Student-Centered Learning: What is it and What Next?

Guest post: Erin Nordal and Elisabeth Gehrke, European Students’ Union

You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself.

- Galileo Galilei

Students have been calling for new ways of teaching and learning and new types of universities since massive protests broke out in Europe in 1968. The aim then was to transform universities to reflect social diversity and respond to the needs of an increasingly heterogeneous student population. Overcoming a lack of democratic governance and changing conservative values and capitalist consumerist culture within universities were essential components in order to achieve this goal.

Shortly thereafter, the concept of critical pedagogy arose, which had a strong link to the aims of those protests in 1968. The objective of this teaching method is to empower disadvantaged students with knowledge by understanding students’ experiences and social contexts. Students are not empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge; the goal must be to transform them and assist them in learning, to challenge common perceptions, myths and what can seem as being already ‘known’.

Student-centered learning is a concept inspired by these movements and the methods of critical pedagogy. Various actors have contributed to the development of this concept since that time. One of those actors is the European Students’ Union (ESU), which has invested a great amount of work in defining this concept and pushing for its implementation in higher education in Europe.

What is student-centered learning?

Student-centered learning is both a mind-set and culture within higher education institutions. Years of research on the learning process have shown us that the transmission of knowledge from teachers to learners is less effective than an approach to teaching and learning that involves students directly in the production of knowledge, and transforms students’ perceptions and understandings by empowering them to apply knowledge in their own contexts.

It is essential to develop innovative methods of, and excellence in teaching, and to take students seriously by providing them with as much choice as possible, from assessment methods to course literature and study courses in general. Inclusion of students in the academic community must also be supported by building relationships between academic staff and students. Rather than viewing students as consumers, where university staff provide ‘customer service’, these relationships must be based on mutual respect. Through implementing student-centered teaching and learning, students will gain transferrable skills such as problem solving, critical thinking and reflective thinking.

What stage are we at now?

The concept of student-centered learning was first introduced in a Communiqué of the Ministerial Meeting of the Bologna Process in Leuven in 2009, where ministers agreed that “Student-centered learning and mobility will help students develop the competences they need in a changing labor market and will empower them to become active and responsible citizens.”

An increasing number of actors have also joined forces with ESU in advocating the implementation of the main principles of student-centered learning, which is reflected in the European Union’s modernization agenda for higher education, as well as the High-Level Group on the Modernization of Higher Education report from 2013 on improving the quality of teaching and learning. ESU welcomes these efforts and recognizes that it is crucial to reach an agreement across the entire sector in order to make student-centered learning and excellence in teaching a reality.

Recognizing excellence in teaching

The European Students’ Union is currently leading a project that is financially supported by the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union. The main purpose of this project is to support the implementation process of sound student-centered learning strategies and approaches at higher education institutions and to foster a culture for student-centered learning in Europe and a desire for an excellence in teaching among educators.

This project has been called Peer Assessment of Student-Centered Learning (PASCL) and will develop a set of criteria for student-centered learning that will be used to evaluate higher education institutions starting in 2015. Those institutions that fulfil the pre-defined criteria will be given a label that acknowledges their “student-centeredness”. It is important to give institutions an insight into their level of performance in implementing student-centered learning and to reward excellence in teaching. This will hopefully help to create more inclusive higher education institutions.

What’s next for student-centered learning?

The implementation process of student-centered learning requires first and foremost ample public funding to provide student welfare services (everything from adequate grants for students to childcare services), continuous professional development for academic staff, small class sizes, conducive infrastructure, etc. It also requires favorable working conditions that allow academic staff to schedule their time with their students.

We must also work for a changed attitude at all levels and increased cooperation among students, higher education institutions, teachers’ unions and other relevant stakeholders, to advocate for proper European and national policies, as well as increased funding to support a transition to student-centered learning. We are also in deep need of tackling the structural challenges that favor research over teaching. We can only move forward to a more modern type of university by prioritizing this issue and by ensuring that students gain necessary skills, such as critical and reflective thinking and a capability to solve problems.

Finally, here are a few key thoughts for students: be active, challenge whatever you learn, give feedback and demand your rights as the main benefactors of the higher education system.

About the authors

Erin Nordal is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Students’ Union and content coordinator of the Peer-Assessment of Student-Centered Learning project, and Elisabeth Gehrke is vice-chairperson of the European Students’ Union.

Do you think all universities should offer student-centered learning? Share your opinions and experiences in the comments below.