9. RESEARCH: EVIDENCE THAT LEARNER-CENTERED APPROACHES WORK

NOTEWORTHY REVIEWS OF RESEARCH

In this part, it includes some relevant reviews of learner-centered teaching. Motivation has been investigated by many educational researchers because they considered that motivation makes students active in the process of learning. Other researchers pointed out the importance of Active learning. It is essential in learner-centered teaching. Both topics either motivation or active learning, provide an opportunity for all students to engage with the activities and practice their knowledge. Pintrich (2003) differed from other researchers because he answered in detail key questions about motivation. He showed notable evidence in his findings. He could identify the reason that students were motivated and it was when “adaptive attributions and control beliefs” were at a higher level on students. Students have choices in what they want to learn and there is an increment of motivation. Moreover, they control their knowledge in the learning process. On the other hand, Prince (2004) studied active learning. He could investigate strategies that make students active in lectures and activities which could engage students in their learning. For example, collaborative or cooperative learning and PBL where students could easily discuss a lecture and create meaningful knowledge in groups. The author concluded that active learning could help to improve the learning process, however, this was not the end of the educational problems. Similarly, Michael (2006) found out that active learning makes students reflect on their activities and assess their understanding in order to master the content. He also was able to establish 5 principles to support active learning. For instance, construction of knowledge, learning to do something, transfer knowledge, works in groups and meaningful learning. The finding of this study is positive because active learning makes students engage in the learning process and they work better active than passive. 

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There are some practical examples of how students could be motivated and participate actively in the learning process. (1) For the teacher, it is important to cover all the content of the course, however, it is valuable when the teacher asks students to choose something that they like according to topic or unit. They feel motivated to learn and control their own learning. For example, if the unit talks about taking transportation, the teacher should ask their preferences when they go to school, social events or travel. They could make notes and share them with their classmates. (2) To make students active learners in the classroom, teacher could implement problem-based learning. Students are going to investigate, work in groups and find solutions to a real problem. For example, the teacher could start with the question “What are the online games that can engage us in the virtual class?”. Then, students have to read, discuss in groups, take notes and share their findings with the class. Consequently, the teacher could choose the most supported games in the process of learning to apply in this new modality. In addition, the teacher must pay attention to the level of students and the context in which they are.

References

Edutopia. (2013, March 20). Reinventing a Public High School with ProblemBased Learning. [Video file]. https://youtu.be/Tlg-nsGi7V0

Pintrich, P. R. “A Motivational Perspective on the Role of Student Motivation in Learning and Teaching Contexts.” Journal of Educational Psychology , 2003, 95 (4), 667– 686.

Prince, M. J. “Does Active Learning Work? A Review of the Research.” Journal of Engineering Education , 2004, 93 (3), 223– 231.

Spratt, M., Pulverness, A., & Williams, M. (2011). The TKT Course Modules 1, 2 and 3 (2nd ed., TKT Course). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139062398

Weimer, Maryellen. Learner-Centered Teaching : Five Key Changes to Practice, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uta-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1119448.