What Is Student-Centered Teaching?
Student-centered teaching is a style of teaching that focuses on the students. It promotes student empowerment and engagement in their education. The teacher acts as a facilitator of learning, rather than an instructor who is giving commands and assignments.
Student-centered teaching is based on the idea that students will learn more effectively when they are involved in their own learning. Student-centered teachers try to provide students with opportunities to explore and discover new things, rather than just being told what to do.
The goal of student-centered teaching is not only for students to learn the material but also for them to develop skills needed for lifelong learning. This includes critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving skills, and communication skills.
What Are the Benefits of Student-Centered Teaching?
Student-centered teaching is a teaching method that focuses on the needs and interests of students. It is designed to help students learn in a way that works for them. Teachers who use this method make decisions about what to teach, when to teach it, and how to teach it based on what they know about their students.
When teachers use student-centered teaching, many benefits can result. Some of these include:
- The ability to teach more effectively because you know the strengths and weaknesses of your students
- Better understanding of your own teaching style and its effectiveness
- A better relationship with students because they are more engaged in learning
- Increased student self-esteem due to more positive feedback from teachers
How Do I Implement Student-Centered Teaching in My Classroom?
In order to implement student-centered teaching in your classroom, you will need to make sure that it is clear that you expect your students to take ownership over their learning. Here are some tips for making this happen:
- Make sure they know they can ask questions
- Have them talk with each other about what they are learning
- Give them plenty of opportunities to use what they are learning in real-life situations (or at least simulations)
- Do not be afraid to let them fail (in small doses)
Student-centered teaching is not just about how you teach. It is also about how your students learn. Students who are engaged in their learning tend to do better than those who are not.
In a student-centered classroom, for example, you might ask students to complete an activity before class starts so that they can come in ready to participate in a discussion — or maybe even lead it! You could also give your students a list of questions or prompts for them to consider while they are reading assigned readings or while they are doing homework assignments at home.
You will want to make sure that you are not just telling your students what to do — if anything, this kind of teaching would be more like teacher-centered instruction because it is focused on giving directions rather than allowing students voice agency in their learning experience.
