Creating Learning Centered Classrooms. What Does Learning Theory Have To Say?
Frances Stage, Patricia Muller, Jillian Kinzie, and Ada Simmons

Source: Stage, F., Muller, P., Kinzie, J., Simmons, A. (1998). Creating learning centered classrooms. What does learning theory have to say? Washington, DC: George Washington Univ., Graduate School of Education and Human Development, ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education. [ED422777]

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The time is ripe for a closer examination of learning in college classrooms. Recent questioning of the value of higher education focuses on the worth of undergraduate education and on the quality of learning that takes place in college classrooms. In response, many colleges and universities have focused on changes that center on improving teaching and learning. In the past decade, we have seen a focus on teaching techniques in college classrooms, a movement that emphasizes active learning, the value of out-of-class learning, and the importance of assessment on college campuses. We have addressed the all-important issue of learning by college students without focusing on the all-important question of "how" our students learn academic material. One change that could begin to maximize students' learning would create "learning-centered" campuses (Barr and Tagg 1995). To create such a campus, we need to know how college students learn, to understand barriers to students' learning, and to develop classroom techniques that promote learning among college students. The keys to this knowledge lie in the fields of psychology, philosophy, and sociology; many have a basis in the study of children's learning and development, but we know much about the learning of youth and adults as well, particularly in academe.

What Theories And Frameworks Are Relevant To Learning In College?

Some of the many models of learning theories are particularly relevant to the traditional college classroom. For example, research shows that college students' attributions for success or failure (Weiner 1992) and their beliefs about their own abilities, or self-efficacy (Bandura 1997), influence students' motivation and goals for academic work. Moreover, some theories expand our view beyond the individual student and focus on the social context of learning. Approaches to learning that promote social constructivism, or learning within a social context, and that feature active group constructions of knowledge (Jaworski 1994) provide an ideal environment for some learners. Approaches to learning that create awareness of students' social conscience and that promote an awareness of possibilities for social transformation through action, such as conscientization (Freire and Faundez 1989), can stimulate learning, particularly for students from traditionally disadvantaged groups. And the theories of multiple intelligences (Gardner 1983) and learning styles (Kolb 1981) help us challenge time-worn assumptions about learners and learning that can exclude students and that limit our ways of thinking about the role of the college student in the classroom.

What Do We Know About College Students Learning?

Research tells us much about learning in college; for example, we know that students can develop realistic attributions regarding success and failure that lead to positive study behaviors when working with counselors. Researchers have also demonstrated that constructs related to self-efficacy are positively related to achievement. And in several instances, classes designed for low-achieving students that focused on developing self-efficacy as well as academic learning experienced dramatic successes. Social constructivist approaches to learning have been applied through classroom practices such as collaborative learning, problem-based learning, and peer learning groups. Most often, students who participate in these innovative instructional approaches perceive a more meaningful learning experience and in some cases actually learn more than students in conventional learning situations. Research on the application of Freire's theory of conscientization is more limited, and scholars are only beginning to apply the theory with nontraditional students and in ESL (English as a second language) courses. With regard to theories of learning styles and multiple intelligences, researchers have validated the existence of the various ways of learning and the existence of various types of intelligence. Many examples of ways to apply the theories in the classroom are available.

What Practices Promote Learning Among College Students?

From the literature focusing on frameworks and theories of learning, we can identify several general practices that promote learning for college students:

• Social learning experiences, such as peer teaching and group projects, particularly those that promote group construction of knowledge, allow a student to observe other students' models of successful learning, and encourage him or her to emulate them (social constructivism, self-efficacy, learning styles);
• Varying instructional models that deviate from the lecture format, such as visual presentations, site visits, and use of the Internet (multiple intelligences, learning styles, self-efficacy);
• Varying expectations for students' performance, from individual written formats to group work that includes writing and presentation, interpretation of theatrical, dance, musical, or artistic work, and performance of actual tasks at a work site (attribution theory, conscientization, multiple intelligences, learning styles);
• Choices that allow students to capitalize on personal strengths and interests (self-efficacy, multiple intelligences, learning styles);
• Overt use of sociocultural situations and methods that provide authentic contexts and enculturation into an academic disciplinary community (social constructivism, conscientization);
• Course material that demonstrates valuing of diverse cultures, ethnic groups, classes, and genders (conscientization, learning styles).

Although it might be difficult or even impossible to incorporate all these practices into one college class, if most college classes could incorporate just a few of these elements, colleges would develop into more learning-centered communities and would move toward meeting the learning needs of a greater portion of their students.

What Additional Questions Must Be Answered?

Many important questions about college students' learning remain to be explored through research. Although we know that students' beliefs and attributions affect learning, we are not sure whether an instructor can apply techniques that will modify those beliefs and attributions to help students learn. And although literature exists to describe innovations in the classroom designed to foster learning using various models and theories, few authors have systematically tracked differences in learning across classes. Such research is needed to establish definitively the importance of these theories and models. Finally, differences in learning by gender and across racial subgroups need to be explored. Carefully designed studies employing both quantitative and naturalistic approaches are needed to help us learn more about these important topics.

References

• Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
• Barr, R., & Tagg, J. (1995). From teaching to learning: A new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change, 27(6): 12-25.
• Freire, P., & Faundez, A. (1989). Learning to question. New York: Continuum.
• Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind. New York: Basic Books.
• Jaworski, B. (1994). Investigating mathematics teaching: A constructivist enquiry. London: Falmer Press.
• Kolb, D. (1981). Learning styles and disciplinary differences. In A. W. Chickering and associates (Eds.), The modern American college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Weiner, B. (1992). Attributional theories of human motivation. In B. Weiner (Ed.), Human motivation: Metaphors, theories, and research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

This ERIC digest is based on a full-length report in the ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report series Volume 26, Number 4, Creating Learning Centered Classrooms: What Does Learning Theory Have to Say? by Frances K. Stage, Patricia A. Muller, Jillian A. Kinzie and Ada Simmons.

This digest was created by ERIC, the Educational Resources Information Center. For more information about ERIC, contact  ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC.

This publication was partially prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. RR-93-002008. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or the department.