Twenty-eighth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

Changing demographics of student population in institutes of higher education (IHE), the consumer/client-centered culture of today’s society and the research on Adult Learning Theory has resulted in a paradigm shift from lecture to active student learning. The teacher-focused/transmission of information formats, such as lecturing, has been increasingly criticized and has paved the way for a widespread growth of ‘student-centered learning’ as an alternative approach to instruction in IHE. However, despite widespread criticism for over three decades studies in IHE maintain that many institutions and professors who claim to be putting student-centered learning into practice, in reality are not. This paper provides an overview of Bransford’s (1979) Adult Learning Theory as a conceptual framework for applying Student Centered Learning strategies.