Education concepts and applications

Education

Regardless of grade level, teacher-centered and student-centered instructional strategies incorporate similar situations and practices. The teacher-centered approach usually involves little student participation in class discussions, few opportunities for group activities, and little in the way of interactive or multimedia projects. Students are expected to be passive learners, their brains like sponges to soak up the learning material imparted by the instructor. In a teacher-centered approach, the teacher also demands a certain amount of attention and maintains an aura of authority. Students are expected to be obedient and generally deferential toward the teacher, even when the teacher is kind or has a good sense of humor. Lectures and note-taking can be an important part of the teacher-centered approach, as is a reliance on examinations and formal classroom activities that can be easily and straightforwardly graded. In a student-centered situation, on the other hand, the teacher acts more as a guide than as an authority figure. While the instructor prepares lessons and does occasionally provide some lecture or learning material, the students are encouraged to participate verbally and creatively in the learning process. A wide range of multimedia materials may be used in conjunction with the lecture and book material. Students are also encouraged to gather into groups for brainstorming and for working on group projects. Both teacher-centered and student-centered approaches have their place in the classroom and are valid under certain specific circumstances. In a sixth grade English class, both a teacher-centered and student-centered approach would be effective for different reasons and under different circumstances.

A student-centered approach to learning English and literature would involve creative writing exercises and class presentations. For example, if the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet were being introduced, the teacher could ask the students to read parts of the play on their own and then write their own plays based on Shakespeare's characters and themes. Then they could act out the plays they wrote in groups and present them to the class. Another learning activity that would be student-oriented rather than teacher-oriented in a sixth grade English class would be for the teacher to dress up in period clothing and possibly speak with a specific accent to reflect the life and times of a certain book or author. Students could also work on the computer with multimedia activities or be taken out of school to watch a live presentation of a play being discussed in class. These student-centered activities would be particularly conducive to grasping literary concepts, understanding theme and characterization, and appreciating literature that they might otherwise feel intimidated by. Another way in which I would prefer a student-centered approach is in a poetry unit in which I would have each student write a poem based on the works of a famous poet.