Principles of learning
"Learner-centered" education?
- the learner is the beginning and the end point of the learning process
- the learner's needs are the focus of the course/program/organization
- the learner is in control of the learning experience
What does "learner-centered" education look like?
- tools (technologies) are available as the learner needs them
- variety of learning opportunities for discussion - asynchronous and synchronous, collaboration, interaction, and multi-media capability
- flexibility to accommodate the changing schedules of all learners
- course/program/institution is continually renewed through feedback from learners
- learners are active partners in the learning process
- more...
Situated learning
Learner centeredness is at the heart of situated learning, which is grounded in constructivist learning theory. The belief is that learning is most efficient and effective when it takes place within the context of realistic settings in which learners are clear about the reasons for learning:
- meaning for learning - conventional classrooms cannot provide the same sorts of opportunities that real-world experiences can afford. Some instructors are fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of field trips and group-based project work.
- anchored instruction - micro-contexts (separate real-world cases to explain each new dimension, and macro-contexts (situations that are sufficiently rich and complex to be meaningfully viewed from several perspectives).
- more...
"Learner-centred" courses:
- acknowledging prior learning
- mobilizing motivation and emotional engagement with the task
- recognizing that learning is a social act.
- using problems in context and recognizing the context of the learner
- maintaining awareness of cultural assumptions and stereotyping
- situating learning tasks within disciplinary or professional practice
- maintaining clear alignment between the activities and assessment.
- questioning assumptions they bring to the activity and those they develop through it
- encouraging them to go beyond what is provided
- creating situations where they are required to take responsibility for their own learning and to shape the activity to their own ends.
- demonstrating what has been learned for themselves and for others
- gaining feedback at strategic points in learning
- reflecting on and making sense of experiences
- continuous exposure to new activities balanced with integration and consolidation
- developing confidence in performance from practice.
engage learners by:
acknowledge context through:
challenges learners by:
involve practice through: