Student Centered
vs
Teacher Centered Learning
Pros of
Teacher-centered instruction
Pros of
Student-centered instruction
- When education is teacher-centered, the classroom remains orderly.
- Because students learn on their own, they learn to be independent and make their own decisions.
Cons of
Teacher-centered instruction
- Because the teacher directs all classroom activities, they don’t have to worry that students will miss an important topic.
- Students learn important communicative and collaborative skills through group work.
What is the difference?
- When students work alone, they don’t learn to collaborate with other students, and communication skills may suffer.
- Teacher-centered instruction can get boring for students. Their minds may wander, and they may miss important facts.
- Students learn to direct their own learning, ask questions and complete tasks independently.
- Teacher-centered instruction doesn’t allow students to express themselves, ask questions and direct their own learning.
- Students are more interested in learning activities when they can interact with one another and participate actively.
Student centered: The teacher is more of a guide down the path of language discovery, rather than the all-knowing guru.
Isn't It Time to Change?
Teacher Centered: The Teacher is more of a performer, rather than a facilitator.
Cons of
Student-centered instruction
- Because students are talking, classrooms are often busy, noisy and chaotic.
- Teachers must attempt to manage all students’ activities at once
- Because the teacher doesn’t deliver instruction to all students at once, some students may miss important facts.
- Some students prefer to work alone, so group work can become problematic.