3 Key Benefits of a Student-centered Curriculum

Author: Adelaide Columnas

“The fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn’t need to be reformed — it needs to be transformed. The key to this transformation is not to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions.”

Ken Robinson, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

Teacher-centered vs. student-centered learning has been a recurrent and lively debate on education forums.

In a traditional teacher-centered model, the instructor is the “imparter of knowledge” while students listen, and are corrected and evaluated on their performance. In a student-centered model, the playing field becomes leveled; the focus is on both the teachers and students. It opens the door to a multitude of possibilities for educational curricula.

Here are 3 main benefits to a student-centered model:

1. Transitions students from passive to active learners

Youths in Imagine Scholar’s student-driven program work on building what will become their award-winning electric vehicle in 2016.

Empowered students can explore what genuinely interests them and what they are passionate about. They can take ownership of their work and their ideas. It encourages creativity, originality, and responsibility in what they are taking away from their learning experience.

2. Acknowledges individuality

Scholars, Nomcebo and Florence work together as they teach themselves how to sew and design clothing.

A recognized selling point for student-centered models is that they encourage collaboration. A student-centered model accepts that students have different learning styles and absorb information at different rates. It is open to various styles of learning whether that be in groups or individually.

3. Opens the door for collaboration and dialogue between the educator and student

The Scholars and a program facilitator work together to understand a new reading

Instead of teaching at students, teachers take on the role of a guide or facilitator for students’ learning experiences. Instructors support, encourage, provide feedback, answer questions, ask questions, give suggestions, and challenge.

Imagine Scholar’s uniquely student-driven approach empowers youth to take accountability for their education, and for their future. Each student in the program is encouraged to find what makes them come alive and to follow that passion.