Benefits (Pros)
-It is a fact that students are much more engaged in school when they are learning about things that they can relate to. Through student-centred learning, students are much more intrinsically motivated to learn. "The idea is that when they[children] gravitate towards natural curiosities and experience real-life situations, not ones told from one teacher’s perspective or an institution’s one-size-fits-all approach, children flourish” (Antonia, NaturalNews 2014). -Student based learning increases their curiosity, leading to progressively deeper questions and understanding, and habitual critical thinking (Natural Curiosity pg 9). -Students are actively learning all the time instead of passively attempting to absorb information. -This approach is much better at fostering a sense of community. Students do not always depend on the teacher, they turn to each other for help, guidance, and work together on similar interests. Students learn to work together, and with the teacher since the teacher is a collaborative curator. This approach allows for the the teachers and students to become active members of the community, and actually develop a sense of belonging to the community. (Cambridge). Additionally, “opportunities are offered not only to learn about, but also to put into action, a commitment to diversity and to improving the lives of others” (Kohn) -The student-based approach tends to the whole child, meaning that educators are not only concerned with helping students become good learners, but also good people. (Kohn) -Student based learning helps students learn valuable skills such as, “reflecting on the purpose, meaning and process of accumulating various types of information, interpreting information and reconciling it with personal beliefs, articulating ideas clearly and effectively, posing questions to help clarify multiple points of view, and respecting the diverse contributions of individuals within a collaborative group” (Natural Curiosity pg 9). These skills are transferrable across all grades and subjects as well as useful after finishing school. -Students are respected and taken seriously. Students feel as that their opinions and voices matter. There is a trust between the students and the teachers. This is incredibly important and plays a big role in how motivated and engaged the students are in school. -Larger variety of assessments of learning. The students will have more autonomy over how they will want to demonstrate their knowledge. This also takes into account the multiple intelligences and different learning styles of students. -Student centred learning works with the multiple intelligences of students rather than forcing students to try to learn in only one way. -Student-centred classroom and school culture gives every child the possibility of self-actualization and a sense of empowerment, which leads them to be more actively involved in these communities. Through a student-centred pedagogy, they learn that they are protagonists and able to act upon their environment. This is a very positive element in all levels of learning. |
Criticism (Cons)
-Students are not learning the basic facts that they need as a basis for their education. For example, how to do vertical addition or carry numbers. Students need to learn and be able to recall the basics of math before they can be allowed to use whichever strategy they want to solve a problem. In other words, they may agree that the higher-order skills are more important than the basic skills, but these higher-order skills cannot be achieved without the former. More advanced learning builds on basic learning, and one cannot reverse the order. -Questions about whether the curriculum/content will be covered through student-based learning and if this approach can prepare students for higher education (high school and university) and/or the workforce. For example:
-Concern over the seeming lack of structure of a student-centered approach, since child-centred learning is considered to be a philosophy, as opposed to a methodology, and therefore no two classrooms are alike. Generally speaking, however, a child-centred teacher tries to create an environment which will motivate the children to discover new skills and knowledge. -Requires a lot of self-regulation on the part of the students and there are many students who are not able to self-regulate well and therefore will not do well with this approach. In practice, this philosophy means that a certain number of children gradually fall behind the rest. -Some teachers are taught or encouraged to adopt this philosophy through a great deal of persuasion (ministry regulation, school board philosophies, school culture, colleagues, professional development, etc.), which prevents them from effectively using direct instruction. They sometimes do not have any materials or resources to teach in alternative ways. The research that backs student-centred teaching is small-scale and incomplete. |