A qualitative examination of connections between learner-centered teaching and past significant learning experiences

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published: Dec 11, 2012
Keywords:
learner-centered teaching, significant learning experiences, faculty reflections, active learning, student learning

Main Article Content

Tim Brackenbury
Bowling Green State University

Abstract

Learner-centered teaching is a collection of instructional practices that shift the emphasis of courses from the instructors’ goals and methods of delivery to the knowledge and skills that the students develop. This study examined potential commonalities between features of learner-centered teaching and the past significant learning experiences of current faculty. A phenomenological analysis of written essays revealed eight dominant themes: 1) Student responsibility for learning, 2) Learning through direct experience or example, 3) Responsive instructors, 4) Difficult activities that took time, 5) Connections to previous knowledge and experiences, 6) Direct research experience, 7) Challenging initial ideas and assumptions, and 8) Rich in content. These themes are discussed in terms of their connections to features of learner-centered teaching and potential implications for educators.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Brackenbury, T. (2012). A qualitative examination of connections between learner-centered teaching and past significant learning experiences. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 12(4), 12–28. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/josotl/article/view/3139
Issue
Volume 12, Number 4
Section
Articles
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (JoSoTL) right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License, (CC-BY) 4.0 International, allowing others to share the work with proper acknowledgement and citation of the work's authorship and initial publication in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
     
  2. Authors are able to enter separate, additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

  3. In pursuit of manuscripts of the highest quality, multiple opportunities for mentoring, and greater reach and citation of JoSoTL publications, JoSoTL encourages authors to share their drafts to seek feedback from relevant communities unless the manuscript is already under review or in the publication queue after being accepted. In other words, to be eligible for publication in JoSoTL, manuscripts should not be shared publicly (e.g., online), while under review (after being initially submitted, or after being revised and resubmitted for reconsideration), or upon notice of acceptance and before publication. Once published, authors are strongly encouraged to share the published version widely, with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

References

Bain, K. (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Barr, R.B., & Tagg, J. (1993). A new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change, 27, 12-25.

Black, K.A. (1993). What to do when you stop lecturing, Journal of Chemical Education, 70, 140-144.

Black P. & Wiliam, D. (2009). Developing the theory of formative assessment. Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability, 21, 5-31.

Bloom, B. S. (Ed.) (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Book 1 Cognitive Domain. New York: Longman.

Brackenbury, T. (2011, November). How past learning experiences compare with learnercentered teaching. Poster presented at the annual convention of the American Speech-LanguageHearing Association, San Diego, CA.

Brackenbury, T., Folkins, J., & Ginsberg, S. (2011, November). The signature pedagogy of communication sciences and disorders. Presentation at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, San Diego, CA.

Brackenbury, T., & Shaughnessy, P. (2010, April). Everything I Need to Know About Teaching, I Learned from Speech and Language Therapy. Paper presented at the CAPCSD Convention, San Antonio, TX.

Creswell, J.W. (1998). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Creswell, J.W. (2011). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Doolittle, P.E., & Siudzinski, R.A. (2010). Recommended syllabus components: What do higher education faculty include in their syllabi? Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 20, 29-61.

Doyle, T. (2008). Helping Students Learn in a Learner-centered Environment. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Eberly, M.B., Newton, S.E., & Wiggins, R. A. (2001). The syllabus as a tool for student-centered learning. Journal of General Education, 50, 56-74.

Fink, L.D. (2008). Creating Significant Learning Experiences. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Garavalia, L.S., Hummel, J.H., Wiley, L.P., & Huitt, W.G. (1999). Constructing the course syllabus: Faculty and student perceptions of important syllabus components. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 10, 5-21.

Hake, R.R. (1998). Interactive-engagement vs traditional methods: A six-thousand student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. American Journal of Physics, 66, 64-74.

Hinchliffe, G. (2011). What is a significant educational experience? Journal of Philosophy of Education, 45, 417-431.

King, A. (1993). From sage on the stage to guide on the side. College Teaching, 41, 30-35.

Lambert, N.M., & McCombs, B.L. (1997). How Students Learn. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Marton, F., & Säljö, R. (1976). On qualitative differences in learning: I-Outcome and process. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 46, 4-11.

Marzano, R.J. & Kendall, J.S. (2007). The New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (2ond ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Maxwell, J.A. (2005). Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

O’Brien, J.G., Millis, B.J., & Cohen, M.W. (2008). The Course Syllabus (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Perkins, D. (2008). Beyond understanding. In R. Land, J. H. F. Meyer, & J. Smith (Eds.) Threshold Concepts Within the Disciplines, 3-19. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Prince, M. (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education, 223-231.

Rhem, J. (1995). Deep/Surface approaches to learning: An introduction. The National Teaching and Learning Forum, 5, 1-5.

Richardson, V. (1997). Constructivist Teacher Education. New York: Routledge.

Rushton, A. (2005). Formative assessment: A key to deep learning? Medical Teacher, 27, 509513.

Savery, J.R., & Duffy, T.M. (2001). Problem Based Learning: An Instructional Model and its Constructivist Framework (Tech. Rep. No. 16-01). Indiana University, Center for Research on Learning and Technology.

Stoll, C. (2008). 18 Minutes With an Agile Mind. Presentation at TED2006. Retrieved March 30, 2012, from http://blog.ted.com/2008/03/27/clifford_stoll/

Weimer, M. (2002). Learner-centered Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Weimer, M. (2006). Enhancing Scholarly Work on Teaching and Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Yorke, M. (2003). Formative assessment in higher education: Moves towards theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practice. Higher Education, 45, 477-501.