Use of learner‐centered instruction in college science and mathematics classrooms

Abstract

Learner‐centered approaches to science and mathematics instruction assume that only when students are active participants will learning be deep, enduring, and enjoyable, and transfer to contexts beyond the classroom. Although their beneficial effects are well known, the extent to which learner‐centered practices are used in college classrooms may be low. Surveys of undergraduate science and math majors reveal general dissatisfaction with how courses in their majors are taught, and their number is half what it was 2 decades ago. In response, federally funded systemic reform initiatives have targeted increasing the use learner‐centered instruction in science and mathematics courses to improve undergraduate education generally and the training of preservice teachers specifically. Few data exist regarding how effective these initiatives have been or how frequently learned‐centered instruction occurs as assessed from faculty's perspective, which may not corroborate undergraduate perceptions. Accordingly, a survey was developed to assess the use of learner‐centered techniques and was administered to science and math professors of Louisiana over the Internet. The return rate was 28%. Analyses reveal that they are used infrequently, but when used, are applied to all aspects of teaching. Data also suggest that federal funding has been slightly effective in promoting its use. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 566–584, 2003

Evaluating Student Perceptions of a Learner-Centered Drug Literature Evaluation Course

“…4,5 Tagg outlined the key features of a learning paradigm (or learner-centered) college in his recent text. These include promoting intrinsically rewarding goals, requiring frequent and authentic student performances, providing consistent student feedback, providing a long time horizon for learning, and creating purposeful communities of practice.…”

“…16 Although traditional testing may form a component of assessment in a learner-centered course, assessments should also include opportunities that represent how course content will actually be used in practice. 5 The exercises for the drug literature evaluation course were carefully developed so that students were required to use the information to demonstrate mastery of specific course objectives rather than simply to recall memorized facts. In addition to traditional multiple-choice examinations, there were numerous opportunities for student assessment, such as statistics problem sets, online quizzes for research principles, and diagramming study designs in published articles (Appendix 1).…”

“…4 This pedagogical approach views learning as an active process and promotes students (learners) taking increased responsibility in the learning process. 5,6 Learner-centered teaching has been examined in numerous higher educational settings, including the health professions. 5,[7][8][9][10] Despite the existing research on learner-centered teaching, few studies have examined the impact of learner-centered teaching principles on student perceptions of learning.…”

“…5,6 Learner-centered teaching has been examined in numerous higher educational settings, including the health professions. 5,[7][8][9][10] Despite the existing research on learner-centered teaching, few studies have examined the impact of learner-centered teaching principles on student perceptions of learning. This article describes the design of a learner-centered drug literature evaluation course and the evaluation of student perceptions of various course characteristics.…”

E-learning in the area of maths and statistics in Spanish universities: opportunities, challenges, current situation and trends

“…En este sentido, hay una clara tendencia a utilizar las TIC para incrementar los niveles de interacción entre estudiantes y profesores y, sobre todo, entre los propios estudiantes -aprendizaje colaborativo. A pesar de esta tendencia predominante, cuando se trata de cursos universitarios de matemáticas y estadística algunos estudios destacan el uso poco frecuente de metodologías centradas en el estudiante (Walczyk y Ramsey [26]), e incluso se han identificado algunas de las posibles causas de este problema (Walczyk, Ramsey y Zha [27]). …”