Instructors develop a teaching style based on their beliefs about personal preferences, their abilities, and the norms of their particular discipline. Some believe classes should be learner-centered, which the curriculum base on various type of student learning. Others take a teacher-centered, where the teacher is expert and authority in presenting information. I will compare the differences between two types of teaching style in three issues, which are the goal, teaching style and classroom environment.
On the one hand, learner-centered normally has constructivist teacher as leader to motivate the learners. Obviously, the goals of a constructivist teacher are not to cover the curriculum, but instead to engage students as active learners constructing their own knowledge within a content domain. Constructivist teachers start with very broad learning objectives and may even negotiate with the class to identify more specific learning goals, which makes students more interesting.
In addition, learner-centered teaching style focus on the needs and abilities of students and on topics that are relevant to the students’ lives needs, and interests; therefore, in this type of classroom, students are actively engaged in creating, understanding, and connecting to knowledge. The teacher shares control of the classroom and students are allowed to explore, experiment on their own.
In a student-centered environment, students are given choices and are included in the decision-making processes of the classroom. The focus in these classrooms is on options, rather than uniformity. Essentially, learners are treated as co-creators in the learning process, as individuals with ideas and issues that deserve attention and consideration.
On the other hand, in teacher-centered approach; there are some disparate teaching styles compare with one another. Trying to provide knowledge to the students by following fixed programmed is the goal of lecturer in this teaching style; the lecturers normally base their teaching in a single curriculum, which are completely designed by the teachers. Because the students in teacher-centered have fewer chance to discover tangible knowledge on their own, the lecturers in teacher-centered approach need expert. Expert teacher have case knowledge to show and make the students improve their understanding.
Teacher-centered teaching style is less focus on students than student-centered. Although teacher-centered environment still focus on making relationships with students that are help selecting teaching materials, they focus more on content than on student processing. Giving knowledge to reach the specific aim every times they teach is more essentials than pay attention to individual student. If the overall students’ understanding is more than 70%, the teachers feel successfully.
Furthermore, classroom environment in teacher-centered style is stricter than one another. The students have less chance to disclose their opinion than student-centered. Thinking is basically the responsibility of the teacher; students memorize and recite information given by the teacher. The teachers treat the students by the way they decide what they want their student to understand.
In conclusion, instructors should choose the style that can match and most appropriate with learners, so they can learn effectively.
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