50 Student-Centred Learning
We’ve been exploring together how the blended-learning mode can be used to support adult-education principles, like those we have just been studying related to equity, diversity, and inclusion, that put the student at the centre of the learning experience. As Brent Mekelburg described in one of the course videos, as an institution, we are committed to student-centred learning, with “the learner themselves determining how, when, and where [to] access the experience of growth, or the education.”
According to Anna Sudderth, student-centred learning “makes students co-creators of their own education” and, in doing so, prepares them for our changing world, giving them the “self-direction, curiosity, creativity, and collaboration” skills they will need no matter where their life path may lead.
Sudderth goes on to say that successful student-centred-learning programs usually share some common features:
- Project-based and interdisciplinary learning
- Strong connections between curriculum and student interests
- Assessment as a tool to measure learning and support student growth
- Meaningful feedback platforms
- Learning plans tailored to individual students
- Flexibility and adaptability, including online options
We have shared with each other several resources that include student-centred activities. Consider going back and reviewing some of them again:
Blended-Learning Ideas: Examples from Instructors
Core Lesson Elements: Participatory (Active) Learning
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Here are some additional resources that you may also want to study now or note for later:
Camosun College. Active learning strategies. https://camosun.libguides.com/cetl/activelearning/additional-resources
Camosun College. Applied learning: Linking curriculum, classroom and community. https://legacy.camosun.ca/about/applied-learning/index.html
eLearning Camosun. (December 2020). Creating flexible learning experiences through asynchronous and synchronous delivery approaches. https://camosun.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=35655098
McCarthy, J. (September 9, 2015). Student-centered learning: It starts with the teacher. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-centered-learning-starts-with-teacher-john-mccarthy
Schwartz, H.L. (Oct 4, 2021). Authentic teaching and connected learning in the age of Covid-19. Carlow University. https://www.scholarlyteacher.com/post/authentic-teaching-and-connected-learning-in-the-age-of-covid-19
Sudderth, A. (January 5, 2002). What is student centred learning and why is it important? Rethink Together. https://xqsuperschool.org/rethinktogether/what-is-student-centered-learning/