The Student-centered Lecture Starts with the Instructor

 For those who need better GPAs for immediate future employment after school, the best course is the one which gives better course grading than better course content. For whoever are fed up with excessive test, the best course is the one without mid-term and final exams. Hence a great course or lecture may be a subjective matter.

  The teaching method most commonly and widely used in used in universities or colleges is probably the lecture, in which the instructor will stand at the front of the classroom and recite relevant information continuously for an extended period of time while the students simply sit and listen, taking notes. In the kind of lecture course, students in the front of and middle of the classroom do tend to be better students or achieve higher average exam scores, for they have positioned themselves so that they may have better vision, hearing and better concentration to eliminate distraction and easily maintain eye contact with the professor and there is a greater likelihood that they can establish a relationship with the professor and, at the same time, develop their sense of personal relationship to listen to and take notes on what is being said.

  The problem in the lecture format, which is led only by the instructor, however, is that learners respond to the lectures passively, resulting in a lack of communication between teachers and learners, as well as among the learners themselves. Learners are not engaged and attention will likely wane quickly, and, of course, they may actually differ greatly in their level of understanding. In addition, lack of student feedback can be a big problem. As we are all well aware, lectures are meant to be a time to understand and acquire knowledge through interactions between the instructor and the learners. The opportunities of creative learning which stimulate and expand the learner’s intellectual ability and thinking by asking and answering question frequently, should be done intentionally.

  Above all things, the instructor should have a wide and comprehensive knowledge of his subjects, which is attained through unremitting self-discipline and effort. That is to say, he is a most conscientious research worker who produces quality, meticulous research, and there is a perfectionist attitude in everything he does. He is an excellent classroom teacher who is able to set high standards in his courses, to organize and effectively present difficult material, and to be scrupulously fair in his assessment of students. As a professional instructor should be well-equipped to design and apply techniques which lead to interaction between learners even in a large class. The instructor should give students the chance to take charge of activities, even when they may not quiet have all content skills. Students experience the subject and interact not only with the instructor but also with veteran students who, like experienced teachers, know what types of learning experiences work best for themselves. To fulfill this, instructors should be meticulous in their preparation. The instructor should prepare for lectures more thoroughly than the learner prepares for lectures, and hence one is very much left with a feeling that he not only speaks with enthusiasm but that he spends a considerable amount of time in preparing his lectures.

  The instructor 4  The instructor should provide appropriate questions and feedback when it’s needed, in order to boost learner’s motivation in studying the content. If the learner shows comprehension through these interactions, the instructor increases the learner’s pride through positive reinforcement. If comprehension is not shown, the instructor should challenge the learner to focus on the goals of the lesson by using various feedback techniques. During this process, the instructor should be frequently observing learner’s actions and reactions carefully, correcting the errors in a positive way.

  Instructors should provide individualized feedback discretely to learners so as not to hurt the learner’s pride, as well as offer positive criticism reflecting the learner’s learning style, interests, and needs. Also, instructors must not fall into one set teaching style, but instead frequently try to improve on their habitual routines and correct errors of the lecture in an effort to satisfy learner’s unforeseen demands. Although it may seem that instructors apprehend their own lectures best, that is not always the case.

  For satisfactory interaction and feedback, the instructor should accumulate a very important ability. The instructor should always be approachable, understanding, interested in students and warm to students. He lays absolute trust upon and lavishes praise on students as well. He creates a class atmosphere which is positive and receptive, that is an atmosphere of participation, not just a one-way presentation, and students are never intimidated but encouraged to participate. All of this is a necessary and sufficient condition for student-centered education.

  Despite the recent tendency of universities to emphasize the performance-based study and service, instructors can make lectures successful through constant exertions for learner-centered teaching. Learners who have been educated by such lectures can grow naturally as talented individuals of society and global leaders who have the ability to communicate, share, and conduct self-directed problem solving. Whereas ordinary lectures grow ordinary individuals, lectures which promote constant effort grow faithful, talented people.

저작권자 © 충대신문 무단전재 및 재배포 금지