Student Centered Learning in High School

Develop Teaching Strategies that Focuses on Student Needs

Apr 15, 2009

Although academic content mounts and challenges multiply in high school classrooms, you can construct an effective, student centered approach when teaching high school.

Encouraging students to recognize relationships between concepts and comprehend an underlying structure of what is being learned requires a teacher to take a student centered approach towards learning. Whereas teacher-centered instruction focuses on the delivery of content, student centered learning require teachers to respond to the specific learning needs of students.

What is Student-Centered Learning?

Enhance Student Learning With Quality, Not Quantity

Many new teachers focus on quantity, not quality. That is, they feel they must “cover” everything mapped out on curriculum guides. They at times resort to a teacher-centered approach with lecture as the primary means of delivery because it seems most expeditious. The problem is that many students experience the content whizzing by on only a topical level, and it does not resonate with them.

Remember, curricular choices are to some extent made by the teacher. Only the teacher can identify an appropriate pace and delivery for a specific student body. Not all classes can be taught the same amount of material in the same way, and changes must be implemented mid-stream to adapt to students’ needs. So if you notice puzzled or apathetic expressions on the faces of your students, consider whether you might be overly focused on content delivery, rather than actual student learning.

Encourage Student Learning With Depth, Not Breadth

Because teachers sometimes feel rushed to impart knowledge, they often make decisions that minimize student-centered discovery learning or cooperative activities – especially in high school. Teachers may feel that they “don’t have time” to follow through with a planned group activity. They may categorize the act of playing a song for the class that relates to a specific piece of literature as “enrichment” that doesn’t necessarily meet a specific learning objective. However, these valuable activities create meaningful connections for students which foster motivation.

The next time you plan a unit, consider delving deeper into a topic and approach it from multiple perspectives. Try constructing a variety of student-centered activities that actively engage students. You may find that you cover less content, but the benefit of increased student learning and engagement balances the loss. This approach can reveal alternative strategies to meet the same state standards.

Empower High School Students

When planning curriculum, try implementing a more student-centered approach. Tap into the past learning experiences of your students to expand their understanding of concepts with which they are already familiar – and then go deeper into that familiar topic to show students different levels of analysis. In The Process of Education, Jarome Bruner points out that this will not only gain students’ attention, but also help develop those important relationships between concepts.

As teachers develop curriculum throughout the year, they can relate new ideas to information students already understand to encourage more meaningful learning experiences. Bruner explains that teachers need to communicate to students “the attitude that things are connected and not isolated” (Bruner 27). To build on what students already know, teachers can strive to locate, develop and redevelop topics in their content area with which students are familiar.

Understanding how to maximize opportunities for student-centered learning in your high school classroom is an ongoing challenge. Teaching students to approach a topic from a variety of perspectives and understand new layers of meaning is not always an easy task. However, the student benefits include a deeper understanding of content and an improved appreciated for education. By using a student centered approach, you will help students learn to love to learn.

Bruner, Jarome. The Process of Education: A Landmark in Educational Theory. Harvard University Press: 1977.

The copyright of the article Student Centered Learning in High School in Curricula/Lesson Plans is owned by Thadra Petkus. Permission to republish Student Centered Learning in High School in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.