Student-centered Practices Research Articles

Learning design for science education in the 21st century

Contemporary technological and social developments demand transformation of educational practices. Teachers and schools are no longer fountains of knowledge that fill students with information. Rather, their primarily role is to equip students with new literacies, competencies for productive use of information technology, and sufficient disciplinary-specific bases of conceptual knowledge. This requires changes toward student-centered practices. In such contexts, teachers are designers of learning; therefore lesson planning is replaced with a concept of ?learning design.? This paper introduces the RASE (Resources-Activity-Support-Evaluation) learning design model developed as a framework to assist teachers in designing learning modules. Central to RASE is the emphasis on the design of activities where students engage in using resources and in the production of artifacts that demonstrate learning. The paper also emphasizes the importance of ?conceptual models? as a special type of educational multimedia resource, and its role in assisting learning and application of concepts, as opposed to the ?information transfer? models. RASE is beginning to emerge as a powerful framework for transformation of teachers and their traditional practices to contemporary, relevant student-centered practices. The model is also an effective framework for productive uses of information technology in education.

Hitting the nail on the head: the importance of specific staff development for effective blended learning

Developing effective teaching practices within the higher education sector is an area of growing concern. Universities within the UK are judged on their competence in this area by mechanisms such as the National Student Survey and universities are anxious to be perceived as offering good quality teaching and learning experiences. The use of technologies, such as online learning environments, has pervaded many university courses and the teaching ‘blend’ increasingly relies upon these technologies to contribute towards programme delivery. It is claimed that student learning is supported by these systems; however, many academics remain frustrated with these teaching mediums. This paper reports results from a survey of 529 UK university lecturers who answered questions on their pedagogical beliefs and online teaching practices. The survey found a considerable difference between university lecturers’ reported pedagogical beliefs and their actual practices when teaching online and concludes that online learning environments are rarely used effectively to promote student learning and any benefits attributed to their use can, therefore, be assumed to be largely rhetorical. Some student-centred practice was found, however. Those lecturers with teaching qualifications who had received specific training in the use of online learning environments were significantly more likely to use these environments in an effective way. Notably, more general forms of learning and teaching development appeared to contribute little to effective practice in this area. As UK universities face challenging financial constraints, the proportion of the online teaching ‘blend’ seems likely to increase in order to achieve more cost-effective programmes. The empirical research reported here suggests that in order to ensure that this blend is effective, and promotes student learning, specific pedagogical and technological staff development in this area is vital.

Teacher beliefs and technology integration practices: A critical relationship

Early studies indicated that teachers' enacted beliefs, particularly in terms of classroom technology practices, often did not align with their espoused beliefs. Researchers concluded this was due, at least in part, to a variety of external barriers that prevented teachers from using technology in ways that aligned more closely with their beliefs. However, many of these barriers (access, support, etc.) have since been eliminated in the majority of schools. This multiple case-study research was designed to revisit the question, ''How do the pedagogical beliefs and classroom technology practices of teachers, recognized for their technology uses, align?'' Twelve K-12 classroom teachers were purposefully selected based on their award-winning technology practices, supported by evidence from personal and/or classroom websites. Follow-up interviews were conducted to examine the correspondence between teachers' classroom practices and their pedagogical beliefs. Results suggest close alignment; that is student-centered beliefs undergirded student-centered practices (authenticity, student choice, collaboration). Moreover, teachers with student-centered beliefs tended to enact student-centered curricula despite technological, administrative, or assessment barriers. Teachers' own beliefs and attitudes about the relevance of technology to students' learning were perceived as having the biggest impact on their success. Additionally, most teachers indicated that internal factors (e.g., passion for technology, having a problem-solving mentality) and support from others (administrators and personal learning networks) played key roles in shaping their practices. Teachers noted that the strongest barriers preventing other teachers from using technology were their existing attitudes and beliefs toward technology, as well as their current levels of knowledge and skills. Recommendations are made for refocusing our professional development efforts on strategies for facilitating changes in teachers' attitudes and beliefs.

Toward Authentic Student-Centered Practices

This investigation uncovered the conditions of learning, both positive and negative, that students in an alternative school experienced both in and out of the classroom setting. Eleven students at an alternative high school in a large suburban school district in the Pacific Northwest were interviewed using methods of narrative inquiry and iterative data collection, grounded in social cognitive theory and student voice literature. Four chief findings are discussed: (a) Learning experiences are improved when explicitly connected to the real world; (b) Positive emotions and relationships support successful learning, whereas negative ones hinder learning; (c) A certain level of student autonomy during learning seems to be tied to achieving goals; and (d) Social learning is consequential for students. The social as defined in this study is composed of two things: (a) how social influences from outside of school can have an effect on how students approach schooling and (b) the implications of understanding and taking part in relationships.

