Facilitating Learner-Centered Teaching

Vocabulary flashcards on learner-centered teaching, motivation, diversity, and teaching practices.

Learner-Centered Teaching

A teaching approach that focuses on students’ needs, abilities, interests, and learning styles, encouraging active learning, collaboration, and critical thinking.

Jean Piaget

Proponent of Cognitive Constructivism

Cognitive Constructivism

Learning is self-discovery through experiences; encourages hands-on exploration and developmentally appropriate tasks.

Lev Vygotsky

Proponent of Social Constructivism

Social Constructivism

Learning happens through social interaction; emphasizes peer collaboration, scaffolding, and language in learning.

David Kolb

Proponent of Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning

Learning occurs through a cycle of experience, reflection, and application rather than just passive listening.

Alex Bandura

Proponent of Social Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory

Emphasizes that students learn by observing, imitating, and interacting with others.

21st Century Skills

Skills including critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity which are critically important to student success in today’s world.

Learning Skills

The four C’s of 21st century learning: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

Life Skills

Flexibility, initiative, social skills, productivity, and leadership

Literacy Skills

Information literacy, media literacy, and technology literacy.

Soft Skills

The most important driver of success in higher-level courses

Career Readiness

Equipping students with a nuanced set of skills that can prepare them for the unknown

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

Developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan in 1985, this theory focuses on human motivation, emphasizing how social and environmental factors can either enhance or undermine an individual's motivation.

Richard Ryan

Focuses on how human motivation and environmental factors can either enhance or undermine an individual's motivation, well-being, and overall development

Edward Deci

Highlights that individuals are naturally driver to grow, develop, and achieve personal goals when their fundamental psychological needs are satisfied

Autonomy

The need to feel control of one’s actions and decisions.

Competence

The need to feel capable and successful in tasks.

Relatedness

The need to feel connected and valued by others.

Intrinsic Motivation

Involves performing an activity for the inherent pleasure or interest it provides.

Extrinsic Motivation

Involves engaging in activities for external rewards or pressures.

Intrinsic Motivation

Engaging in activities for the inherent enjoyment and satisfaction they provide.

Integrated Regulation

Performing actions aligned with one’s core values and identity.

Identified Regulation

Participating in activities that are personally important and valued.

Introjected Regulation

Behaviors motivated by internal pressures such as guilt or the desire to gain approval.

External Regulation

Actions driven by external rewards or punishments.

Amotivation

A state of complete lack of motivation and intention to act.

Multiple Intelligences

Theory that people can be intelligent in more than one way and traditional views of intelligence are too limited.

Linguistic-Verbal Intelligence

Encompasses sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals.

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

The capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically; those strong in this area are adept at abstract reasoning and pattern recognition.

Musical-Auditory Intelligence

The capacity to discern pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone; it involves a sensitivity to sounds and vibrations, and an appreciation for the structure, rhythm, and emotional expression of music.

Bodily-kinestethic Intelligence

The ability to use one's body or part of it to solve problems.

Spatial-Visual Intelligence

The ability to think in images and pictures, to visualize accurately and abstractly; individuals with this intelligence can often manipulate spatial relationships effectively.

Interpersonal Intelligence

The capacity to understand the intentions, motivations, and desires of other people; individuals with high interpersonal intelligence are typically good at social interactions and communication.

Intrapersonal Intelligence

The capacity to understand oneself, to have an effective working model of oneself—including one's own desires, fears, and capacities—and to use such information effectively in regulating one's own life.

Naturalist Intelligence

The ability to recognize, categorize, and draw upon certain features of the environment.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

A framework for designing learning experiences that are flexible and accessible to all learners, regardless of their individual differences.

Multiple Means of Representation — The What of Learning

Emphasizes that students have their own way of absorbing the lesson in the class

Multiple Means of Action and Expression — The How of Learning

Presenting information in different ways to accommodate diverse learning styles, abilities, and backgrounds

Multiple Means of Engagement — The Why of Learning

The varied ways for students to demonstrate what they know and recognizes that students have different strengths in expressing knowledge.

Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT)

An educational approach that recognizes the importance of students' cultural backgrounds in the learning process, aiming to create an inclusive and supportive classroom.

Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity

Teachers recognize that students bring with them unique cultural identities, traditions, languages, and worldviews which helps avoid cultural biases and stereotypes and encourages acceptance and celebration of diversity.

Inclusive Curriculum and Pedagogy

Lessons are designed to connect academic content to students’ real-life experiences and cultural contexts, which promotes the development of critical thinking and social justice awareness.

High Expectations for All Learners

Teachers hold high expectations for every student, regardless of race, background, or language, focusing on providing the right support and scaffolding so all students can meet rigorous academic standards.

Constructivist Teaching Practices

The constructivist learning theory explains that we learn by 'constructing' knowledge in our minds through interaction with our environments using a student-centered approach to learning.

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor, Pre-operational, Concrete Operational, Formal Operational

Sensorimotor

0-2 years old; Sensory curiosity about the world; Object permanence is developed

Pre-operational

2-7 years old; Symbolic thinking; Imagination and intuition ars strong, but complex abstract thoughts are still difficult

Concrete Operational

7 to 11 years old; Concepts attached to concrete situations; Time, space, and quantity are understood and can be applied, but not as independent concepts

Formal Operational

11 years old and older; Strategy and planning become possible; Concepts learned in one content can be applied to another

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The gap between what a learner can do on their own and what they can do with help or guidance from someone more knowledgeable.

Scaffolding

The temporary support provided to a learner so they can perform a task within their ZPD.

Student-Directed Learning

An instructional strategy that shifts the focus from the teacher to the student, encouraging students to take an active role in their learning process.

Reflective Teaching Practices

Teachers continuously introspect and critically analyse their own teaching strategies, beliefs, and assumptions to improve their instructional methods and student learning outcomes.