Students Centered Learning as a Behaviour Change Approach: Practices in Our Institutions of Higher Learning, Opportunities and Challenges Dr. Faisal H. H. Issa Senior Officer, President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government 1

Introduction SCL is an old concept. In the 1980s and 1990s more engagement with SCL. SCL comprise a broad spectrum of named approaches 2

Who or What is at Center Stage in SCL? 3

The approach to learning is facilitated by: flexible, innovative teaching personnel the use effectively of teaching time the use effectively of different tools and IT. 4

Relevant questions Is there some awareness and understanding of SCL among the teaching staff? Is it a new phenomenon at least in our perspective? Have we been practicing SCL without theoretically engaging with it? Is our education system and the support structures created provide room for creative, innovative and collaborative learning? 5

ESR and SCL are they compatible? Nyerere (1967) provided a framework for reference for Student’s Centred Learning. The following issues important to learning were central to the arguments provided: hard skills versus soft life skills; learning by doing; acquisition of skills and knowledge relevant to individual and societal well-being after school life; cooperative learning involving new relationships between students and between students, teachers and parents. 6

How near are we to students Centered Learning? 7

Examination centred- mostly summative Tutorial assistants leading seminars Little use of case studies and project tasks Pre-prepared seminar questions Seminars 45 minutes to One hour regardless of class size Limited tools and use: writing board, slides, PowerPoint, s Lecture notes provided end of lectures Quizzes at the end to retain presence and attention Lectures 2-3 hours 8

“Students are privileged to be social since their work load is much less...” Is the above of any relevance to us? 9

“Students are privileged to be social since their work load is much less than the local syllabus ” (Feza International School Brochure) 10

What benefits from SCL? 11

TeacherStudents More time available: burden shiftsActive participation and ownership Feedback is on timeImmediate feedback Conversant with different ToolsIncreased familiarity with different tools Ability to reflect and make change Peer learning: new ideas, behaviour, confidence Satisfaction and learning from class interactions Abilities, talents uncovered and nurtured Ability to influence students’ characterAbility to influence teacher behaviour A learning environment createdIncrease ability to synthesise and reflect increased likelihood of achieving intended outcomes Increased ability to use the learning Commitment, attendance and adequate preparations Reduced absenteeism and increased independence Benefits from SCL to Influence Culture Change in Higher Education 12

Group work and collaborative learning: peer & social interaction, dev. Skills in comm. & responsibility Transformative approach : instruction paradigm to learning paradigm, learning through student discovery Learning centered assessments: focus from teaching to learning in instructions and assessments Formative Assessment for feedback & lifelong learning Prior knowledge influence future learning: building on prior knowledge Tools and IT Softwares aid SCL; SCL is not IT, is IT enabled Learning has the upper hand to completing the syllabus Constructivism - learners' preconceptions, ideas are critical in shaping new understanding 13 Characteristics of SCL

Challenges in higher education system are opportunities for SCL Students to meet market requirements quality of staff is likely to improve need to influence change at lower levels of edu. Inf.Tech. will see better utilisation and promotion improvements in resource utilisation: time, finance and human. think about: number of students vs. quality, SCL compatible trainers, review of programs, the curricula, syllabuses, room settings, deployment of the teaching staff, academic staff promotion criteria, etc. Discipline, commitment and accountability fostered 14

Competencies as per the leadership Competency Framework 15

What competencies among faculty for SCL? 16

Competencies needed among faculty IT skills incl. development of software for interactive teaching, use open source platforms Facilitation skills: use of simple methods: clustering of ideas, causal relationships, etc. Development of short case studies Teaching time management and planning skills Collaborative engagements between faculty members Use of tools for self-assessment, eg. personality, inclination to risk taking, leadership styles, etc. 17

Designing and developing curricula and syllabus Development of out of class exercises Project cases demanding extra hours by students Team building skills Conflict management and resolution Customer care Familiarity with some theories about knowledge, learning, behaviour management and modification 18

Conclusion Student Centered Learning is not a new introduction. We have been practicing it not so systematically. We have seen that the founder of the nation through Education for self-reliance did set the stage for what we want SCL to be like today. There are numerous benefits from practicing SCL and it will certainly contribute to getting more value out of Information Technology. Preparations are necessary to create the requisite teaching environment in terms of physical and non-physical capacities. The challenges have to be looked upon as enablers as they create room for creativity and innovation – some key elements in SCL. 19

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