In a student-led environment, teachers, act as coaches helping to inspire students. They work alongside their students to foster a sense of community. Students are able to learn together with their peers providing a more authentic learning experience for everyone involved. They start off by creating a set of rules and goals for the class to adhere to (Wong, 2021). With these set in place, students work together to engage with their peers in learning. Helping each other along the way to be successful and stay engaged in their own learning.
For the purposes of this article, the abbreviation SCL will be used in place of the phrase student-centered learning and SCC for a student-centered classroom.
Working Together
In SCL environments, students work together to learn rather than the information coming from one source, their instructor. Students learn to trust each other for information and trust themselves to provide accurate information to their peers. Each feeling a sense of responsibility to the other. With the instructor nearby, students have a source to keep discussions accurate and on topic (Mavelle et al., 2013). The added responsibility to their peers helps students to find meaning in their own learning. Participating in SCL activities such as peer discussion sessions (Spitzer et al., 2019) has been found to increase students’ academic results along with added engagement in the classroom. Working together with their peers, students are able to build a community within the classroom. In Kolb’s experiential learning model, it is noted that learning should provide students with a concrete experience where they can share ideas (Jarvis, 2003). Within a SCC students are provided with an environment where they can share and collaborate creating a more authentic learning experience for all involved. They understand that participation is what will drive their learning, making them engage not only with the learning material but, with each other as well.
Skill Building
Within SCC’s students are able to show their skill mastery through individual activities. An example of an activity that lets a student show their skill mastery is student-led presentations. Here, students can lead discussions about what they’ve learned in the previous unit. Within these discussions, students also build confidence in themselves by working on their communication and leadership skills (Marvell, 2013). Having an open environment where they can share ideas and questions also allows students to think more critically about the material. In addition to critical thinking skills, they also gain more reflective thinking because of the exchange of ideas (Zhang et al., 2023). Using the experiential model, students are engaging in reflective observation which is noted as a time when alternative thoughts and solutions are brought into learning (Jarvis, 2003). Gaining confidence in themselves and their new skills makes students want to participate with the rest of the group (Marvell, 2013). Below, is a TED Talk given by teacher Katherine Cadwell, who discusses how having a SCC has improved her student’s critical thinking skills.
Learning Outcomes
An aspect of experiential learning is verifying what was learned by allowing the student to show and measure their knowledge (Jarvis, 2003). In SCL, knowledge can still be measured through traditional means such as tests. Participating in student-led study sessions has been shown to improve students' test scores (Spitzer, 2019). In a study published in 2023, students who participated in a SCC had better test scores than their counterparts who learned through a traditional classroom setting (Zhang, et al., 2023). Graded demonstrations are another method that allows teachers to gauge the efficacy of classroom learning. There is an added benefit that students want to demonstrate their knowledge (Zhang, et al., 2023) and are enthusiastic about learning (Marvell, 2013). Demonstrations take the pressure off of students who may suffer from test anxiety. Overall, those who have participated in SCCs felt that they had a more positive learning experience (Marvell, 2013).
References
Jarvis, P., & Griffin, C. (2003). Adult and Continuing Education: Teaching, learning and research. Taylor & Francis.
Marvell, A. D., Simm, D., Schaaf, R., & Harper, R. (2013). Students as scholars: evaluating student-led learning and teaching during fieldwork. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 37(4), 547–566. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2013.811638
Mcleod, S., PhD. (2023). Kolb’s Learning Styles and Experiential Learning cycle. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html
Spitzer, S., Kara, M., & Shore, F. (2019). Can Peer-Led Team Learning Improve Student Outcomes in an Undergraduate Introductory Statistics Course. Conference Papers -- Psychology of Mathematics & Education of North America, 400–404.
TEDx Talks. (2018, April 26). Students need to lead the classroom, not teachers | Katherine Cadwell | TEDxStowe [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzQhiB2EOVE
Wong, K. (2020). “A design framework for enhancing engagement in student-centered learning: own it, learn it, and share it” by Lee and Hannafin (2016): an international perspective. Educational Technology Research and Development, 69(1), 93–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09842-w
Zhang, X., Zhang, B., & Zhang, F. (2023). Student-centered case-based teaching and online–offline case discussion in postgraduate courses of computer science. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-022-00374-2
Week 2:
Blog Response Post 3-
Experiential Learning and Student-Centered Classrooms
Jeanette Henshaw
Strategies for Learner Engagement – IDT520
Chris Deason
June 14, 2024
Janay Belle posted about student centered classrooms. Student led classrooms foster a sense of community and students develop responsibility. They find success in learning and know that they can rely on their peers and teacher for support. The teacher plays the role of coach, who is merely there to support and redirect or explain. The peers are there to encourage each other and to keep each other focused on the activity.
Student led learning lends itself to authentic learning frequently through experiential learning. “The Stanford findings provide independent evidence that deeper learning strategies and student-centered…
Introduction
I really enjoyed this case study exploring the interactive, peer-supported learning model offered by Student-Centered Learning within a Student-Centered Classroom. Experiential learning with personal relevance provides strong motivation within the classroom, however, it can quickly “fall off the rails” or lack the technical specificity needed for many adult learning tasks. This essay will explore several learning theories present within this case study and illuminate their application to our field of instructional design and technology.
The Enormous Benefits of Student-Centered Learning
Student-Centered Learning (SCL) focuses on the needs, abilities, interests, and learning styles of students, placing them at the center of the learning process (Zhazira et al., 2024). This case study highlights how SCL environments foster a sense of community…
Inspiring students to learn on their own is fantastic, it shows that they are capable of doing whatever they have on their minds. Creates an environment where the students set their limits and motivates them to surpass their expectations towards a topic in a more natural way that will keep students engaged and willing to do more than in a regular classroom.
Working together shows them that you as a teacher know what is tough and you are not just making them learn it because the curriculum says it. It increases the credibility of the teacher so the students will be more willing to try something new and be more engaged in class since they want to be better and…
Experiential Learning and Student-Centered Classrooms
IDT520-O 01 Blog Case Study Response Week 2.2 Project
Tricia Sang
https://drdeason.wixsite.com/201911-blog-idt520/post/experiential-learning-and-student-centered-classrooms
Students’ motivation generates, directs, and sustains what they do to learn.
In chapter three of the book How learning works: 7 research-based principles for smart teaching how students' motivation generates, directs and sustains what they do learn is discussed as in this blog. If students aren’t invested in what they learn they quickly lose focus and interest. Today’s students have so much more distractions via technology and their brain and how they learn and what matters on a personal level to them is totally different from ten to twenty years ago. (Ambrose, et al, 2010)
Today’s distractions vary as the…
In the Student-Centered Classroom (SCC) model, we can observe the application of the five principles of motivation outlined by Reiser and Dempsey (2018).
Perceived Curiosity: In SCCs, students take a more active role in setting goals and rules for the class. This involvement inherently sparks curiosity as students become designers of their learning conditions, encouraging a sense of inquiry and interest in their chosen topics (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018).
Perceived Relevance: SCCs offer students self-sufficiency in their learning journey, enabling them to select subjects and activities aligned with their interests and purposes. This freedom increases the relevance of the learning experience, as students see an explicit link between what they are studying and their unique aspirations (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018).