Student-centered classes - A study at Yale University

"If the child is not learning the way you are teaching, then you must teach in the way the child learns" - Rita Dunn


A study at Yale University with 3rd through 8th graders, has shown again that instruction involving analytical, creative and practical methods of instruction combined, beats the traditional rote, memory-based teaching technique. Students were divided into two groups, one given a traditional memory based approach and one with the three above mentioned techniques blended. In performance-based and memory based multiple choice tests, the blended method was superior. Let's hear it again for student-centered classrooms.
~~ The Journal of Educational Psychology (Sept. 1999) includes a great study by Reeve and Bolt (Sept 1999) on student-centered classrooms and the teaching styles they exhibit.
The teachers who use these teaching methods effectively are what the researchers call "Autonomy-supportive" teachers as opposed to "relatively controlling" teachers.
The study documented exactly what these autonomy-supportive teachers do in their classrooms.

AUTONOMY- SUPPORTIVE TEACHERS :

**listened more,
**held the instructional materials less,
**resisted giving solutions,
**supported the student's intrinsic motivation,
**verbalize fewer directives,
**ask more questions about what the students wanted to do,
**respond more to student-generated questions,
**volunteer more perspective-taking statements.

In addition, this study substantiated previous studies' claims on the ADVANTAGES OF STUDENT-CENTERED INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS.
Research shows that students in these types of classes are:

** more likely to stay in school,
** more likely to show greater perceived academic competence,
** show enhanced creativity,
** show a preference for optimal challenge,
** show greater conceptual understanding,
**show more positive emotion,
**have higher academic intrinsic motivation,
** better academic performance,
** higher academic achievement.