Student-Centered Instructional Methods

Authentic or Student-centered Instruction

Students' interests drive education in student-centered learning and allow students to choose what they learn and how they learn it (Sudderth, 2022). As a result, students are at the heart of the learning process; teachers design classes with students in mind, prioritizing their needs ( TeachThought Staff, 2022). Students-centered activities should allow students to organize and direct their study processes within the framework of the instructions given; they should be compatible with the subjects and objectives of the curriculum and provide an action and product-oriented learning environment that offers students achievable goals (Genç, 2020). Hence, students do the majority of the work while the teacher facilitates.

An Activity's Indicators of a More Engaging Learning Environment Among Diverse Students

Children bring diverse cultural experiences and knowledge to the classroom, yet what they know and can do sometimes differs significantly from what the curriculum requires (Rumenapp et al., 2018). Hence, teachers must ensure classroom activities are engaging and meet their diversity. Learning activities must cater to students' cultural and academic needs. Creating an environment where children are encouraged to speak and learn in several ways gives pupils more options than language-focused educational techniques (Rumenapp et al., 2018). In such an environment, learning activities see students tieing their culture into their learning and being their genuine selves while gaining content knowledge.

Increasing Rigor

Academic rigor refers to a curriculum that regularly develops on and extends beyond a standard course of study by using universal concepts, complicated levels of generalizations, and essential questions from different perspectives within the field (North Carolina Department of Public Instructions, n.d. as cited in American College of Education (ACE), 2019). Hence, teachers must think creatively and employ activities that push students to think critically (ACE, 2019). Teachers can implement questions, cues, and advance organization in lessons to increase academic rigor. Students can use questions, cues, and advanced organization to help them make sense of content by tapping into their prior knowledge (Marzano et al., 2001). Such an approach focuses on what matters most and employs high-level inquiries to help students learn more deeply.

References

American College of Education (ACE). (2019). Engagement and Rigor. m https://ace.instructure.com/courses/1828418/external_tools/118428 Genç, N. S. (2020). Tales for teaching german: Examining student-centered activities in terms of students' willingness to participate in the classroom. Journal of Language & Linguistics Studies, 16(3), 1458-1479. Rumenapp, J. C., Morales, P. Z., & Lykouretzos, A. M. (2018). Building a cohesive multimodal environment for diverse learners. YC: Young Children, 73(5), 72-78. Sudderth, A. (2022, May 23). What is student centered learning and why is it important? Rethink Together. https://xqsuperschool.org/rethinktogether/what-is-student-centered-learning/ TeachThought Staff. (2022, January 16). 28 student-centered instructional strategies. TeachThought. https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/student-centered-methods/