Learner centered and learning centered

Found new definitions and ideas for learner centered and learning centered.


Taken from 1.2 Reushle (2004): Role of the Educator

Mayes (2001, p. 17) has observed that never before has there been so much agreement about the pedagogical fundamentals of teaching and learning. He observes that
the shared theoretical assumptions are those of constructivism, and they result from two distinct shifts of emphasis - shift from a representational view of learning to a constructivist or constructionist view where learning is primarily developed through activity…Second shift is away from the focus on the individual, towards a new emphasis on social contexts for learning.
This approach favours instructional methods that use a constructivist approach to teaching and learning, with a focus on dialogue, learning partnerships, and the joint construction of knowledge. This approach is used for the design of many of the online courses at USQ, and is particularly evident in the use of discussion forums to facilitate online interaction. In the EIP project, conducted at USQ in 2003 (Postle et al., 2003), respondents to the staff survey stated that the adoption of online approaches to teaching and learning provides a number of advantages over traditional distance education. One of the most significant points discussed was the increased opportunity for interaction, particularly between teacher and student, and between students, both synchronously and asynchronously. Students enquiring about the quality of online education offered at USQ have indicated that one of the most important factors in choosing between online universities is the quality of instruction, student support and level of interaction available with the online teacher. The synchronous and asynchronous tools (discussion groups, email, and virtual chats) provide environments for collaborative group learning, where learners can actively exchange ideas and co-construct their knowledge within the context of an online learning community (Wenger, 1998).

The fact that online education brings with it increased opportunities for interaction implies increased levels of participation on the parts of both the teacher and learner. Again, this raises the issue of workloads and sustainability. To illustrate levels of interaction, data collected for the
EIP project for a particular online course recorded that, over a period of one semester (15 weeks’ duration), the teacher accessed the discussion board 485 times, posted 485 messages, sent 104 emails, posted 62 announcements, created/modified a group 9 times, accessed the Gradebook 35 times and the Digital DropBox 202 times. This gave a total of over one thousand hits by the teacher on the Blackboard platform for the semester. Emails responding to personal (direct) student emails were not logged on the Blackboard system. This level of interaction raises the question, is this level of teacher participation sustainable? What might need to be done to ensure that teachers can cope in this environment and what is a suitable workload for one online teacher? How might the need for reasonable learner/teacher ratios be met in a cost effective way?
**************************************************************************************
Learner centered approach means instructors are facilitators and learner is an active participant in the learning process. The learner has to take responsibility for learning. A facilitator can only take responsibilityf or effective facilitation. Therefore a facilitator must have an awareness of own strengths, weaknesses and value positions, provide resources, help clarify boundaries of course content, ensure academic rigor is maintained and help the learner exercise real freedoms in how learning is carried out and assessed. Effective facilitation directs the learner toward accepting self-responsibility. (Elizabeth Burge, 1989, Learner Centredness: Some Additional Points)

Learner controlled means learning new content and improving personal learning strategies - new ways to learn.

Learning centered is putting an emphasis on learning process