In 21st century, Learner Centered Pedagogy has spread globally and has been widely endorsed as a “best practice” in education by international and national educationalists.
In spite of its prominence in education policies, implementation has been challenging, and changes to classroom practice is limited as teachers and learners struggle to make the shift , just like the recipient of a donor organ may reject it after a transplant.
What is Learner Centered Pedagogy?
It refers to a pedagogy that places learners at the center of the teaching-learning process. Students are more active and engaged, and the process turns knowledge transferred into a negotiation between teachers and students. Furthermore, this pedagogy starts from learners’ interests and objectives, it carries out a learning process based on practical situations and materials, using the current technologies to favor this process. In the process of teaching and learning, learners are at the heart of curriculum design, classroom interaction and evaluation techniques.
Learner centered classroom in a nutshell is a classroom where the lesson on not focused on the teacher and transmission of information. Most of the classrooms are where the teacher is like a conductor and controlling every aspect of the lesson, the teacher micro-manages the lesson, asks questions and speaks during most of the lesson-time.
In a learner centered class the responsibility for learning is placed on the learner. learners work in small groups helping each other asking questions, they might evaluate their own progress of the work , rather than have teacher mark everything. Learner centered classrooms are more co-operative and organic, rather than top-down instruction from the teacher.
Learner centered classes help learners to become more independent and more responsible for how they learn (learnability). Learner Centered Pedagogy views learners as active participants in their own learning, with their education shaped by their interests, prior knowledge and active investigation.
Learner Centered Approach & Online teaching learning process
As the pandemic has hit the online teaching-learning button for all teachers and learners, Every organization wants to get the maximum benefit from its online teaching learning initiatives. A key element of any successful online program is to keep the learners engaged in the course. A learner centered approach is a proven way of keeping learners engaged, and thereby ensuring effective Online Learning. A learner centered approach is one where the complete Online Learning experience is focused on the learners.
Advantages of Learner Centered Pedagogy in Online Learning
- Better learner engagement
The first step towards the success of any Learning program is participation. A learner centered pedagogy addresses all the essential needs of learners, ensuring learners get a personalized and convenient Online Learning experience. - Better knowledge retention
Given that a learner centered approach places high emphasis on relevance and engagement, it greatly influences learners’ interest levels with more engaging and simulating content.
- Boosts overall performance
A typical learner centered program will have a lot of scenarios, case studies, role plays, etc. with a lot of engaging and interactive content will help learners grasp the content more effectively. This way, learners are more likely to apply their learning at work, leading to improved work performance.
- Develops problem-solving skills
A learner centered Learning course has a lot of real life examples, including games, quizzes, and challenges which will force learners to think of solutions. This kind of training develops problem-solving skills, which is useful when learners encounter similar problems in real life situations. - Fosters collaborative learning
Learner centered courses provide the opportunity to foster collaborative learning. The Learning program should be designed in such a way that learners have to involve their peers, which makes learners come together to solve problems, and thereby share learning. This approach not only encourages collaboration but also promotes teamwork. - Makes learning enjoyable
Use of games and stories in Online Learning makes learning more fun. A learner centered approach provides a lot of choices to learners. With these elements like videos, ppts, story etc. learning is no longer perceived as boring and monotonous. - Provides personalized learning.
All learners do not have the same learning needs. Some may just like to understand the basics of a concept, while some may like to understand a course in detail. Also, some learners may already have some knowledge about a topic, whereas some of them will be entirely new to the concept. A traditional Learning method will treat all learners the same way, and may not respond to the needs of different types of learners. Things are different with learner centered program you get the option to learn the basics or dive deep into the topic.
To conclude, as opposed to other approaches, such as a content centered pedagogy or a teacher centered pedagogy, learner centered pedagogy provides many more benefits, why not give it a try when learning is just taking a new shape.
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A Learning Leader 