"In student-centered environments, there is a higher motivation to learn as students feel they have a real stake in their own learning." http://www4.asq.org/blogs/edu/2006/06/student_centered_vs_teacher_ce.html
This is one of the main claims of proponents of student-centered teaching. The topic of motivation is important to me because I see it as one of the foundational variables of learning. Not alot seems to happen if students are unmotivated. Do you believe that students in such classes are indeed more motivated? Why or why not?
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I have mixed feelings about this quote. I think that there is a lot of truth in it - students generally are more motivated when they have a say in their learning. At the same time, I don't think total freedom is the answer. Maybe limited freedom is better? We talked some in class about this, but it seems that if it's too open-ended most students don't know what to do or where to start. Maybe the answer isn't to be totally on one side or the other. Maybe it is best to be somewhere in the middle and try to incorporate both types of teaching.
I believe that student-centered teaching does lead to greater motivation, but only when it is done VERY WELL. I am still not really sure what a 100% student-centered semester long course would look like, especially on the assessment side of things. But I imagine that if it weren't done really well, students could end up doing hardly anything at all. On the other hand, if the teacher carefully crafted student-centered activities, students could be very motivated since they would be given the choice.
I think that in my ideal classroom, we would do some full-fledged student-centered activities, but most of the class would probably be a mix of teacher-centered and student-centered activities, with a few that are just teacher-centered as well. I really liked the idea from class of making any activity more student-centered though . . . even things like a lecture by asking questions or doing imagining exercises.
I don't think it's always true that giving students "what they want" will equal motivation. I think sometimes motivation grows out of learning about things you don't previously know about. For example, I had no real motivation to learn Spanish before I served a mission in Argentina. That changed my whole perspective and motivation toward language. I didn't know language could interest me so much until after I had an experience with it. It would have been impossible for me to have shown interest in the topic without first being exposed to it. Likewise, I think sometimes the class room has to be "teacher-oriented" to expose students to ideas or subjects they are unfamiliar with that may, in turn, end up being exciting to them.
I see myself running a teacher-centered course with student-centered activities. For example, I think a great degree of freedom in term-projects is very motivating for students. It allows the students to do something that is perhaps more valuable to them, individually. An entire course directed by the students, however, seems frustrating and lacking direction(as I mentioned in class).
The teacher is selected as such precisely because s/he knows something more about the content than do the students. Students expect mentoring from the teacher, and to tell the students they have to figure it all out on their own would alienate them.
With that said, it seems that our educational program is structured so that the student does become more independent. I think the thesis represents a sort of arrival of the student to becoming self-sufficient in his/her learning. Even then, though, the student has a team of professors to direct the student.
I agree with Diane. As some of us mentioned in class, I believe there has to be a balance. Not all of the students are alike. Some are sequential learners, while others are visual learners. Some prefer to work in groups while others (like Chris) prefer working by themselves. In my opinion, the same goes for the student-centered and teacher-centered methods. In my own experience as a student, I believe I would rather the teacher be teacher-centered in the classroom and give us student-centered projects (reports in which we choose the topics, etc.).
Hallo everybody. I hope thsi doesn't come too late. Student-centered can be more motivating, but only for those who are inherently self-motivated. As other folks have mentioned here, if students are left to themselves, not much would be learned. Diane also has a solid point that if there is no established starting point, many people will just flounder. There is truth to the statement that people will study and put effort into what they like and are interested in, but that could lead to things that have very little to do with the class itself. Guided learning is most likely the best answer. I think this is true for most any field of study. That's why they give us thesis advisors...
I agree with what has been said so far...I think that it is particularly important to mix student-centered activities with teacher-directed structure. I also think that motivation comes, in part, from high expectations, and I'm not sure how well that could work in a purely student-centered classroom. With my theatre background, however, I feel like we do a lot of student-centered activities, and that students are in many ways, in control of their education, but that they need the "resident expert" (teacher) to guide their learning, and even to give structure to their learning. I don't buy into the idea that a classroom should be completely student-centered.
A student-centered class environment definitely fosters self-motivation, but it doesn't always result in self-motivation since years of socialization, in which students have been taught to take a passive, deferential, even subservient role in educational institutions, weigh down on many of us and prevent our possible propensities for self-directed learning from coming to fruition. However, I don't think that this should stop teachers from trying to make the shift, daunting as it may be. I think most people are, or can become, excited and motivated about learning just about any subject, provided the institutional structure of teaching/learning doesn't stymie their searchings. It's difficult to overcome the inertia of years of passive learning, but it can be done with determination.
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