Teacher Centered vs Student Centered learning

The differences between teacher centered classrooms and student centered classroom are like night and day.  In the teacher centered classroom the teacher is the information deliverer.  The student is passive  and will listen, take notes, and occasionally ask questions for clarity.  In the student centered classroom the teachers role changes to a facilitator or mentor.  The students are given the essential question but then must find the answers in a way that is meaningful for them.  The learning must be authentic.  Student must believe that the information they are gathering is relevant to their lives and community.  Therefore, the essential questions should reflect concerns that the students can get behind and really strive to find answers.  The teacher shall give direction and guidance to aid the student and point them in the right direction.  In student centered learning, the student is an active learner.  They seek information, sort out data, ask questions, refine hypothesis, ask more questions, compare data, and share/publish results.

In the eLearning environment, the student is responsible for their learning.  The teacher, who may be miles away cannot be the information deliverer.  The student must rely on their own skills and suggested readings to find the answers they seek.  It is easy to see that the student centered learning environment is better suited for the online classroom.

image: http://teachingaheadofthecurve.blogspot.com/2012/09/morphing-into-student-centered.html