Learning-centered Teaching Research Articles

Teaching Teachers: Commentary on Principles of Effective Course Design

Invited commentary on the 2021 Journal of Management Education Lasting Impact Award for Dr. David Whetten 2007 article Principles of Effective Course Design: What I Wish I Had Known about Learning-centered Teaching 30 Years Ago.

Exploration of Learning-Centered Teaching Reform: Taking "PHP Framework Technology" as an Example

Exploration of Learning-Centered Teaching Reform: Taking "PHP Framework Technology" as an Example

Discussion on the Organization Strategies of the Learning-Centered Teaching Process in Primary School Lower Grades - Taking Chinese Teaching as an Example

Discussion on the Organization Strategies of the Learning-Centered Teaching Process in Primary School Lower Grades - Taking Chinese Teaching as an Example

Exploration and practice of synthetic biology teaching mode based on research frontiers and hotspots

Synthetic biology, a course with a sound theoretical system and a wide application range, plays a role in the cultivation of innovative talents in the field of bioengineering. To this end, we have set up a synthetic biology course in our university. First, according to the concept of imparting basic knowledge, highlighting innovative practice, and keeping up with cutting-edge progress, we assembled a high-level teaching team for synthetic biology. The team constantly adjusted and optimized the course contents and achieved a novel and reasonable course system. Second, we introduced frontier cases of synthetic biology reported in high-level journals, as well as breaking news in this field in classroom teaching, which enriched the teaching contents and aroused students' interest. Third, taking these cases as the breakthrough point, we guided students to in-depth discussions through the learning-centered teaching mode to improve students' abilities of critical thinking and theoretical innovation. In summary, the course has achieved good teaching outcomes and improved the cultivation of innovative talents. Therefore, we share our work with peer teachers, aiming to give new insights into the teaching reform of synthetic biology and other related courses.

DẠY HỌC TRẢI NGHIỆM MÔN TÂM LÍ HỌC KĨ SƯ TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM KĨ THUẬT TP. HỒ CHÍ MINH

The vigorous development of the fourth industrial revolution is placing new equirements on knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards trained human resources. This fact requires higher education to have a comprehensive innovation, which emphasizes the innovation according to experiential learning-centered teaching to develop students' professional skills and core skills such as problem-solving, creative thinking, critical thinking, teamwork, etc. Experiential teaching provides students with opportunities to learn by directly observing, discovering, and manipulating objects and phenomena in meaningful contexts related to the lesson\subject\program, thereby applying theoretical knowledge to solve practical situations of life and profession. The article presents some theoretical issues in higher education, such as experiential learning and experiential teaching methods. The article also analyzes the results of students' self-assessment on the level of performing learning actions, the change in problem-solving skill, and their learning outcomes when applying experiential teaching methods in teaching Engineering Psychology course at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education.

Republication of “Principles of effective course design: What I wish I had known about learning-centered teaching 30 years ago”

Ten years ago, after 20 years as a university professor, I was asked to direct the teaching and learning support center at my university. I quickly realized I had almost no knowledge of the published scholarship on this subject. From my reading of this literature, I found the research on the predictors of student learning particularly informative. In particular, I gained an appreciation for the impact of course design. In this article, I summarize a framework for designing “significant learning experiences.” In discussing the three key components of course design (learning outcomes, learning activities, and learning assessments), I offer tips and give examples relevant for the field of management. My intent is to share the most important information I have learned from a decade of conversations with experts on student learning—the things I wish someone had taught me 30 years ago.

Curriculum design and implementation of teaching in experimental genetic engineering blended course under the principle of learning-centered teaching

Teaching in experiments of biology is important for the cultivation of life science talents. In view of the rapid development of life science and the increasing demand for research-oriented talent training, teaching in experiments of biology should set up a variety of learning outcomes: to train experimental skill, to cultivate students' experimental design and operation abilities, and to improve students' scientific thinking and innovative consciousness. We have carried out an educational reform on experimental genetic engineering blended course. In this paper, we introduced our methods of organizing online materials, the curriculum design of the blended course, the implementation details, and a preliminary analysis of teaching effects. We found that experimental genetic engineering blended course could support students' active learning and a learning-centered teaching model. Moreover, it could facilitate students' achievement of improving experimental skills, cultivating a rigorous scientific attitude, professional research quality and academic innovation ability.

