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...
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…
