From the movie: Accepted
Handing Your Class Over to Your Students
(for a day): Incorporating Student
Centered/Directed Learning.
Michelle Toth, SUNY Plattsburgh
Variations on a Theme/Name:

Student/Learner-Directed

Student/Learner-Centered
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Inquiry/Problem-Based

Active Learning

Constructivist
Teacher vs. Learner Centered
Teacher-Centered
Learner Centered
Instructor talks, students listen
Instructor models, students interact
Instructor chooses topics
Students have some choice of topics
Students almost always work alone
Students often work in groups
Instructor gives information, answers
Students find information, discover answers
Classroom is quiet
Classroom is often noisy and busy
Adapted from: http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/goalsmethods/learncentpop.html
My Journey into Learner-Centeredness
Starting with Active Learning
1st Small Step into Learner-Centeredness

Weekly Jargon Sheets
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
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No using a textbook
No giving a lecture
No PowerPoint slides!
Instead:
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Students are given a list of terms/concepts and they must search
for definitions in class and share them.
2nd Small Step into Learner-Centeredness

Understanding how the Library is Organized Assignment

The Old Way



Fill in the blank
Clearly right or wrong answers
The New Way

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They write a script for giving a library tour
Some required elements
Add additional elements they think are most important
Inspiration for the Leap
(Why reading can be so dangerous)
“They [employers] want people who can think intuitively,
who are imaginative and innovative, who can
communicate well, work in teams and are flexible,
adaptable and self confident.”
Robinson, Ken. Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative.
John Wiley: New York, 2001. Print. (p.52)
Inspiration for the Leap
(Why reading can be so dangerous)
“Learning activities that are designed to foster creativity cast
students in the roles of problem solvers and
communicators rather than absorbers of knowledge.”
Starko, Alane Jordan. Creativity in the Classroom: Schools of Curious
Delight. Longman Publishers, 1995. Print. (p.16.)
The Giant Leap

The Group Technology
Project/Presentation
The Technology Project/Presentation
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Small groups (3-4 students)

Learn a new Web 2.0 technology they have not used
before

Fill out a questionnaire about the technology

Give a class presentation about the technology and a
demonstration of how it works
Course Objectives
LIB Students will be able to:
1. Information Literacy
a. Identify different types of information (Primary/Secondary; Analytical/Factual, etc…)
b. Identify different types and formats of information sources
c. Formulate topics and research statements/questions
d. Understand the organization structures and systems of information both in print and online
e. Construct and implement search strategies
f. Use efficient search techniques
g. Articulate and apply evaluative criteria
h. Interpret and construct citations
2. Information and Technology Issues
a. Understand and respect intellectual property rights
b. Communicate about at least one social/ethical information technology issue
3. Technology Literacy
a. Communicate and synthesize information using word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software
b. Understand issues in current and emerging technologies and their role in communicating and analyzing
information
First Run – Spring 2010

Presentations 2nd to last week in class.
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Last minute change:
Added 15 minutes ‘Group Time’ to the 2 weeks preceding
the presentations.
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Created a brief student assessment survey for students
about this project.
What the Students Thought
Any suggestions for improving the group technology
project/presentation?
1.
2.
3.
4.
You might want to do it earlier because the class become much more
enjoyable for me after i met people in my group and made new
acquaintances in the class.
Clarification on whether or not to use a power point presentation.
Assign the groups earlier so that they have more time to see if they can
make a presentation on the technology, in case they need to change
which technology they are doing.
More suggestions on what to talk about pertaining to the technology.
What the Students Thought
What as the most useful thing you learned from this project?
1.
2.
3.
4.
THAT GOOGLE STORES ALL OF YOUR SEARCHES. ALSO
LEARNED THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF SITES OUT THAT THAT
DO NOT PROTECT PEOPLE'S PRIVACY.
i learned that there are alot of new technologies that can make your
work so much easier
that i do not want to use this technology
I already knew how do do just about everything else we learned. I'm a
month or so shy of being a senior so i had to learn most of this stuff
(AKA working in groups, finding sources, public speaking) on my own
already. It did appear to be helpful to my team mates tho. I believe one
hadn't had to speak in a group before so it was probably good for him.
Feedback from Students
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
Spring 2010
What I liked Best about the course:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
I enjoyed the tecnology project the most.
i learned how to narrow down my research as well as how to best
work with a group.
I learned new things about technology that I didn't know before.
Doing the technology project was very fun and beneficial. I learned
alot about different technologies I knew nothing about.
the group projects because I learned about new technology that I
had never heard of before this class.
Group Projects
Changes Made For Fall 2010

Moved group project to first half of class – Presentations
in Week 5.

Added one more week of in-class group meeting time
before presentation (now in weeks 2, 3 and 4).

Provide samples of a filled out Questionnaire and
PowerPoint on a Web 2.0 technology.
Feedback from Students
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
From Fall 2010
What I liked Best about the course:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Meeting New people in my groups and how i learned to
research articles online.
I liked researching/presenting a technology.
The knowledge I gained about using new technologies.
The project on google earth. I had a lot of fun doing that with
my group.
The presentations
The instructor allowed us to do alot of group work as well as
hands on projects.
Feedback from Students
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
From Fall 2010
What could be improved in the course:
1.
2.
3.
4.
There should be more group assignments.
Also, for the group projects, it may be more helpful to let the
students chose their own groups because that allows for more
communication.
I think students need more feedback from the instructor after
doing group work and presentations, explaining why they
received the grade they did.
More group projects
What’s next?

Added in-class group activities


Improving research questions
Identifying types of periodicals

Waiting on assessment from Spring 2011
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Contemplating adjusting an assignment to be a paired or
group assignment.
Any Questions, Comments or Suggestions?