Making Learning-Centered Teaching Work: Practical Strategies for Implementation (2nd Edition)

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Exploring the Relationship Using Mosston and Ashworths Teaching Styles of Physical Education Teachers in Turkey

In this study, the relationship using Mosston and Ashworth’s teaching styles of physical education teachers and their using intensities regarding stills were examined according to their gender, experience, and serving in public and private schools. In collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the study data, a qualitative study paradigm was utilized. In the scope of study, semi-structured interview was made with 23 physical education teachers selected by purposeful sampling. According to the result of data analysis, while physical education teachers were taught lessons, it was revealed that they teaching-centered teaching styles. In addition, when the teaching styles of physical education teachers are evaluated in the context of intercode relationships, it was revealed that they used the most frequently the styles related to “Command-A – Reciprocal-C” “Command-A – Practice-B”. Intercode relationships decreases from teaching-centered teaching styles to learning-centered teaching styles. Especially, it was revealed that “Self-Teaching- K” and “Convergent and Divergent Discovery- G/H” styles, among learning-centered teaching styles, were not related to the other styles at all. Teaching styles teachers use is an indicator of that teaching-centered education are more prominently given. In addition, the intensities using Mosston and Ashworth’s teaching styles of the teachers according to the gender, experience, serving in the public and private schools were identified.

Humanity, expectations, access and transformation (HEAT): revisiting South African higher education entrance assessment in a postcolonial context

ABSTRACT Entrance assessment and standardized testing is a feature of the South African higher education landscape, with many universities using assessment and testing as benchmarking, placement or, in some instances, gatekeeping exercises. Entrance assessment practices seek to inform universities about the capabilities of students. In this paper we examine current entrance assessment paradigms and practices through our frame of humanity, expectations, access and transformation (HEAT) embedded in a broader lens of postcolonialism. We claim that current practices do not lay a foundation for meeting the larger goals of higher education – they do not transform human relationships, ignore ways of being in the world, fail to sufficiently embed learning-centred teaching, nor promote metacognitive development, self-efficacy, resilience or lead to transformation. In so doing, we contribute a new way of thinking about the transformation of higher education today and the way in which diagnostic assessment could be re-visited to meet broader goals.

<br /><br />CONCEÇÕES SOBRE AVALIAÇÃO DAS APRENDIZAGENS NO ENSINO SUPERIOR O CASO DO ENSINO DE ENFERMAGEM<br /> CONCEPTIONS ABOUT EVALUATION OF LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION THE CASE OF NURSING EDUCATION

Objective: To analyze the conceptions about apprenticeship evaluation in higher education and the case of nursing teaching. Methodology: a descriptive and essay study of conceptual analysis based on the theoretical reference. Results: The learning-centered teaching model refers is operationalized by the design of strategies that lead the students to learn, guided by the teachers. This model takes a dynamic perspective, focuses on the principles of the Bologna Declaration and breaks with the traditional model of education, dominant in Europe until the late 1980s. The evaluation of learning in the different pedagogical models results from a set of intentional actions whose centrality shifted from student performance to the processes that lead to certain performances. Emerge the appreciation of the contexts and stimuli that provide environments for learning. The approximately two decades of integration of nursing education in higher education followed the paradigm changes, simultaneously with the process of adaptation and integration that occurred. Conclusion: It should be noted that the evaluation of learning in Nursing (as in other areas) is not apprehended by praxis. The inherent conceptual schemes must always be ascertained from the pedagogical models that support the relation of teaching and learning, according to the principles of Bologna. Descriptors: Higher education; learning; nursing education.

A course design workshop as a possible path from a content-centered to a learning-centered teaching

In order to meet the needs of a constantly changing Society, the Universities need to constantly improve their processes of teaching and learning. To do so, it is essential that professors are fully committed and well prepared to teach aiming at students learning, instead of content delivery. Faculty development programs might be helpful to support the institution and the professors in this way. Since designing these programs is a challenging task, we intend to contribute with faculty developers by reporting our experience here. We have adapted a course design workshop developed at McGill University to our context at PUCPR, in Curitiba, South of Brazil. During the workshop, the participants had to write a new syllabus of their course, elaborate a concept map, both of them with only the essential aspects for learning. They had to define the learning outcomes and only afterwards to choose active methods to help students achieve them. Throughout the whole process, participants gave feedback to each other. The activities of the workshop, along with the fruitful discussions among professors of different backgrounds helped professors to view the content as something that supports the development of learning outcomes. Therefore, we conclude that this workshop has opened the way to methodological innovations that develop learning of higher cognitive dimensions, since the professor has established more challenging expectations for the students when writing the new teaching plan.

