Jeanne Chall on Key Differences Between Teacher-Centered and Student-Centered Instruction 5: How Students Are Perceived

“Teacher-Centered: Students are expected to learn what is taught. What is taught should be as interesting as possible, but it is selected because it fits with an overall hierarchy of learning tasks. The students comes to school with both good and questionable habits and attitudes. Schools are designed to “humanize” him or her into being a good citizen and good learner.

Student-Centered: Ideally, the best learning comes when students are interested in what they learn. Therefore, teachers are to encourage students to follow their own interests in their learning. Students are assumed to have good attitudes and habits and to naturally want to learn and become good citizens.”

Excerpted from: Chall, Jeanne S. The Academic Achievement Challenge: What Really Works in the Classroom? New York: The Guilford Press, 2002.