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Learner-Centered Classroom Practices and Assessments
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Learner-Centered Classroom Practices and Assessments
Maximizing Student Motivation, Learning, and Achievement



January 2007 | 200 pages | Corwin
Learner-centered classroom practices and assessments focus on learning partnerships between teachers and students. Teachers are the role models for continuous learning, and they take on leadership roles within the overall educational system, bringing together students, peer teachers, school staff, parents, and community members to support students in the lifelong process of learning, growth, development, and achievement.

All instructional methods and assessment tools within the learner-centered model are based on research from educational psychology, with core principles addressing cognitive and metacognitive factors; motivational and affective factors; developmental and social factors; and individual difference factors affecting each learner.

This lively new guide to the learner-centered classroom offers teachers a wide range of strategies for teaching and assessment. Included are interactive training exercises for teachers, self-assessments, reflection tools, a generous collection of illustrations, glossary, research resources, index, and more.

 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
1. What We Know About Learning
How Do You Learn Best?

 
What Does the Evidence Show About Supporting Natural Learning?

 
Teachers and Students as Co-Learners: An Invitation

 
What’s Next?

 
 
2. What Is Learner Centered From an Evidence-Based Perspective?
What Does “Learner Centered” Mean?

 
Seeing the Big Picture: Education as a Complex Living System

 
Domains of Schools as Living Systems

 
The Learner-Centered Model

 
What Are the Learner-Centered Principles?

 
Factors Affecting Learners and Learning

 
What’s Next?

 
 
3. What Teachers and Students Tell Us About Learner-Centered Practices
What Teachers Have Recognized About the LCPs

 
Translating the LCPs Into Practice

 
The LCPs, Testing, and Accountability

 
What Do the LCPs Mean for Teaching and Learning?

 
What the Evidence Shows: Characteristics of Effective Teachers

 
What Students Say

 
Strategies for Honoring Student Voice

 
Forming a Student Union

 
Involving Students in Action Research Projects

 
Students as Meaningful Partners: International Evidence

 
Reflection

 
What’s Next?

 
 
4. The Learner-Centered Principles: One By One
Domain 1: Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors

 
LCP 1: Nature of the Learning Process

 
LCP 2: Goals of the Learning Process

 
LCP 3: Construction of Knowledge

 
LCP 4: Strategic Thinking

 
LCP 5: Thinking About Thinking

 
LCP 6: Context of Learning

 
Domain 2: Motivational and Affective Factors

 
LCP 7: Motivational and Emotional Influences on Learning

 
LCP 8: Intrinsic Motivation to Learn

 
LCP 9: Effects of Motivation on Effort

 
Domain 3: Developmental and Social Factors

 
LCP 10: Developmental Influence on Learning

 
LCP 11: Social Influences on Learning

 
Domain 4: Individual Differences Factors

 
LCP 12: Individual Differences in Learning

 
LCP 13: Learning and Diversity

 
LCP 14: Standards and Assessment

 
Finding Examples of LCPs in Your Own Practices

 
What’s Next?

 
 
5. Learner-Centered Practices
Turning Principles Into Practices

 
Glasser’s Six Conditions for Quality Schoolwork

 
Classroom Climate

 
Relevance of Learner-Centered Practices in the Context of Standards and Assessment

 
The Achievement Gap Issue

 
What Students Say About the Achievement Gap

 
Reflection

 
What’s Next?

 
 
6. Effective Learner-Centered Practices
Effective Learner-Centered Practices for Students in K–3

 
Effective Learner-Centered Practices for Students in Grades 4–12

 
What Happened to “Classroom Management”?

 
Strategies for Creating Learner-Centered, Resilient Classrooms

 
Insights and Reflections: What Needs to Change in My Classroom?

 
What's Next?

 
 
7. What Tools Do I Need to Become Learner Centered?
Who’s in Charge of My Learning?

 
Who’s in Charge of Students’ Learning?

 
Implications for Practice

 
Implications for Policy

 
The Learner-Centered Surveys

 
Characteristics of Learner-Centered Tools

 
The Assessment of Learner-Centered Practices (ALCP):Tools for Creating Learner-Centered Classrooms and Departments

 
Research-Validated Definition of “Learner Centered”

 
ALCP Feedback Process for Teachers

 
Understanding Sample ALCP Feedback: Table of Teacher Variables Compared to the Learner-Centered Rubric for One Teacher

 
Becoming a Magnet for Change in My School and District

 
Reassessing My Beliefs

 
What Is My Vision for Schools?

 
My Plan for a Learner-Centered Classroom

 
How Can I Manage Resistance to Change?

 
Obtaining the Necessary Support for Learner-Centered Schools

 
Where Do I Go From Here?

 
 
Resource A: Teacher Strategy Ideas
 
Resource B: Contacts: Learner-Centered Projects and Schools
 
Resource C: Books and Journals Worth a Read
 
Resource D:Learner-Centered Glossary: Some Definitions
 
References
 
Index

"This book offers practical suggestions for how to create a learner-centered environment, which I believe teachers want to do—they just need to know how!"

Judi Elman, English Teacher
Highland Park High School, IL

"I loved the connections that were made between the suggested practices to improve teaching and real life uses of those practices!"

Brigitte Tennis, Head Teacher
Stella Schola Middle School, Redmond, WA

"This is one of the most well-written books on educational theory that I have read, because it goes to the heart of teaching—the students."

Betty Brandenburg Yundt, Fifth Grade Teacher
Walker Intermediate School, Fort Knox, KY

"Well-organized, it practices what it preaches. The authors used varied techniques to build the readers' understanding of learner-centered concepts, techniques, and advocacy. The evidence for learner-based principles and techniques provides credibility to the concepts."

Ellen Carlton Herbert, Teacher
Longview High School, TX

Sample Materials & Chapters

Preface

Chapter 1


For instructors

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