Shifting the Classroom from Teacher
Centered to Learner Centered:
It's Easier Than You May Think!
Saundra Yancy McGuire, Ph.D.
Asst. Vice Chancellor & Professor of Chemistry
Past Director, Center for Academic Success
Louisiana State University
Paradigm Shift in Higher Education
Teaching Centered
Institutions
Learning Centered
Institutions
Barr, R.B., and Tagg, J. "From Teaching to Learning - A New Paradigm for
Undergraduate Education." Change, Nov-Dec. 1995, pp 13-25
Barriers to Making the Shift
 Most faculty don’t know how to move from teaching emphasis to learning emphasis
 Faculty professional development generally
focuses on teaching strategies
 Most faculty are not prepared to teach
students how to learn
 Most students do not understand that
learning is a process
How To Remove the Barriers
 Teach students how to learn
 Teach them metacognitive learning strategies
Metacognition
The ability to:
 think about one’s own thinking
 be consciously aware of oneself as a
problem solver
 monitor, plan, and control one’s mental processing (e.g. “Am I understanding this
material, or just memorizing it?”)
 accurately judge one’s level of learning
Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B.
Resnick (Ed.), The nature of intelligence (pp.231-236). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
Why don’t most students know how to learn or how to study?
According to data from the
entering class of 2011...*
It wasn’t necessary in high school
- 60.5% of 2011 (down from 63% in 2010)
entering first year students spent less
than six hours per week doing homework in
12th grade.
- 49.7% of these students said they graduated
from high school with an “A” average.*
Students’ confidence level is high
- 70.9 % believe their academic ability is
above average or in the highest 10 percent
among people their age
*2011 Higher Education Research Institute Study
Faculty Must Help Students
Make the Transition to Learning
Help students identify and close “the gap” current behavior
current grades
efficacious behavior
desired grades
Turn Students into Expert Learners:
Teach Them Metacognitive
Learning Strategies!
The Story of Two Students
 Travis, junior psychology student
47, 52, 82, 86
B in course
 Dana, first year physics student
80, 54, 91, 97, 90 (final) A in course
Travis, junior psychology student
47, 52, 82, 86
Dana, first year physics student
80, 54, 91, 97, 90 (final)
Why the Fast and Dramatic Increase?
It’s all about the strategies!
Counting Vowels in 45 seconds
How accurate are you?
Count all the vowels
in the words on the next slide.
Dollar Bill
Dice
Tricycle
Four-leaf Clover
Hand
Six-Pack
Seven-Up
Octopus
Cat Lives
Bowling Pins
Football Team
Dozen Eggs
Unlucky Friday
Valentine’s Day
Quarter Hour
How many words or phrases
do you remember?
Let’s look at the words again…
What are they arranged
according to?
Dollar Bill
Dice
Tricycle
Four-leaf Clover
Hand
Six-Pack
Seven-Up
Octopus
Cat Lives
Bowling Pins
Football Team
Dozen Eggs
Unlucky Friday
Valentine’s Day
Quarter Hour
NOW, how many words or phrases
do you remember?
What were two major differences
between the two attempts?
1. We knew what the task was
2. We knew how the information
was organized
What we know about learning
 Active learning is more lasting
than passive learning
 Thinking about thinking is important
Metacognition
 The level at which learning occurs
is important
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom's_Taxonomy
Making judgments based on
criteria and standards
through checking and
critiquing.
Carrying out or using a
procedure through executing,
or implementing.
Retrieving, recognizing,
and recalling relevant
knowledge from
long-term memory.
Putting elements together to
form a coherent or functional
whole; reorganizing elements
into a new pattern or
structure through generating,
planning, or producing.
Breaking material into
constituent parts,
determining how the
parts relate to one
another and to an
overall structure .
Constructing meaning
from oral, written, and
graphic messages through
interpreting, exemplifying,
classifying, summarizing,
inferring, comparing, and
explaining.
http://www.odu.edu/educ/llschult/blooms_taxonomy.htm
When we teach students about
Bloom’s Taxonomy…
They GET it!
How students answered
At what level of Bloom’s did you have to operate to make A’s or B’s in high school?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
35%
25%
21%
13%
1
2
3
4
3%
3%
5
6
How students answered
At what level of Bloom’s do you think you’ll need to be to make an A in Chem 1201?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
35%
23%
15%
14%
7%
6%
1
2
3
4
5
6
How do we teach students to move
higher on Bloom’s Taxonomy?
Teach them the Study Cycle*
The Study Cycle
344
Reflect
Review
Reflect
Preview
Preview before class – Skim the chapter, note headings and boldface words, review
summaries and chapter objectives, and come up with questions you’d like the lecture to
answer for you.
Attend
Attend class – GO TO CLASS! Answer and ask questions and take meaningful notes.
Review
Review after class – As soon after class as possible, read notes, fill in gaps and note any
questions.
Study
Assess
Study – Repetition is the key. Ask questions such as ‘why’, ‘how’, and ‘what if’.
Intense Study Sessions* - 3-5 short study sessions per day
Weekend Review – Read notes and material from the week to make connections
Assess your Learning – Periodically perform reality checks
Am I using study methods that are effective?
Do I understand the material enough to teach it to others?
Intense Study Sessions
Decide what you want to accomplish in your study session
1
Set a Goal
2
Study with Focus
30-50 min
Interact with material- organize, concept map, summarize, process, re-read, fill-in notes, reflect, etc.
3
Reward Yourself
10-15 min
Take a break– call a friend, play a short game, get a snack
4
Review
1-2 min
5 min
Go over what you just studied
Center for Academic Success
Motivate Students to Engage
in Learning Activities…
Address the
Bases of Intrinsic Motivation
Why Is It Often Difficult to
Motivate Students?
Raffini, James P. (1995) 150 Ways to Improve Intrinsic
Motivation. New York, NY: Allyn and Bacon.
Bases of Intrinsic Motivation