Issues to consider when implementing student-centred learning practices at Asian higher education institutions

A large number of failures in learning reforms at Asian universities have been documented recently in the literature. The main reason is that reformers often import Western-developed practices to Asian classrooms without a careful examination of their appropriateness within the socio-cultural context of these countries. This approach faces a high risk of failure because Western-developed practices are often supported by structural conditions and cultural values that are not always found in Asia. To ensure the success of student-centred learning reforms in Asian classrooms, this paper claims that reformers should not simply borrow and impose student-centred practices on Asian students. Rather, Asian educators need to be assisted to bring about change in their teaching practices and instructed how to design assessment that promotes student-centred learning practices. Moreover, some principles of student-centred theories need to be modified to become culturally appropriate in the Asian context.

Computers and Traditional Teaching Practices: Factors influencing middle level students’ science achievement and attitudes about science

The purpose of this study was to examine the association of middle school student science achievement and attitudes toward science with student-reported frequency of using computers to learn science and other classroom practices. Baseline comparison data were collected on the frequency of student-centred teaching practices (e.g. the use of group experiments during science class) and traditional teaching practices (e.g. having students copy notes during science class) to learn science. The student sample was composed of 294 seventh-grade students enrolled in middle school science. Multiple regression was used to investigate the association of attitudes toward science, student-centred teaching practices, computer usage, and traditional teaching practices with science achievement. Both attitudes toward science and student-centred teaching practices were positively associated with science achievement, and student-centred teaching practice was positively associated with attitude toward science. Computer usage was found to have a negative association with student achievement, which was moderated by traditional teaching practices.

Mobile social networking in language learning: a transformational tool

Most EFL (English as a Foreign Language) contexts have been characterised as traditional teacher-directed language learning setting. This indicates the need for a practical incorporation of more student-centred approaches. Mobile social networking is relatively new to the fields of study investigating different student-centred practices. This study investigated the potential of mobile social networking in maintaining an effective learning environment and in creating meaningful learning opportunities that cater for students' needs and promote student-centeredness and collaborative learning. The study concluded that mobile social networking played a major transformational role and enhanced the shift from a traditional teacher-directed EFL instruction to a more collaborative, enjoyable, and above all, student-centred instruction.

Influences on self-evaluation during a clinical skills programme for nurses

Education has moved from teacher to student-centred practices. Increasing emphasis is placed on 'life-long' learning in the context of a rapidly changing knowledge base. Self-evaluation is seen as one strategy to facilitate student-centred continuous professional development. The literature, however, suggests that learners' ability to self-assess is mixed, and little is known regarding how students perform self-assessment. This study focussed on senior nurses undertaking a scenario-based clinical skills course. Learners were asked to self-evaluate several times during the course. This research explored the influences on using the self-evaluation exercise. The study drew upon grounded theory methodology and was influenced by constructionist and postmodernist theories. Three methods of data collection were used: semi-structured interviews, observation of supervision sessions and recording of the numerical self-evaluation ratings. Multiple interviews with students (n = 14) and the educational supervisor (n = 1) were conducted. Thematic analysis and data collection were conducted iteratively. The study found that feeling confident and stating that confidence were not necessarily the same. Feeling confident was complex, influenced by changing perceptions of clinical skills and credibility. Changing frames of reference were used to judge feelings of confidence. Stating confidence appeared to be socially negotiated, influenced by social acceptability considerations such as modesty and the need to show progress over time. The discourses of empowerment and surveillance were influential and self-evaluation is discussed using Foucault's theory of governmentality, illustrating how learners can be both empowered and controlled through self-evaluation. Further consideration of the socially constructed nature of self-evaluations would benefit both educational practice and future research.

Pattern of classroom activities during students’ use of computers: Relations between instructional strategies and computer applications

The purpose of this study was to identify instructional strategies used by teachers to support technology integration. In addition, relations between types of computer applications and teachers' classroom practices were examined. Data were direct observation results from 143 integration lessons implemented in schools receiving federal technology grants. Results reflect use of student-centered practices such as teacher as a facilitator, project-based learning, and independent inquiry. Furthermore, this study revealed that classroom practices tend to be more student-centered when students use the computer as a learning tool such as the Internet, word processing, and presentation software. Conversely, drill and practice software showed a dissimilar pattern.

