Student-centered Approach

 The Benefits of a Student-centered Approach

Whenever I have to deliver a TEFL course or any training addressed to the faculty, I always ask my audience the following questions: Which is the best class you have attended so far? Did you feel safe and confident in this class? Did you feel you had actually learned in this class? Do you remember that teacher/professor/facilitator's name? What was this class like? What was the atmosphere like?

I know I will bring back great memories among my audience, and that is because I am pretty sure the class they remember was one in which a student-centered approach was implemented.

In my blog today, I will go over the main features and benefits of this approach. I will try to make it simple and appealing so you feel encouraged to start applying it in your English, or any other foreign language, lessons.

Why is student-centered learning approach effective?

Giving students authority over both the content of the lesson and the teaching strategy is the core tenet of student-centered learning. When subjects are pertinent to our students' needs, likes, and interests, and when they are actively involved in generating, comprehending, and connecting to knowledge, their learning becomes more meaningful. Moreover, student-centered learning engages students as leaders and decision-makers in their own learning, as contrast to teacher-centered models.

Common shared features on student-centered learning

• It is emphasized in multidisciplinary and project-based learning.
• There is a close link between the curriculum and the interests of the students.
• Assessment is used as a technique to monitor students' progress and enhance their learning.
• It is a flexible approach and it can be adapted in different contexts, particularly as we go toward virtual learning.

How do students feel when generating learning under this approach?

We must understand that our pupils, no matter their ages, are looking forward to generating new knowledge in a catchy and interesting way according to their actual needs. They are sick and tired of listening to some humans lecturing them and providing them with information they copied/pasted on the slides they present in class! 

When implementing the student-centered approach, classroom roles are swapped as students assume more active roles and teachers stop being the only content providers. Students feel they are individuals; when we feel in charge, we tend to become more engaged. In a similar way, when a student is placed as the center of the lesson, their attitude toward learning significantly increases because their learning process is nearly fully guided by themselves or through meaningful and attractive activities that make learning more relevant in their contexts.

The teacher's role in student-centered learning

Teachers implement the student-centered approach in their classrooms because they have seen how student motivation increases, how students take ownership of their learning process, and how a traditional classroom becomes a learning community. The role of the traditional teacher is transformed within this approach into a facilitator, a mentor and a guide.

When being facilitators in student-centered learning, teachers act as subject matter experts and important providers of knowledge, and students are equally responsible for gaining access to that knowledge.

When teachers become mentors, students gain the self-assurance and drive they need to take charge of their learning as they have strong relationships with reliable adults.

When teachers become their students' guides, they provide their pupils the structure and direction they need to overcome obstacles and recognize how their academic work relates to more important interests and objectives.

The shift toward student-centered learning can be unsettling. After all, teachers enjoy feeling in charge of the class and making sure that everything is properly fastened, just like pupils. But because there are virtually no restrictions with this approach, students may really go the extra mile and engage fully in the learning process.

We must keep in mind that we are preparing our students for the future. We, as teachers, should adapt by letting our pupils thrive in contemporary culture that encourages us to engage future citizens in real-life events and circumstances, rather than presenting them with a universal perspective, keeping in mind the learning needs of the students.

I encourage all my fellow teachers, instructors and professors to be open to change our traditional classrooms and our traditional habits since our main goal is to graduate students that are self-assured and capable of adapting with the times.

If you want to expand your knowledge toward this approach, explore the following sites:

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-centered-learning-starts-with-teacher-john-mccarthy

https://www.edglossary.org/student-centered-learning/

https://books.google.com.sv/books?id=MujyDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=student+centered+approach&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjqtvnsop_6AhVogoQIHWYFA8kQ6AF6BAgJEAI#v=onepage&q=student%20centered%20approach&f=false