The concept of Learner-Centered Pedagogy

(LCP)

The article is about Learner-Centered Pedagogy (LCP), which

places the student in the center of the teaching learning
process; and the teacher is considered the only source of
knowledge. In a LCP perspective, teachers become facilitators
and mentors in assessing students’ progress, reinforcing them
to take the responsibility for their own learning.

an introduction to learner-centered theory of education.

The founder of Learner-Centered Theory of Education
(LCTE) was a Swiss born French theorist Jean Jacque Rousseau
(1712–1778) He was the first educator to introduce the concept
LCTE. In his line of thinking, the main idea is that educators
should not start an instruction by concentrating on a vast
amount of information that they wish students to learn.
Rousseau, underlined that teachers should begin an instruction
by considering what the learner is capable of learning and what
he is interested in to learn.
Both LCP and Learner-Centered Curriculum(LCC) go- hand- in
hand; and it is difficult to treat them in isolation, because both
of them provide students an opportunity to take responsibility
for their own learning enabling them and teachers power-
sharing in the process of instruction, paving the way for an
interactive and participatory classroom atmosphere.
In such an instruction, the teacher becomes a facilitator and
an organizer, where as students become active participants for
their own learning. The teacher works based on the students
cultural capital (accumulated wealth of experience). And what
students already know, what knowledge they can discover is
well taken by the teacher. The teacher encourages students’
participation, recognizes their strength and weak points and
builds on the values and interests of the students, asks them to
give their comments etc. In a LCP and Interactive Pedagogy(IP)
classroom situation, the teacher plays the role of a mentor,
modeling how to share knowledge, helping students to
generate new ideas. Hence, learning becomes an individual-
based as well as a collaborative experience.
It is also necessary to understand that if students are taught
by rote memorization, some will remember what they have
repeated once to many times, but most will forget it sooner or
later. However, they will have learned that memorization for its
own sake is meaningless. On the other hand, if students are
taught in a way which builds-on what they already know; they
can relate the new knowledge to the conditions around them,
and will be able to learn that learning in school is meaningful.
LCP and IP hold that students do not come empty- minded to a
learning environment, rather they come with an accumulated
experience (cultural kit) which is very important to the learning
experience they are exposed to. Teaching, which ignores and
does not build on the experiences of the student, will limit the
student’s thinking and the student will not be able see the
connections to the world outside him, the school and what is
taught and learned in schools.
Schools are only part of the total learning context of the
student. In order to develop skills, students need to use their
prior knowledge and lived- experience gained from outside and
within the school, together with the new knowledge, which
they acquire through different sources of information (with
each other, with parents, the community at large, teachers,
textbooks and other materials)
It is almost impossible to implement a Student- Centered
Curriculum (SCC), LCP and IP in the absence of a supportive
learning environment. A student-centered school will have to
be democratic in its ethos and organizational culture; that
students are trained for and given responsibility gradually as
they are able to take it on. If students are trained in a student
-centered way, they will be working hard, discipline problems
will be minimal, because learning will be meaningful, relevant,
challenging, and they will be able to develop personal and
social skills.
 Along this line of thinking, teachers still need to be
thoroughly grounded in a SCP and /or IP. It will be necessary for
students’ support materials to guide teachers in student-
centered methodology. One indicator, which seems to be an
emerging trend on the introduction of SCP and/or IP, in different
countries, is that teachers are becoming familiar with the term
student-centered approach, but tend to understand it rather
superficially in terms of classroom methodology. As a result,
teachers are not well equipped to implement SCC, LCP and/ or
IP as the reflective practitioners .
In reflective teaching approach, teachers must establish a
relationship of care with students. SCC and IP presupposes
different quality of relationship between teachers and
students. Teachers must have a good grounding in the field of
study they teach ( i.e subject matter knowledge), understand
why and how to teach in a student centered teaching way
.Teachers must be able to sense the needs of students and how
to shape learning experience accordingly; must learn and be
able to decide, when it is the best time to deliver the content,
let students explore information for themselves with out any
teacher intervention. Teachers must also know when to focus
on skills more than content and when students can be allowed
to find their own way through a topic.
Defining learner-centered pedagogy.
LCP appears in differently names; such as child -centered
pedagogy, interactive pedagogy, student- centered pedagogy,
learner -centered education (LCE), In substance, all these
different names can be used interchangeably. As to the
definition of LCP, McCombs and Whistler in Kenneth T.Henson
[7] have defined it as : the perspective that couples a focus on
individual learners (their heredity, experiences, perspectives,
backgrounds, talents, interests, capabilities and needs) with a
focus on learning (the best available knowledge about learning
and how it occurs and about teaching practices that are most
effective in promoting the highest levels of motivation, learning
and achievement for all learners). This dual focus, then, informs
and drives decision-making in education policy making.
Administrators are responsible for developing, maintaining
and empowering a school environment that enhances effective
learning. Administrators are also, responsible for ensuring that
teachers are knowledgeable about their learners and on how
learning takes place most effectively. At the same time,
teachers are responsible for having classrooms ,which promote
sound and effective learning for all and be familiar with
instructional techniques that promote effective learning for all.
Further, school counselors are concerned with improving
both the conditions for learning i.e. classroom environment,
parents education, teacher attitude and with helping each
student develop to his/her fullest potential. The following five
premises support the above stated assertions as explained by
the Citadel Undergraduate Catalog [18].
– Learners have distinctive perspectives contributed by
their history, the environment, their interests and goals, their
beliefs, their ways of thinking etc. All these must be taken care
of and respected, if students are to become more actively
involved in the learning process and finally become
independent thinkers.
–Students have unique differences- emotional, learning
rates, learning styles, stages of development, abilities, talents,
feelings and other needs. These must be taken into
consideration, if all students are to learn more effectively .
– Learning is a process that occurs best when what is
being learned is relevant and meaningful to the student and
when the student is actively engaged in creating his/her own
knowledge and understanding, by connecting what is being
learned with prior knowledge and experiences.
– Learning occurs best in an environment that contains
positive interpersonal relationships and interactions and in
which students feel appreciated, acknowledged, respected,
and validated.
– Learning is seen as a fundamental natural process;
learners are viewed as naturally curious and basically interested
in learning about and mastering their world.
In LCP, students are provided with an opportunity to
questioning, expressing freely their-lived experiences,
encouraged to participate in hands-on activities, take
responsibilities for their own learning etc. LCP encourages
outcomes -based teaching, whereas Teacher-Centered
Pedagogy(TCP) or Traditional
Pedagogy(TP) focuses on content-teaching. Outcomes-based
teaching encourages' enhancing on competency, rather than
content; increasing the significance of continuous assessment
as opposed to examinations '' [1, p.153].
LCP is dynamic in its nature to serve progressivist ideals; and
its implementation could take a variety of forms in different
contexts, and accordingly is varied and dynamic [7]. Hence,
assessing LCP at times poses difficulties upon its
implementations, because it is difficult to label a particular
lesson strictly, if it is ,'teacher- centered' or' learner-centered'
[6]. And at times, assessment of such a lesson could lead to
over simplification, overlooking the value of an educational
practice in action.
As to the effectiveness of LCP, in developing countries, one
needs a deep research in real classroom settings in view of
societal contexts; with the understanding that LCP has deeply
rooted cultural as well as political parameters. And hence,
pedagogical practices must be connected with the socio-
economic and political dynamics of any society.