Educational Development Efforts Aligned With the Assessment Cycle

Using an assessment cycle as an organizing framework, this article illustrates how educational development and assessment mutually complement each other. It describes an assessment study conducted to determine if two colleges at a small university met their strategic goals to increase the adoption of learning-centered teaching. This study served the parallel function of assessing the impact of sustained educational development efforts by the Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to promote learning-centered teaching. The majority of interviewed faculty reported using learning-centered approaches. The data collection method itself also served as a teachable moment for faculty who do not attend CTL events. Then, the data were used to create further development efforts, thus completing the assessment cycle. Subsequent events educated faculty about rarely used or not understood components of learning-centered teaching.

The Future Relevancy of University Institutions’ Teaching in the Digital Era

The paper focuses on the structured and well-planned design and execution of courses in academic studies in general, and in architecture in particular, based on the great relevance of the learning-centered approach for teaching in universities in the digital era, related to the traditional teaching-centered approach applied in the majority of academic institutions today. The design of a course according to the learning-centered approach has unique value, particularly in the information era, with computers virtually and instantaneously transmitting endless knowledge. In the learning-centered approach, unlike frontal transfer of information, a dialogue is formed between academic faculty and students, leading to compatibility between learning outcomes (course goals) and teaching methods. stressing the value of course design according to the learning-centered approach are necessary as a result of social, cultural, and technological changes in the current information highway era and the consequent status of knowledge as possessed by everyone, while noting and emphasizing the special needs involved in the challenges of teaching and learning in this era. The paper also depicts the significance of recording learning outcomes, and the benefits and challenges associated with the formulation of learning goals. To illustrate this topic, development of a course in the “backward design” method, consistent with the learning-centered paradigm, shall be presented. The challenges of this method shall also be portrayed, with the possibility of generalization to varied disciplines. This paper shall emphasize the main potential advantage of physical academic institutions and universities, where students and teachers meet, talk, and hold direct and unmediated discussions, and through the learning-centered approach, versus the virtual knowledge and teaching centers have recently emerged as an alternative to traditional academic institutions and are seemingly threatening to obviate the justification for universities. It is particularly important also, in light of disturbing data indicating a considerable drop in university registration rates, in Israel and elsewhere, with the current young generation finding gradually less interest in universities as capable of shaping their personal and professional future. Therefore, with the gradual increase in accessible knowledge, instructors are required to bring with them added value to the teaching process. This is a complicated requirement that compels instructors to relinquish traditional teaching patterns. Planning a course in this method requires extensive forethought, time, and effort, compared to designing a course following the traditional method. To promote such addedvalue teaching, the academic system needs a model that recognizes, appreciates, and compensates faculty for the efforts they invest in learning-centered teaching, and one that will incentivize instructors to devote time and energy to developing, revising, and improving their teaching practice to develop these aspects in their work. Such a model also serves the existential interests of the institutions of higher education, in their role as entities that also responsible for properly training future generations, in an era when traditional teaching methods being no longer sufficient, attractive, or meeting the needs and wishes of potential students for shaping their personal and professional future, in light of the paradigmatic changes in knowledge acquisition.

Factors that Influence Faculty Adoption of Learning-Centered Approaches

This article proposes a recommended course of action for faculty development based upon Rogers’ theory of Diffusion of Innovations and data collected in a study looking at the prevalence of use of learning-centered teaching practices. Specific faculty development strategies are aligned with Rogers’ factors influencing decisions to adopt innovations. The analysis of data indicated that 14% of the faculty members interviewed used predominately learning-centered teaching approaches and 8% rejected learning-centered teaching. Between these extremes, the others used learning-centered teaching components that fit with their personal teaching style and naturally suit their discipline. These recommendations will assist faculty developers, deans, chairs, and mentors in helping faculty members adopt learning-centered teaching practices.

Networked Learning Community Construction Based on Instant Messaging Software

The development of network technology is changing our teaching. Specially, the network has become an important tool of resource sharing, which greatly improved the efficiency of information retrieval. But, the interactive function of network has not obtained the very good play in teaching. With the collaboration of learning features and instant messaging software, analyzes the teaching function of instant messaging software, puts forward the scheme of network learning community construction through instant messaging software, construct learning-centered teaching.

