What is the role of the teacher in the learning process?
Efforts to transform classroom instruction into powerful education experiences have led theorists of learning to contrast teacher-centered with student-centered instruction. Teacher-centered instruction occurs when instructors lecture in class, organizing the material students need to master in digestible tidbits. Students are viewed as receptacles into which new knowledge is poured. Critics contend that students often memorize tidbits, yet lack the ability to use these tidbits or remember them for long periods of time. Student-centered instruction begins with the proposition that all learners construct their own knowledge and that the role of the teacher is to provide experiences and activities that allow students to develop their own understanding of how things work. Generally, educators are encouraged by experts to increase the use of student-centered instruction—primarily because of the evidence that students learn best when they actively construct their own understandings. Critics
