Student-centered learning

Group A -Blog post #4， Guoying Zhang

According to the article “How student-centered learning is delivering on its promises”, student centered learning seems to be a very popularized educational philosophy in recent years. This philosophy empowers students to take ownership of their education and allows them to follow where their curiosity and creativity lead them. Most teachers are in favor of it and willing to try to assimilate into the daily teaching. However, it is not easy for the transition from the traditional teacher led pedagogy, it is a big challenge to make this mindset shift. Therefore, it will be necessary for schools to provide professional learning opportunities in order to support teachers to  develop the new skill sets required to help students direct their own learning.

Another way to support student-centered pedagogy in the classroom is to personalize students’ learning with interests through the usage of technology. Technology can take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in students’ learning goals, teachers should develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process to improve outcomes. At this stage, the main task for teachers is to teach students self-directed learning skills, students need to learn how to work in a self-directed learning environment. Of course, teachers should assist students in making right choices and keep them on track.