Conducting science inquiry in primary classrooms: Case studies of two preservice teachers’ inquiry-based practices

This study examined the impact of an intervention designed to promote inquiry-based instruction among early childhood/elementary preservice teachers in Earth science. Preservice teachers participated in training sessions and community-based internships to deepen Earth science content knowledge and develop inquiry-based practices. Analyses of Earth science content knowledge pre- and posttests reveal mixed results: four of the eight participants’ posttest scores increased over the duration of the study, two participants’ posttest scores remained the same, and two participants’ posttest scores decreased. Results of the Science Teacher Inquiry Rubric (STIR) (Bodzin & Beerer, 2003) also show mixed results with four participants who exhibited student-centered practices and four participants who engaged in teacher-centered practices. Two preservice teachers with different profiles were selected for in-depth case studies. Findings reveal the importance of preservice teachers’ conceptions of science inquiry and the school environment. We concluded that appropriate conceptions and supportive environments are prerequisite to sustaining prospective teachers’ inquiry-based practices.

Challenges of supervising part-time PhD students: towards student-centred practice

The editors would particularly welcome, in the Points for Debate section, readers’ comments on or responses to articles, which have appeared in earlier issues of the Journal. These may be in the fo...

Comparing the Impact of Accountability Examinations on Mississippi and Tennessee Social Studies Teachers' Instructional Practices

This study compared the impact of state accountability examinations on social studies teachers' instructional practices. Data were obtained from a survey instrument given to a representative sample of Mississippi teachers who teach the same content tested on their state's high-stakes high school graduation examination and a representative sample of Tennessee teachers who teach the same content tested on their state's relatively lower stakes End-Of-Course examination. An analysis found teachers in both states using a combination of teacher-centered and student-centered instructional practices. But Mississippi teachers' use of instructional practices was most influenced by examination-related factors, whereas Tennessee teachers' use of instructional practices was most influenced by personal-related factors. I use the entire academic year preparing my students for the United States history subject area exam. My choice of instructional delivery and materials is completely dependent on preparation for this test. Therefore, I do not use current events, long-term projects, or creative group/corporate work because this is not tested and the delivery format is not used. All my tests reflect the testing format of the subject area tests—multiple-choice and open-ended questions. This delivery and curriculum format is not used in my other classes (United States Government and Economics). In these nontested classes, I do use a variety of instructional methods and curriculum resources. While I agree with the principle of student/teacher/administrator accountability, … by making the goal of my United States history course the ability to pass the state test, I'm afraid that all meaningfulness and relevancy to history is being lost on my students. As a result, they have a better factual base but a worse conceptual understanding of the subject and what it is good for. A Mississippi high school United States history teacher I try to teach in a manner that will prepare students for college. For me, that's the bottom line. I am sick and tried of hearing about educational accountability and things such as learning expectations, performance indicators, Gateway Tests, and for my course [United States History], the End-of-Course Test. Even though the End-of-Course Test isn't really a high-stakes test such as the Gateway Test because high school graduation doesn't ride on the results of this test, still, the result of this test affect the content I teach, the way I teach, and grade I give students in this course. There is too much game playing in teaching today! There are too many people trying to tell me how to teach; I know how. — A Tennessee high school United States history teacher

Technology as a Catalyst for Change

This paper presents an analysis of results from an evaluation of The Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning, a professional development program placing technology in the context of student-centered instructional practices. This analysis focuses on the relationship between the professional development and teachers’ use of technology in their classroom and their general instructional practices. The results from this study indicate teachers increased their use of technology in ways viewed as more constructivist, regardless of their broader instructional practices. One possible explanation may be the instructional context of the professional development that teachers experience.

Teachers’ reflections of professional change during a literacy-reform initiative

Policymakers recently have targeted teacher quality, and school systems have increased their attention to instructional reform through professional development. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ views about the change process and professional development that supports change. Semi-structured focus-group data were gathered from 41 primary-grades teachers (students ages 5–9) across five schools in a high-poverty urban district that participated in a 2-year literacy-reform initiative. Results indicated that teachers viewed the change process from two stances: as learners and as change agents. Three conditions supported their professional growth: professional development embedded in school and classroom contexts, professional development focused on limited and clearly defined learning goals, and on-demand access to time and resources. Changes that occurred did so in three phases: movement from curriculum-centered to student-centered practices, increased collaboration, and requests for policy changes via teacher autonomy and advocacy for students.

Changes in student-centred assessment by postsecondary science and non-science faculty

Although many appeals for reform include adopting more student-centred assessment, few studies have examined the postsecondary classroom. Using the 1993 and 1999 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, the results of the current study revealed that faculty in the sciences were less likely to use student-centred assessment practices than faculty in non-sciences. Additionally, while faculty in the non-sciences showed a significant increase in their use of student-centred assessment between the two waves of data collection, no such increase was obtained for faculty in the sciences. Results are discussed in terms of public policy.

