Abstract
Learner-centered teaching (LCT) is a method where the teacher releases some control of teaching to their students. The purpose of this study is to establish a rationale for why learner-centered teaching (LCT) should be employed in training teacher candidates so that their future students may become successful citizens in a diverse 21st century. A review of current literature and research shows that when teacher educators employed LCT, it had an impact on teacher candidate knowledge and skills. Further, LCT deepened teacher candidates’ content knowledge, promoted collaboration among their teacher candidate colleagues, stimulated more creative thinking, and lead to a variety of ways to demonstrate their learning. However, teacher educators are reluctant to engage in more LCT because it is “time-consuming.” Will teacher educators snub LCT due to time constraints? If LCT is known to be effective, how do we overlook it? How will LCT impact people from diverse cultural backgrounds? How can teacher educators make LCT less time-consuming? Prerequisite skills for LCT to be successful are that teacher candidate must have the ability to think critically, collaborate with others, use metacognition, solve problems, self-assess, and reflect. Are teacher candidates equipped with these prerequisite skills? If not, where do we include explicit training for these skills in an already crowded curriculum? These are examples of questions for discussion.
Presenters
Ellen Ratcliff Dr.Assistant Professor, Teaching and Learning, Southeastern Louisiana University, Louisiana, United States Celina Echols
Professor, Teaching and Learning, Southeastern Louisiana University, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Teaching, Learning, Teacher, Candidates, Teacher, Educators
