Question
Don’t assume failing is the same as failing
More data have emerged about student-centered instruction. As Walker suggests, the technique often goes hand-in-hand with inquiry-based learning. Students often teach and mentor one another.
Ellen Granger, who heads the Office of Science Teaching Activities at Florida State University (which has its own UTeach program), published one such study in 2012. It compared how student-centered versus teacher-centered approaches affected fourth- and fifth-grade students’ understanding of space-science concepts. The researchers found that learning outcomes were higher for students who enrolled in science classes that take a student-centered approach. Some of these effects were both significant and persistent. For instance, her team measured a positive influence on scores for tests administered 5.5 months after the original instruction.
Granger’s subjects were fourth and fifth graders. But taken together with other studies on student learning, she says, the results appear to apply to all students — from kindergarten through college. “It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about K-5, 9-12 or undergraduates,” she says. “We’re finding the same things… When you must do the sense-making, you learn better.”
By sense-making, she means that the students must actively engage in making sense of a concept or process. Teachers should not just explain how something works. Their students must instead attempt to think critically, guided by a teacher’s careful questioning. An added bonus: Students seem to take pride in figuring things out by themselves.
What is student-centered instruction?
Students take the place of teachers and give lectures.
Students work together to solve a problem and help each other learn.
Students work together without any input from teachers.
Students teach educators about subjects in the way they understand them.
More data have emerged about student-centered instruction. As Walker suggests, the technique often goes hand-in-hand with inquiry-based learning. Students often teach and mentor one another.
Ellen Granger, who heads the Office of Science Teaching Activities at Florida State University (which has its own UTeach program), published one such study in 2012. It compared how student-centered versus teacher-centered approaches affected fourth- and fifth-grade students’ understanding of space-science concepts. The researchers found that learning outcomes were higher for students who enrolled in science classes that take a student-centered approach. Some of these effects were both significant and persistent. For instance, her team measured a positive influence on scores for tests administered 5.5 months after the original instruction.
Granger’s subjects were fourth and fifth graders. But taken together with other studies on student learning, she says, the results appear to apply to all students — from kindergarten through college. “It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about K-5, 9-12 or undergraduates,” she says. “We’re finding the same things… When you must do the sense-making, you learn better.”
By sense-making, she means that the students must actively engage in making sense of a concept or process. Teachers should not just explain how something works. Their students must instead attempt to think critically, guided by a teacher’s careful questioning. An added bonus: Students seem to take pride in figuring things out by themselves.
What is student-centered instruction?
Students take the place of teachers and give lectures.
Students work together to solve a problem and help each other learn.
Students work together without any input from teachers.
Students teach educators about subjects in the way they understand them.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
Student-centered instruction is best described as:
**Students work together to solve a problem and help each other learn.**
This approach emphasizes active engagement and collaboration among students, where they take responsibility for their own learning and support one another in the process. It contrasts with teacher-centered instruction, where the teacher is the primary source of knowledge and delivers content directly to students.
**Students work together to solve a problem and help each other learn.**
This approach emphasizes active engagement and collaboration among students, where they take responsibility for their own learning and support one another in the process. It contrasts with teacher-centered instruction, where the teacher is the primary source of knowledge and delivers content directly to students.