Student-centred learning: What does it mean...?

Link to article (By Geraldine O?Neill and Tim McMahon)
Full Title: Student-centred learning: What does it mean for students and lecturers?

"..Edwards (2001) emphasises the value of student-centred learning: ?Placing learners at the heart of the learning process and meeting their needs, is taken to a progressive step in which learner-centred approaches mean that persons are able to learn what is relevant for them in ways that are appropriate. Waste in human and educational resources is reduced as it suggested learners no longer have to learn what they already know or can do, nor what they are uninterested in?. (Edwards 2001:37)."

"In summary, it appears from the literature that some view student-centred learning as: the concept of the student?s choice in their education; others see it as the being about the student doing more than the lecturer (active versus passive learning); while others have a much broader definition which includes both of these concepts but, in addition, describes the shift in the power relationship between the student and the teacher."

"Learning is often presented in this dualism of either student-centred learning or teacher-centred learning. In the reality of practice the situation is less black and white. A more useful presentation of student-centred learning is to see these terms as either end of a continuum, using the three concepts (choice, doing, and power relationship) regularly used to describe student-centred learning "

These are just a few gems from this excellent article about student-centred learning, which also includes a lot of examples lecturers can utilize to facilitate a more student-centred learning environment. It also discusses the effectiveness and critiques of student-centred learning, which is very crucial to know, especially in learning environments where there are limited resources, different learning cultures, beliefs, and understandings of what it actually means. When we take everything into account and minimize the potential pitfalls, surely a student-centred learning environment is an approach worth pursuing and facilitating .