Page 4 - Learner Centered Teaching

Defining Learner-Centered Teaching

Centering Learning

Learner-Centered Teaching is about making the classroom a “radical space of

possibility” (Weimer, 9), where the learner is at the center. A learner is one who is

in the process of grappling with ideas, concepts, and knowledge, in an attempt to

grasp that knowledge.

The ‘seed-planting’ model of education has the instructor as the active ‘seed

planter’ and the learner as the passive vessel who simply receives those seeds.

Making the classroom a ‘radical space of possibility’

Teaching to Grapple

When we re-center the classroom into a more active and dynamic space where

students take an active role, we create those ‘radical spaces of possibility.’ In short,

if we want our students to be critical and engaged learners, we need to make the

process of learning critical and engaging. We need to create space for the learner to

actively gauge (critically evaluate) and engage (apply) knowledge.