Hugging the Middle

In the last quarter-century and especially the last decade, testing and accountability have come to dominate education policy at the state and national levels. The common concern about the effects of such testing is that it reshapes teaching in the classroom. But such claims do not look at the evidence of deeper classroom structures (the mix of teacher-centered and student-centered practices) in historical context. This article extends historical research in How Teachers Taught (Cuban, 1993) to the present in three metropolitan school districts. While testing and accountability have become more obvious concerns of teachers, the hybridized classroom environment documented in How Teachers Taught have become more pervasive. This article documents this continuing ubiquity and addresses the apparent inconsistency between evidence of a hybridized classroom environment and the unintended consequences of testing and accountability.

Teaching Style Beliefs Among U.S. and Israeli Faculty

The purpose of this study was to determine if self-reported teaching style beliefs were different among faculty at a U.S. and an Israeli dental school. Teacher-centered practices refer to beliefs that the teacher holds the subject matter expertise and students are generally passive learners who must be told what to think. Student-centered practices refer to beliefs that students must learn how to construct their own understanding. Student-centered teaching is directed towards enabling students to think about complex issues. Twenty-seven of fifty-eight (47.37 percent) faculty at a dental school in the United States and thirty of thirty-four (88 percent) Israeli dental faculty teaching in basic science courses completed the Teaching Behavior Preferences Survey (TBPS). The TBPS is a thirty-item instrument that measures two domains of teaching styles--teacher-centered (TC) and student-centered (SC)--and four subdomains: methods of instruction (MI), classroom milieu (CM), use of questions (UQ), and use of assessment (UA). Findings revealed that there were no significant differences in student-centered and teacher-centered teaching practices and methods of instruction, classroom milieu, and use of questions. There was a significant difference between the U.S. and Israeli groups in their reported use of assessment. The U.S. faculty reported a greater preference for student-centered assessment practices than did the Israeli faculty.

Does one size fit all? The induction experience of beginning science teachers from different teacher-preparation programs

The number of induction programs available to teachers is increasing rapidly, and by necessity these programs are designed to meet the needs of all teachers regardless of their preparation and academic background. This study examines the impact of a science-focused induction program on secondary science teachers from different preparation programs. The 16 teachers were first-year secondary science teachers who graduated the previous year from one of four different teacher-preparation programs. All teachers were monitored during their first year of teaching, as they participated in the induction program, to understand their teaching beliefs, instructional practices, and experiences in the classroom. The analysis of data revealed that the preservice training of a science teacher influenced the type of support the teacher derived from the science-focused induction program. Teachers from a preservice program with an extended student-teaching experience and two science methods courses held beliefs aligned with student-centered practices and implemented more reform-based lessons than did other teachers during the year. This study reinforces the importance of induction programs for teachers and suggests that there is a need for specialized support programs for beginning science teachers. The study also provides specific suggestions for improving the preparation of secondary science teachers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 963–985, 2006

When Teachers' and Parents' Values Differ: Teachers' Ratings of Academic Competence in Children From Low-Income Families.

The authors examined predictors of teachers' ratings of academic competence of 105 kindergarten children from low-income families. Teachers rated target children's expected competence in literacy and math and completed questions about their perceptions of congruence-dissonance between themselves and the child's parents regarding education-related values. Independent examiners assessed children's literacy and math skills. Teachers' instructional styles were observed and rated along dimensions of curriculum-centered and student-centered practices. Controlling for children's skills and socioeconomic status, teachers rated children as less competent when they perceived value differences with parents. These patterns were stronger for teachers who exhibited curriculum-centered, rather than student-centered, practices. The findings suggest a mechanism by which some children from low-income families enter a path of diminished expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The Role of Empathy in Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

This study provides a description of 34 practicing teachers’ beliefs regarding the role of empathy as an attribute in their effectiveness with culturally diverse students. Empathy involves cognitive, affective, and behavioral components that teachers believed were manifested in their practice. All of these teachers had participated in a multicultural professional development program geared to fostering culturally responsive practice. Through a content analysis of more than 125 documents, three themes in teachers’practices emerged: more positive interactions with culturally diverse students, more supportive classroom climates, and more student-centered practices. In addition, teachers discussed their most valuable learning experiences in the professional development course. These included a cross-cultural simulation, cultural immersion trips, and their own experiences as minorities. The results from this study underscore the importance of creating contexts in teacher education and professional development programs in which teachers and preservice teachers use and nurture empathetic dispositions and behaviors.