Student Centered Learning

Student Centered Learning (SCL) is a movement within the field of education that seeks to increase the participation and engagement of students in the classroom. As Gloria Brown Wright, assistant professor of chemical education in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Central Connecticut State University, states, “classrooms … are extremely instructor-centered ... this situation works against students becoming successful, mature learners.” In other classroom settings the move to SCL has lead to “greater success for students” (Wright, 2011) in the debate setting this move has great potential to heighten students engagement and understanding of not only the classroom materials but also their application to debate. The K lab at the Mean Green Workshop will reverse the instructor-centered approach by organizing our entire curriculum around a student-centered model.

This lab will borrow from many different methodologies of SCL, but most importantly it will engage in an interteaching model, as explained by Dr. Bill Davies, assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University, and Maya Barak, PhD Candidate in the School of Public Affairs at American University,  

The interteaching model takes a behaviorist, procedural approach and is highly collaborative, drawing upon faculty facilitation and student insight to enhance understanding and analysis of class material. The model augments the lecture experience, resting on the presumption that passive “reception learning” during lecture should be supplemented with operational application in discussion with peers and faculty. This is achieved through social interaction and the articulation of complex ideas in the language and idioms students are most comfortable using. Interteaching transfers classroom power to the student learner, allowing students to express their opinions, engendering responsible group dynamics, and creating a sense of the independence, autonomy and self-possession of learning. (Davies & Barak, 2013)

This interteaching model will be applied to all lecture series. Every lecture will be structured around student engagement, participation and demonstration. Passive educational models that simply require students to regurgitate information will be strongly discouraged in our classroom. 

Student led-learning also recognizes that students are what Professor Katherine Esteves calls “digital natives” who “require new models of teaching and learning”. This lab will be using social media to engage students by involving them in the construction of their curriculum. From mechanisms as simple as online polls about which critical authors to discuss, to blog entries and digital reading groups this lab will fully integrate social media into the learning experience.

The K lab at the Mean Green Workshop is different from any lab currently offered. Our intensive focus on the educational process allows us to not only teach our students debate but hopefully also help our students become more engaged learners across their classroom experience. 

References:

Davies, B. & Barak M. (2/18/2013) “Peer-led Reading Groups Boost Engagement and Retention” Faculty Focus

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/peer-led-reading-groups-boost-engagement-and-retention/

Esteves. K. (2012) “Exploring Facebook to Enhance Learning and Student Engagement: A Case from the University of Philippines (UP) Open University” Malaysian Journal of Distance Education 14(1), 115

http://mjde.usm.my/vol14_1_2012/mjde14_1_1.pdf

Wright, G.B. (2011) “Student-Centered Learning in Higher Education” International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education  Volume 23, Number 3, 92-97

http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE23(1).pdf#page=96