Why Student-Centered Learning Matters

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In student-centered learning (SCL), the learner is the focus and owner of his or her education. The teacher or faculty member’s role, though, isn’t less important, as he or she still leads and guides the students to the meat of the matter, i.e., the knowledge being imparted. The goal is to make it the student’s education, not the teacher’s.

In student-centered instruction, students and teachers interact equally instead of the former simply listening to the teacher. There are four major important benefits of SCL:

Enables the benefits of group work Through SCK, students learn crucial communicative and collaborative skills when they do group work.

Increases interest and independence in learning Students learn to direct their own learning, ask questions, and independently accomplish tasks. They are more interested in learning activities and active participation in this model.

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Harnesses students’ leadership ability SCL gives students the chance to take charge even when they may not quite have all the content skills. It allows them to discover their interest-based choices and areas they feel most passionate about.

Gives up need for teachers’ control Children and teens produce a great volume of content through social media, and in those platforms they earn a following and join others in common interests. When they enter school, what they know and can produce is set aside most of the time. In SCL, they integrate these skills inside the classroom and their real-world networks.

Jay Eitner is an award-winning educator and a superintendent for schools for the Waterford Township School District. He has been known for his out-of-the-box and technology-oriented approach to learning. Learn more about his work on this page.