Learning-Centered Teaching And Backward Course Design From Transferring Knowledge To Teaching Skills

The article shall focus on the design of academic courses from a learning-centered approach, with an emphasis on the formulation of learning outcomes. Planning a course from a learning-centered approach helps create a dialogue between the academic faculty and students and creates congruence between learning outcomes (course goals) and instruction methods and assessment goals. The purpose of the article is to present the need for paradigmatic change and for a transition from planning content-centered courses to planning learning-centered courses. The need for paradigmatic change stems from technological transformations and from the status of knowledge as belonging to everyone. The article presents the significance of expressing learning outcomes in writing and the advantages and challenges of formulating learning aims. The article shall present a case study of a course in the "backward design" method that is consistent with the learning-centered paradigm. The challenges formed by this method will be discussed as well.

School and the Cultural-Heritage Environment: Pedagogical, Creative and Artistic Aspects

The present paper explores the idea that learning, both in and out of school,is a cultural act, and that school and its cultural-heritage environment stamp their own characteristics on pupils. This implies that pupils gradually, with the help of teachers and other relevant adults from their close social environment, develop and adjust their behaviour and lifestyle to their cultural and civilisational milieu. An integrative approach to learning and teaching, through the concept of “learning-centred teaching”, can be instrumental in this regard (Terhart, 2001). This approach aims at linking cognitive, social and moral teachings. According to this teaching concept, pupils learn to appreciate the value of their cultural-heritage environment by living and reliving its experience, while freely and reflexively interpreting and becoming active participants in the culture of those who “learn about life by living” (Terhart, 2001). The relationship between school and its cultural-heritage environment is discussed from a creative and artistic perspective in the second part of the paper. By visually stimulating artistic expression when learning about the culturalheritage and natural environment of school, and through the concept of “action- centred learning”, we explain how pupils can be motivated to learn and display creative-artistic expression, and how they can be actively involved in their communities (participating in organising art exhibitions in their neighbourhood, working in museum workshops, etc.). Pupils’ art projects, inspired by the historical, cultural and natural heritage of their environment, confirm that such projects are an effective way of encouraging pupils’ identity development and sensitivity towards the arts. They teach pupils about the importance of preserving cultural heritage, which is one of the basic principles in the upbringing of future participants and creators of new cultural values. Children’sartistic works illustrate examples of good school practice.

Exploring Politics Through Literature and Film: The First Year Seminar as a 'Learning Centered' Introduction to College Writing and Creative Social Inquiry

In this paper, I speak to both the potential pitfalls associated with learning-centered course design and the enormous promise it represents. I do so by reflecting critically on my experience teaching a first year seminar (FYS) at a small liberal arts college in the fall of 2012. First, I unpack the theory behind and practices associated with learning-centered design, as expressed by its proponents. Thereafter, I describe the process by which I created a writing-intensive seminar using learning-centered principles. I then underscore the lessons drawn from that experience — positive and negative — based on my perspective and those of students in the course, among other data. I conclude by recommending a set of practices to facilitate the integration of learning-centered teaching into the curriculum.

Effects of a learning-centered approach to assessment on students' attitudes towards and knowledge of statistics

ObjectiveTo examine the effects of learning-centered assessment on students' attitudes toward and knowledge of statistics. MethodsThis nonequivalent control group study examined second-year (P2) and third-year (P3) year PharmD students enrolled in a required course on statistics. P2 students received a learning-centered assessment approach; P3 students received an instruction-centered approach. Course topics, sequencing, and examinations were identical between the courses. Students' statistical self-efficacy, attitudes toward statistics, statistical knowledge, and course perceptions were measured at the beginning and end of the course. ResultsStatistical self-efficacy increased over time but was not statistically different between classes. Statistical knowledge increased significantly (p < 0.001) over the semester, with greater increases for P2 students than P3s. A significant improvement in statistics attitudes was noted in the SATS-36 difficulty domain (p = 0.026) over the semester, but this was not different between classes. Compared with P3s (instruction-centered), the P2 students (learning-centered) had significantly better perceptions regarding the course with respect to having multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning (p < 0.001), control in the determination of the course grade (p < 0.001), focusing on learning rather than course grade (p = 0.033), and receiving adequate feedback (p = 0.006). ConclusionsThere were changes in statistical self-efficacy and attitudes toward statistics among the students, but these appeared to be the effect of time rather than the assessment approach. Students in the learning-centered course had greater increases in statistical knowledge and more positive perceptions of the learning environment. More research comparing learning-centered teaching with traditional approaches is needed.