Talk:Student-centred learning

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I find this page completely misleading and wish to edit it severely. Before doing that I would like to hear the response of its authors to some criticisms. My apologies for the brusque nature of this note – I do not have time to write it properly.

1) … rather than those of others involved in the educational process, such as teachers and administrators. Can you cite any examples of education systems where the aim of the system is focussed on the needs of administrators or teachers? I am not talking here of subtle nuances where the teacher or administrator starts to loose focus on the objectives of the learning institution, but that the institution is set up to meet the needs of teachers and administrators. 2) The term Student Centred Learning as used by most people that I converse with on this subject is also referred to as Child Centred Learning. [Bransford John, Ed., p133 How People Learn, National Research Council] refer to it as Learner-Centered Environments contrasting it with Knowledge and Assessment Centred Learning. 3) Bransford says: We use the term learner centred to refer to environments that pay attention to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs that learners bring to the education setting. 4) The essence of student centred is that the students are active learners and construct their own meanings – this does not mean that they set the curriculum – which is implied in the list of characteristics of student centred learning. Perhaps that might take place in a fringe situation, but this is not what the term means in mainstream education where it has similar general meaning, but with distinct and important differences. Teachers can adopt a student centred approach and involve the students in a host of decisions, but generally she will control these to meet the needs the curriculum and the whole class, as she perceives them. 5) I think the list of characteristics you have written is extreme. You can have student centred learning where students are not working in collaboration with each other. You can have such learning situations where they are in competition with each other. You can have learning situations where collaborative learning is taking place but the environment in Knowledge Centred. 6) I assume I understand the phrase: Students are active participants in their learning. As it is written it is meaningless. Even if you are sitting listening to a lecture you are an active participant providing you are not dead and are listening – you are however a passive learner. I think what you mean is: Students are active learners. This is a completely different meaning – as per the way Piaget, Papert and other constructionists use the term. 7) I think a lot of the phrases used in your characteristics of student centred learning need subtle adjustments as per my last point. Dave Catlin 10:16, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Permission sought to add an external site

Dear Sir/madam

Would you agree to allow the following link to be included under External Links? Children First: the case for child-centred education. The website (of which I am NOT the author!)includes a paper discussing the practical experience of applying a child-centred approach to learning in the Primary school as well as a video of the approach in action.

Yours sincerely

MargyWMargyW (talk) 15:18, 23 May 2008 (UTC)