60. What Is Student-Centered Learning and Why Is It Important in Upper Elementary?

     Today we are kicking off a mini series all about student-centered learning environments. What is student centered learning and why is it important in upper elementary? 

     Today’s episode will be a little more philosophical…overall what does this mean to us and other educators? How has this looked in upper grade classrooms? What are the outcomes - pros and cons- of creating a student- centered learning environment? All of these can hopefully help you reflect on where your classroom is, and what we want our classrooms to be like next school year. 

     Over the next few episodes, we’ll dig more into the practical - what might the first week of school look like in a student centered classroom? How can we design a student-centered learning space? Where does our adopted curriculum fit, especially if it’s not very student centered? 

     Before we get into all that goodness, though, let’s make sure we are in agreement on what a SC classroom is, and why it’s so important to supporting lasting learning for our students.

Resources & Links:

• FREE Training! 5 Keys to Increasing Student Engagement in Upper Elementary - appleblossomteachers.com/real

• XQ Super Schools article: What is Student-centered Learning and Why Is It Important?

• Article: Does the Teaching and Learning Process in Primary Schools Correspond to the Characteristics of the 21st Century Learning? (International Journal of Instruction; July 2020, Sumardi et. al)

• Come say hi over on Instagram @AppleBlossomTeachers - I’d love to hear from you!!