James Raffini, Allyn and Bacon, 1996
Strategies for Enhancing
Student Autonomy
 Goal Setting Activity
 Self Report Card
Strategies for Enhancing Competence



Strategies for Enhancing
Belonging and Relatedness


Strategies for Enhancing Self-Esteem


Strategies for Enhancing
Involvement and Enjoyment
Teacher’s Role in Student Motivation
Eric Hobson, Albany College of Pharmacy
When do teacher attitudes and course
structure decrease motivation?
Concluding Points about Motivation*
How Do We Easily Shift
the Classroom from Teacher
Centered to Learner Centered?
 Teach Students HOW to Learn
 Motivate them to Engage
 Partner with the Learning Center
2004 National College Learning Center Association
Frank L. Christ Outstanding Learning Center Award
NCLCA Outstanding Learning Center 2012!
Useful Websites
www.caps.unm.edu
www.cas.lsu.edu
www.howtostudy.org
www.vark-learn.com
www.drearlbloch.com
Searches on www.google.com
Additional References
Bruer, John T. , 2000. Schools For Thought: A Science of Learning in the
Classroom. MIT Press.
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., Cocking, R.R. (Eds.), 2000. How people
learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National
Academy Press.
Cromley, Jennifer, 2000. Learning to Think, Learning to Learn: What
the Science of Thinking and Learning Has to Offer Adult Education.
Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy.
Ellis, David, 2006. Becoming a Master Student*. New York: HoughtonMifflin.
Hoffman, Roald and Saundra Y. McGuire. (2010). Learning and
Teaching Strategies. American Scientist , vol. 98, pp. 378-382.
Nilson, Linda, 2004. Teaching at It’s Best: A Research-Based Resource for
College Instructors. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company.
Pierce, William, 2004. Metacognition: Study Strategies, Monitoring,
and Motivation.
http://academic.pg.cc.md.us/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/metacognition.htm
*Excellent student reference