“Learning-Centered” vs “Teaching-Centered”

A learner-centered outcome shifts the focus of the outcome from what the faculty members are teaching to what a student is meant to learn.

An Overview of Teacher-centered to Learner-centered

For the past century or so, the focus of the traditional “teacher-centered” model of education has been on inputs: the credentials of faculty, the topics to be covered, the sequencing of courses, the physical resources of universities, and so forth.

Based on a great deal that has been learned about learning in the last thirty years, the traditional model is rapidly being replaced with a learner-centered model, which has its main focus on outputs: what knowledge and abilities have students actually acquired, what do they actually know, and what are they competent actually to do?

Implicit in the student-centered model is the idea that instructors are not providers of knowledge, but rather facilitators of learning. It is not enough to construct a syllabus and present information, however skillfully, to a captive audience; the job of instructors now involves creating and sustaining an effective learning environment based on a wide range of “best practices” in teaching and learning, which today’s instructors are expected to learn and adopt.

The increasing focus on student learning as the central indicator of institutional excellence challenges many tacit assumptions about the respective roles of college students and faculty. As shown in the table below, the responsibilities of students and faculty and the relationships between the two models are quite different. In student-centered education, faculty bear less responsibility for being sources of knowledge, and take on more responsibility as facilitators of a broad range of learning experiences. For their part, students are called on to take on more responsibility for their own learning. Some main differences between the old model and the new model are shown in the table below.

Domain	Teacher-centered	Learner-centered
Knowledge	Transmitted by instructor	Constructed by students
Student participation	Passive	Active
Role of professor	Leader/authority	Facilitator/learning partner
Role of Assessment	Few tests/assignments—mainly for grading	Many tests/assignments—for ongoing feedback
Emphasis	Learning correct answers	Developing deeper understanding
Academic culture	Individualistic and competitive	Collaborative and supportive

Adapted from Western Washington University’s Tools & Techniques for Program Improvement: Handbook for Program Review & Assessment of Student Learning (2006)

Creating “Learning-Centered” Outcomes

The following example demonstrates how to move the perspective from a teacher-centered approach, and instead, to identify what students will get out of the experience. Writing the outcome from the students’ perspective provides a foundation of meaning to which learners can “fasten” the concepts and skills of your discipline.

Example of "Needs Improvement"

Example of "Exemplary"

Opportunities to become familiar with research theories and methodologies.   This approach is entirely teacher-centered, describing what the teacher will provide, not what the student will learn through this experience.

The role of evidence and qualitative and quantitative methods in sociology, such that the student will be able to: identify basic methodological approaches and describe the general role of methods in building sociological knowledge; compare and contrast the basic methodological approaches for gathering data; design a research study in an area of choice and explain why various decisions were made; and critically assess a published research report and explain how the study could have been improved.

Below is an example identifying the difference between a program goal and a degree program student learning outcome.

Example of "Needs Improvement"

Example of "Exemplary"

Graduates will integrate quickly into the workplace or advanced education due to an emphasis on high quality teaching, advising, and mentoring.   This statement belongs in Purpose Statement of the program because it identifies what is important to faculty in delivering the degree program.  It does not describe what students will learn to accomplish this ability.

Knowledge of the technical aspects of construction and building systems, and energy conservation, as well as working knowledge of legal codes and regulations related to construction, environmental systems, and human health and safety, and the ability to apply such knowledge appropriately in specific projects.   This is the learning outcome that, if achieved, will ensure students "integrate quickly into the workplace."