Learning-centered college statement and institutional approach

Education - Statement

LEARNING-CENTERED EDUCATION PERSPECTIVE as a faculty member, I would try to incorporate learning-centered college concepts into my classroom as much as possible and in particularly in any manner that facilitated student motivation directly. Toward that end, I would encourage students, including first semester freshmen, to consider every elective course as an opportunity to prepare them for their future. In that regard, I would counsel students to consider the relevance of every course with respect to anticipated career goals; in the case of students with little idea of the ultimate direction of their goals, I would suggest that they view every academic course as an opportunity to consider potential areas of related interest. In principle, I would caution against selecting courses without at least some very general idea of what relevance or potential relevance it may have with respect to future professional or advanced educational goals.

Ideally, I hope to have the opportunity to incorporate elements of Gardner's Multiple Intelligence approach by introducing my students to the concept of acquiring relevant knowledge through a broader means of information transmission than the traditional passive learning in the lecture-based model. While primary and secondary school are the optimal settings for the fullest incorporation of Gardner's principles, college students can be encouraged to explore different types of media to help identify their greatest strengths. All too often, students never have any opportunity to consider the possibility that alternate modes of instruction might increase their retention. For example, I would encourage students to propose alternate sources of comparable subject matter as a means of identifying untapped learning strengths. In some cases, students would have the first opportunity to explore the potential of suspected alternate modes of instruction with potential for them.

Likewise, I would consider allowing students to propose a legitimate video-based documentary on a topic ordinarily presented through traditional textbook and lecture presentation about Cold War geopolitics could substitute a qualifying video documentary in preparation for objective tests. Other students may wish to explore the prospect of learning the same material from audio tapes where such material exists.