responsibilities the teacher has. The teacher makes the rules.
Examples: 1) Students are independantly working on their own projects. The students chose their projects individually. 2) Classroom rules are developed by both teachers and students. There is a equal level of decision-making and responsibility for both instructor and student. 3) Consequences reflect individual differences with each student. Each student is different in this way.