Search results for: Student centered curriculum

This article describe a high-impact, low-cost, super-capstone course. The course is high-impact because graduating seniors regularly evaluate the course as being one of the most valuable of their college experience. It is low-cost because it requires minimal faculty resources, and super-capstone because it caps a capstone course. The authors described four instructional principles: (1) student-centered learning, (2) affective and experiential learning, (3) empathic listening, and (4) collaborative learning and sharing. The principles are central to humanistic education. They can be implemented in various ways and degrees in a wide variety of courses and disciplines, in large lecture classes and small seminars, and in many other teaching/learning circumstances as well.

Studies in other countries have reported that time plays a significant role in teachers’ decisions about teaching methods. Student-centered teaching tend to be more time-consuming and unpredictable than whole-class lecturing. China has been promoting a reform in its curriculum and pedagogy toward student-centered approach. Therefore, this research article will investigate 1) how this curriculum reform influences rural teachers’ experience of lesson time, and 2) whether and how their concerns over time advance or hinder the promotion of student-centered teaching in rural areas. This study supports the findings in the literature that time is a crucial factor for teachers’ pedagogical decisions.

In this case study, an exemplary seventh grade science teacher’s beliefs, planning decisions, implementation, and student reactions to her student-centered methods were examined over a 4-week unit on genetics. This situation was unique because the teacher was new to the profession and her students had no prior experience with student-centered methods. Her students initially felt unsure about the tasks they were assigned and sought out more structure. However when the teacher began to scaffold the material, a balance was achieved that resulted in student engagement during the unit.