My initial thoughts on Learner-centered teaching are that it can empower the students. My experiences tell me that they are clearly put out (i.e., bothered) by not having any control over what happens in a class. Obviously we cannot completely abandon this as the students do not understand accreditation and what absolutely needs to be covered. However, we can incorporate their ideas into some parts of the course like attendance policies, late work, textbooks, due dates of some assignments, testing styles, etc. I was really interested in the story of the instructor who lets a student committee pick the textbook from a group of books that he pre-selected. However, I think some caution is needed when implementing Learner-centered teaching strategies. One pitfall is that the students may try to make things too easy if they do not respect the instructor or the instructor allows this to happen. Therefore, I think this will only work when the instructor has a strong personality and does not allow the students to exert too much control. I also wonder if the students, after their initial hesitation, might argue for even greater control. As the text instructs, “Power is redistributed in amounts proportional to students’ ability to handle it.” If it is handled in this manner then I only see an upside.
The most interesting part of Lang’s chapter was the discussion of the many hardships and struggles that students have that we cannot really understand because our course is but a small part of their lives. The most useful part of this discussion was the idea to “stick compassionately to your standards.” In the end we may not really know why they are missing class or turning in late assignments. It may be for legitimate reasons or for reasons such as being out too late at a party. Having guidelines that all students adhere to will allow you to treat everyone in the class equally. This may be something that can be discussed and agreed upon by the students in a Learner-centered approach to teaching. A past discussion also mentioned allowing students to drop a quiz or test, or allow a certain number of absences without penalty. I don’t know if this completely solves the problem because students may have more ”issues”, real or perceived, that come up above and beyond what you initially allowed them to miss without penalty. How do you plan to handle all of the excuses that you will hear from students? Will you require proof of what they were doing?
I like the advice that you have pointed out from the test, "stick compassionately to your standards." Despite hardships, students will still need to learn the course material. I don't think professors are doing students with hardships any favors by passing them along. However, there are alternative teaching methods that can be provided for students. I think it is important to think about this when developing course policies. If you have a hardship clause developed into your policy, this can be implemented fairly across students. I think this could include a number of things such as, extensions, make-up exams, and a different weight system applied to attendance, so long as it is equally available across students that need it.
ReplyDeleteI would say that I require proof but know that I would probably give students the benefit of the doubt if there is reason to believe proof is difficult/timely to access or if it would break confidentiality.
I too primarily see only an upside to learner-centered teaching, especially when we take seriously the cautions so articulately provided in the article/chapter (The Balance of Power)- that is, by making well-informed and judicious decisions about WHAT learning responsibilities to hand over WHEN. The idea that “… ultimately there are no responsibilities currently assigned to the teacher that cannot at some point be relinquished to learners” (p. 43) is weighty. In fact, if I hadn’t been sitting down to read that, I am sure it would have sat me down! Considerations of power dynamics have long been a part of my personal and political thinking – a fact for which I extend credit and gratitude for particularly meaningful shifts in my thinking to two authors, Starhawk and Walter Wink, both of whom I recommend without reservation. Even so, and even though I have quite intentionally “shared power” as a teacher by carefully constructing and guiding communications among myself and learners in the classroom setting, the idea that I could – and that everyone would likely benefit from – more shared decision making in terms of learning evaluations and course content – well, I just have not yet seriously considered that!
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