Developing Learner‐Centered Teaching: A Practical Guide for Faculty

Abstract

The purpose of this book is to offer practical strategies for transforming courses from instructor-centered to learner-centered. With learner-centered approaches, the teacher shifts from giver of information to facilitator of learning or creator of an environment for learning. Students shift from passivity to taking responsibility for their own learning, with the outcomes of improved learning and retention. Tools are provided in the book for planning and tracking course changes, as well as using the transformation process for scholarly activity.The genesis for this book was the author's experiences with helping faculty members develop learner-centered courses. She discovered they needed very concrete tools to help them make the change and so developed the rubrics that are the central feature of this text. The rubrics can be used to assess a course or curriculum or for peer assessment and teaching dossiers. In addition, there is a transformation planning sheet to facilitate the development of a change plan for a course. This involves a very reflective exercise about what and how much you want to change, potential challenges, resources needed, and benefits. The author also provides many examples of learner-centered approaches from different disciplines that show the application of the rubric principles to the real world of teaching.There is a rubric for each of five dimensions of learner-centered teaching: 1) function of content, 2) role of the instructor, 3) responsibility for learning, 4) purposes and processes of assessment, and 5) the balance of power. Each rubric (presented in a matrix) contains four to seven components of learning-centered teaching (vertical column); each of these has four increments that characterize the transition from instructor-centered to learner-centered instruction (horizontal row). Thus, an instructor can assess how far along his or her course is on the continuum toward learner-centered teaching for each of the components. For example, the function of content dimension has four components: 1) varied uses of content, 2) level to which students engage in content, 3) use of organizing schemes, and 4) use of content to facilitate future learning. Each of these could be assessed at a different increment on the instructor-to learner-centered scale.The author provides many useful ideas in her lengthy discussion of each dimension. Regarding the function of content dimension, for instance, she stresses that, in addition to building a knowledge base, the instructor should help students know why they need to learn content. As we know, dental students often question why they need to take so many science classes, so her ideas will be especially useful there. She also states that students need discipline-specific learning methods, such as evidence-based dentistry.For the role of the instructor dimension, the author presents a rubric to help faculty members align course objectives, teaching/learning methods, and assessment methods so they address the same level of learning. This rubric will be a val...

Educational Development Efforts Aligned With the Assessment Cycle

“…Instead of encouraging many different effective teaching techniques, faculty at both colleges chose to embrace learning‐centered teaching practices to promote more consistency in instruction. They did so because there is strong research evidence that learning‐centered teaching increases student learning (Blumberg, ; Doyle, ; Weimer, ). The faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences adapted Blumberg's () components to define 21 literature‐based learning‐centered practices listed in their tactical plan, which became the primary focus of this assessment study.…”

“…They did so because there is strong research evidence that learning‐centered teaching increases student learning (Blumberg, ; Doyle, ; Weimer, ). The faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences adapted Blumberg's () components to define 21 literature‐based learning‐centered practices listed in their tactical plan, which became the primary focus of this assessment study. In contrast, the College of Health Professions did not elaborate on specific tactics for achieving their goals and only stated a general goal of teaching using learning‐centered practices.…”

“…The literature of educational development offers a means to precisely define and promote success of the goals of both colleges. Blumberg () developed a series of four‐level rubrics to explain how faculty can incrementally implement learning‐centered teaching. The four levels are instructor‐centered (1), lower level of transition (2), higher level of transition (3), and learning‐centered (4).…”

“…According to Weimer (, ), learning‐centered teaching has five essential dimensions: the function of content, the role of the instructor, the responsibility for learning, the purposes and processes of assessment, and the balance of power. In addition to showing different ways to teach, these rubrics can assess the extent of implementation of these specific learning‐centered teaching practices (Blumberg, ). Blumberg and Pontiggia () further identified how to use these rubrics to measure learning‐centered teaching.…”

“…With this approach to teaching, the focus shifts from what the instructor does, such as giving a clear lecture on the content, to how much and how well the students are learning the material. Thus, instructors become facilitators to enable student learning by identifying why content is learned, determining how it can be learned, offering continuous formative feedback, and helping students to take responsibility for their learning (Blumberg, ).…”