What is student-centered learning?

Student-centered vs teacher-centered learning

Student-centered or learner-centered learning looks very different from a traditional teacher-centered style of instruction. Most of us have experienced the type of learning where the teacher lectures and the students listen and maybe copy notes.

You may also be familiar with the classic, “I do, We do, You do” model of teaching. I taught this way for years! This is how I was taught and this is how teaching was modelled to me as a new teacher. It goes something like this:

• First, the teacher introduces a new topic and essentially tells students how to do the new skill. Usually a few examples are done on the board for students to copy down, or just watch.
• Next, the teacher gives a few practice questions to the whole class to try together.
• Finally, students are set off to do some more practice questions on their own. Typically, each practice question is the same as the others, just with different numbers.

Many students who are good at following instructions will nail down the procedure quickly and be able to replicate it flawlessly whenever presented with this same type of problem. Sounds great, right? Except it’s not…

The problem with teacher-centered learning is that the teacher is doing the majority of the thinking FOR the students. This does not help build conceptual understanding of math topics; it only creates shallow understanding through memorized procedures. Students can typically perform these procedures well for a short amount of time, but because they lack the “big picture” of the mathematical concept, they will most likely be unable to apply this skill to situations and problems that veer even slightly from the homogeneously structured practice problems they did in class. They are also much more likely to forget the procedures once the unit is over.

Put students in the driver’s seat

Consider a different model. One that allows students to do their own thinking, figuring out and, yes, struggling through math problems! It would go something like this:

• The teacher presents an open-ended question/problem to the class. This is done without first planting any ideas in students’ heads about the learning goal or math topic that is being targeted (the teacher does have one in mind though!)
• Students, using a variety of manipulatives, white boards, paper, etc, work individually or in small groups to think through the problem and possibly find a solution. Meanwhile, the teacher FACILITATES the learning by circulating and asking questions to students about their thinking or strategies.
• After a few minutes of thought (and probably struggle), the teacher brings the class back together to discuss and share their thoughts. The teacher makes sure to bring out the different strategies that were observed while circulating. Ideally, students will be able to hear from their peers the different ways that they approached the problem.
• At this point, depending on how close to a solution the class is, the teacher may decide to send students back to their groups to continue working through the problem, armed with some new ideas. Maybe a second open-ended problem (targeting the same skill) is presented. The teacher judges the best direction to lead the class, but the students are the ones doing the math thinking!
• Once the class has figured out a way to solve the problem, there will surely be a variety of strategies used. This is where the teacher facilitates the consolidation of ideas into the most efficient method(s) of solving this type of problem. That is, procedures can now be part of the discussion.

Student-centered learning: the STRUGGLE is real!

Struggle is good. Struggle is necessary. I’m talking about math class, but parallels can certainly be drawn to life in general. If students are constantly handed the exact directions to solve a problem, how can we expect them to become good problem solvers? We can only become problem solvers by solving problems, not by having them solved for us. The world depends on problem solvers!

Since many of our students have become so used to having teachers tell them what to do and how to do it, there will naturally be some resistance when, all of a sudden, you turn your teaching methods upside down. Struggle in an uncomfortable feeling, and I encourage you to acknowledge this with your students. Ideally, you will get to a place where struggles and mistakes are celebrated because they are solid proof that learning is taking place!

Here is a graphic that sumarizes teacher-centered learning and student-centered learning:

Want to give student-centered learning a try?

If you’d like to give this style of teaching a try in your math class, I invite you to fill out the form on my homepage, or in the sidebar to the right (you’ll have to scroll up too). Within seconds of filing the form out, you will have a student-centered mental math starter kit sent directly to your inbox! This resource is geared toward grades 5-8.

As always, I welcome your feedback and questions. Feel free to comment below, or connect with me on Instagram: @mathcoachcanada.