13 Adopting a student-centred approach
The move from teacher-centred to student-centred learning
The two key inhabitants of the medical school are the students and the teachers, with a major focus on the teacher and what is taught. There has been a significant shift in emphasis from the teacher to the student and what the student learns. In this move from teacher-centred to student-centred learning, the role of the teacher has changed from one of information provider to a facilitator of learning – from being a ‘sage on the stage’ to a ‘guide on the side’ (Figure 13.1). This concept of student-centred learning underpins much of what this book is about.
A teacher-centred approach emphasises prescribed learning experiences, courses or programmes with a set range of formal activities. It can be likened to eating in a restaurant with a table d’hôte menu where the diners have to eat what the restaurateur chooses. The student- centred approach in contrast is more like an á la carte menu where the diners choose what they want to eat from the menu of options provided. Teacher-centred and student-centred learning differ with regard to the student’s engagement with content, the teaching and learning methods, the responsibility for learning, assessment and the balance of power (Table 13.1).
Table 13.1 A comparison between student-centred and teacher-centred learning
| Teacher-centred | Student-centred | |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement with content | Students learn and memorise content as presented by the teacher | The students reflect on the content and make their own sense out of it |
| Relation of the teaching and learning methods to the student’s learning outcomes | The teacher does not relate the teaching to the learning outcomes | The teacher uses a variety of methods and matches these to the student’s achievement of the learning outcomes |
| Responsibility for learning | The teacher takes responsibility for teaching and assumes that the student will learn | The teacher provides the students with increasing responsibility for their own learning |
| Assessment | The teacher does not integrate assessment with the learning | Assessment is integrated with the learning process |
| Balance of power | Decisions about the course, the approaches adopted, the policies and the deadlines are taken by the teacher | The student is engaged with decisions about the curriculum |
(adapted from Blumberg, 2009)
Reasons for the move
The move to student-centred learning has taken place for a number of reasons:
• Student-centred learning is more motivating for students. As Winston Churchill said, ‘Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught’.
• In today’s consumer-driven society there is more interest in the student as a consumer of the learning.
• Students are admitted to study medicine from more diverse backgrounds with varying learning needs.
• The concept of outcome-based education embraces a commitment to ensure that all students achieve the expected learning outcomes. How they do this will vary from student to student.
• Student-centred learning prepares the student to take responsibility for continuing learning after completion of their undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
• New learning technologies, as described in Section 4, are available which give students more control over their learning.
Related posts:
What is a good teacher?
Ten questions to ask when planning a curriculum
Building learning around problems and clinical presentations
Assessment for admission to medicine and postgraduate training
Teaching and learning in the clinical context
Making the apprenticeship model and work-based learning more effective
