STUDENT-CENTRED LEARNING
Becoming an independent learner
In some education systems the teacher is primarily in control of what is learnt, when it
is learnt and how it is learnt. The teacher makes most of the decisions for students.
Teacher initiate or start almost all of the conversation. Another way of describing this
situation is to say that teachers have an active role and students have a passive role.
This type of education is teacher-centred.
In Western education systems this won’t happen because students are at the centre of
the teaching and learning process. Teachers will guide and support students, but they
will not tell students what, when and how to learn. Western education is studentcentred. Students are expected to have an active role in their own education. They are
expected to be independent learners.
What does ‘independent learner’ mean?
Being an independent learner means students take responsibility for their own studies
and learning. Independent learners rely on themselves to achieve success with their
education. They do not rely on the teacher to make them successful.
Specifically, being an independent learner means students:

Knowing where, when and how to ask for help with studies. Teachers will not
ask students if they need help with their studies. They will expect students to
ask them if they need help, once students have attempted to solve the problems
themselves first.

Organise their own study time so that assignments are submitted by the due
date. Teachers will not remind students when assignments are due. They will
expect students to know that and submit them on time.

Know what their preferred learning style is (see Appendix 1 at the end of the
resources) and they use this to help them with their studies. For example, if a
student discovers that they learn best through listening, then the student makes
the decision to tape record lectures. It isn’t the teacher’s responsibility to make
audiotapes for the student.

Making their own decisions about which books and articles. to read for
assignments. Teachers will provide students with guidelines and suggestions
for reading, but it is up to the students to decide which material to choose and
use in their assignments.

Setting their own personal goals and being determined to meet them. For
example, an independent-thinking student would say, ‘I’m not confident about
essay writing. I want to learn as much as I can about essay writing this
semester. I will find out how to do this.’

Making a commitment to thoroughly understand the information presented in
lectures, tutorials and in their reading for assignments. Independent learners
want to understand. They want to participate and engage in learning. When
they write down lecture notes with or make notes from reading, they want to
think deeply about what those notes actually mean. They want to think deeply
about points that are discussed in tutorials.

Using the feedback they receive from teachers on their assignments to help
them make plans for improving their work. For example, if the teacher writes
this on an assignment: ‘You need to include a conclusion in your next report’,
the student should find out what a conclusion is and how to write one. The
teacher will not find the student and teach them this skill. This is the student’s
responsibility.

Practising new skills that have been taught. Independent learners practise in
their own time. It does not have to be part of an assignment. They practise
because they want to improve. Independent learners understand that they learn
by doing.

Finding out more information about a topic. It does not have to be part of an
assignment. Independent learners want to find out more information because
they are genuinely interested in discovering more about the topic.

Discussing studies with classmates, friends, family and teachers. Talking helps
with understanding.

Reflecting on their own learning. This means students thinking about
themselves and their university studies. For example, they might think about
what they are succeeding in and what they need to improve upon. Reflecting
also means students trying to decide why they might find some areas of their
study difficult and some areas easy. This is often related to understanding
their own learning style. Finally, reflecting means deciding what action to
take. Students need to ask themselves what they can do to change some things
that cause problems.
What are the advantages of being an independent learner?
Cooper (2003) suggests that employers rank university graduates more highly than
non-graduates. This is because university students have developed the ability to take
responsibility to for their own lives. At university students learn how to organise their
own lives, time, study and learning. These are important skills in the workplace. To
function successfully in a global workplace, employees need to be able to:

work unsupervised

set their own goals and work towards achieving those goals

be flexible

continually up-date their knowledge and skills.
Learning how to be an independent learner at university helps students develop those
skills that employers value. These skills help people to function successfully and
productively, not only in the workplace, but in all areas of life.
The teacher’s role in student-centred learning
UTAS believes that most effective teaching and learning is student-centred. The
teacher’s primary role in student-centred learning is to remember that the student
should be at the heart of all their teaching decisions and strategies. This means that
decisions about what to teach, how to teach and when to teach should be motivated by
what is best for the students, rather than what is best for the teacher. Teachers think
about what will help the students to achieve the outcomes of the unit they’re studying.
This doesn’t mean that teachers’ needs are ignored; it simply means that teachers’
needs should not drive the entire teaching and learning process. It also means that
decisions about teaching and learning should not be based upon course content.
“It is helpful to remember that what the student does is actually
more important in determining what is learned than what the
teacher does” (Shuell, 1986 cited in Biggs, 2003, p.v).
“Learning takes place through the active behaviour of the student: it is what he does
that he learns, not what the teacher does” (Tyler, 1949 cited in Biggs, 2003, p.v).
Teachers must also support students in their development as independent learners
capable of critical thinking. This means teachers should help students to learn about
the skills related to independent learning and critical thinking. It also means that
teachers must not give ‘mixed messages’ to students or confuse them by teaching in
ways that are not student-centred. Students will become confused, for example, if one
teacher asks them to explore a range of possible solutions to a problem and another
teacher tells them the ’correct solution’. There must be similarity in approaches.
Staff are expected to visit the University’s Teaching and Learning website
(www.UTAS.edu.au/tl) - ‘Supporting Good Teaching and Learning’ link - for more
detailed information on student-centred teaching and learning. In the first instance, it
is recommended that staff access the section Translating Teaching Principles into
Practice
http://www.UTAS.edu.au/tl/supporting/teachingprinciples/principles_practices.html
Also useful is:
Sparrow, L., Sparrow, H. and Swan, P. (2000). Student centred learning: Is it
possible? In A. Herrmann and M.M. Kulski (Eds), Flexible Futures in Tertiary
Teaching. Proceedings of the 9th Annual Teaching Learning Forum, 2-4
February 2000. Perth: Curtin University of Technology.
http://cea.curtin.edu.au/tlf/tlf2000/sparrow.html
APPENDIX
Learning Styles
All students, regardless of culture, have a preferred style of learning. Marsh (2004)
cites Dunn’s comment that learning styles are as “individual as a signature” (p.167).
However, it is possible to broadly categorise learning styles. Fleming and Mills
(1992) suggested four categories that seemed to reflect the experiences of their
students. Although there is some overlap between categories, for purposes of our
discussion, they are defined as follows.
Visual (V):
This preference includes the depiction of information in charts, graphs, flow
charts, and all the symbolic arrows, circles, hierarchies and other devices that
instructors use to represent what could have been presented in words. Visual
learners learn best by ‘seeing’ information rather than, for example, ‘hearing’
it.
Aural (A):
This perceptual mode describes a preference for information that is "heard."
Students with this modality report that they learn best from lectures, tutorials,
tapes, and talking to other students.
Read/write (R):
This preference is for information displayed as words. Not surprisingly,
many academics have a strong preference for this modality.
Kinaesthetic (K):
Kinaesthetic learners learn best by ‘doing’. These students prefer to see how
information operates in the ‘real’ world.
While students often have a preference for one these categories, it is common for
students to operate across two or more modes. Similarly, it is common for students to
select modes according to context.
The existence of varying styles of learning has a number of implications for teaching
and learning. First, students need to identify their preferred learning style (resources
for this are provided in the Transnational Student Induction Materials). Second, once
identified, students need to be encouraged to use study strategies that complement
their preferred learning style (Fleming, 2001). Third, teachers need to be aware that
not all students in their classes will be learning in the same way. This means that
teachers should attempt to deliver their courses in such a way that helps facilitate the
entire range of students’ preferred methods. Learning tasks, for example, can be
matched to students’ preferred learning styles. Lecture, tutorial and online delivery
can all be adapted to support Visual, Auditory, Read/write and Kinaesthetic learners.
For further information on VARK visit the following website:
http://www.vark-learn.com