LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO FACILITATING LEARNER-

CENTERED TEACHING

What is Learner-Centered teaching?

Teaching is an interactive process. The teacher acts as the learning facilitator while the
learners are active participants in the teaching-learning process. As a learning facilitator, the
teacher provides the learners with varied opportunities to enhance their knowledge, skills, and
attitudes while emphasizing the 21st-century skills of collaboration, communication, critical
thinking and problem, and creative thinking and innovation.

As learning facilitators, teachers must creatively plan varied interactive learning activities in the
classroom. These activities should be in the context of learning-developmental stages, needs,
skills, abilities, interests, feelings, cultures, lives, and experiences. As a result, learners will
become active participants in the classroom who can apply what they have learned to solve real
problems.

LEARNER-CENTERED PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

The Learner-Centered Psychological Principles were put together by the American Psychological
Association. The following 14 psychological principles pertain to the learner and the learning
process. The 14 principles have the following aspects:
They focus on psychological factors that are primarily internal to and under the control of the
learner rather than conditioned habits or physiological factors. However, the principles also
attempt to acknowledge the external environment or contextual factors that interact with these
internal factors.
The principles are intended to deal holistically with learners in the context of real-world learning
situations. Thus, they are best understood as an organized set of principles; no principle should
be viewed in isolation. The 14 principles are divided into those referring to (6) cognitive and
metacognitive, (3) motivational and affective, (2) developmental and social, and (3)
individual difference factors influencing learners and learning.
Finally, the principles are intended to apply to all learners - from children to teachers, to
administrators, to parents, and to community members involved in our educational system.
COGNITIVE AND METACOGNITIVE FACTORS
1. Nature of the learning process. The learning of complex subject matter is most effective
when it is an intentional process of constructing meaning from information and experience.
There are different types of learning processes, for example, habit formation in motor learning;
and learning that involves the generation of knowledge, or cognitive skills and learning
strategies. Learning in schools emphasizes the use of intentional processes that students can use
to construct meaning from information, experiences, and their own thoughts and beliefs.
Successful learners are active, goal-directed, self-regulating, and assume personal responsibility
for contributing to their own learning.
2. Goals of the learning process. The successful learner can create meaningful, coherent
representations of knowledge over time and with support and instructional guidance. The
strategic nature of learning requires students to be goal-directed. To construct useful
representations of knowledge and to acquire the thinking and learning strategies necessary for
continued learning success across the lifespan, students must generate and pursue personally
relevant goals. Initially, students' short-term goals and learning may be sketchy in an area, but
over time their understanding can be re- fined by filling gaps, resolving inconsistencies, and
deepening their understanding of the subject matter so that they can reach longer-term goals.
Educators can assist learners in creating meaningful learning goals that are consistent with both
personal and educational aspirations and interests.
3. Construction of knowledge. The successful learner can link new information with existing
knowledge in meaningful ways. Knowledge widens and deepens as students continue to build
links between new information and experiences and their existing knowledge base. The nature of
these links can take a variety of forms, such as adding to, modifying, or reorganizing existing
knowledge or skills. How these links are made or developed may develop different subject areas,
and among students with varying talents, interests, and abilities. However, unless new
knowledge becomes integrated with the learner's prior knowledge and understanding, this new
knowledge remains isolated, cannot be used most effectively in new tasks, and does not transfer
readily to new situations.
Educators can assist learners in acquiring and integrating knowledge through a number of
strategies that have been shown to be effective with learners of varying abilities, such as
concept mapping and thematic organization or categorizing.
4. Strategic thinking
The successful learner can create and use a repertoire of thinking and reasoning strategies to
achieve complex learning goals. Successful learners use strategic thinking in their approach to
learning, all reasoning, problem-solving, and concept learning. They understand and can use a
variety of strategies to help them reach learning and performance goals, and apply them to their
knowledge in novel situations. They also continue to expand their repertoire of strategies by
reflecting on the methods they use to see which work well for them, by receiving guided
instruction and feedback, and by observing or interacting with appropriate models. Learning
outcomes can be enhanced if educators assist learners in developing, applying, and assessing
their strategic learning skills.
5. Thinking about thinking. Higher-order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental
operations facilitate creative and critical thinking. Successful learners can reflect on how they
think and learn, set reasonable learning or performance goals, select potentially appropriate
learning strategies or methods, and monitor their progress toward these goals.
In addition, successful learners know what to do if a problem occurs or if they are not making
sufficient or timely progress toward a goal. They can generate alternative methods to reach their
goal (or reassess the appropriateness and utility of the goal).
Instructional methods that focus on helping learners develop these higher order (metacognitive)
strategies can enhance student learning and personal responsibility for learning.
6. Context of learning
Learning is influenced by environmental factors, including culture, technology, and instructional
practices. Learning does not occur in a vacuum. Teachers play a major interactive role with both
the learner and the learning environment.
Cultural or group influences on students can impact many educationally relevant variables, such
as motivation, orientation toward learning, and ways of thinking.
Technologies and instructional practices must be appropriate for learners' level of prior
knowledge, cognitive abilities, and their learning and thinking strategies.
The classroom environment, particularly the degree to which it is nurturing or not, can also have
significant impacts on student learning.

MOTIVATIONAL AND AFFECTIVE FACTORS

7. Motivational and emotional influences on learning
What and how much is learned is influenced by the learner's motivation. Motivation to learn, in
turn, is influenced by the individual's emotional states, beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of
thinking.
The rich internal world of thoughts, beliefs, goals, and expectations for success or failure can
enhance or interfere with the learner's quality of thinking and information processing.
Students' beliefs about themselves as learners and the nature of learning have a marked
influence on motivation. Motivational and emotional factors also influence both the quality of
thinking and information processing as well as an individual's motivation to learn.
Positive emotions, such as curiosity, generally enhance motivation and facilitate learning and
performance. Mild anxiety can also enhance learning and performance by focusing the learner's
attention on a particular task. However, intense negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, panic, rage,
insecurity) and related thoughts (e.g., worrying about competence, ruminating about failure,
fearing punishment, ridicule, or stigmatizing labels) generally detract from motivation, interfere
with learning and contribute to low performance.
8. Intrinsic motivation to learn
The learner's creativity, higher-order thinking, and natural curiosity all contribute to motivation
to learn. Intrinsic motivation is stimulated by tasks of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevant to
personal interests, and providing for personal choice and control.
Curiosity, flexible and insightful thinking, and creativity are major indicators of the learners'
intrinsic motivation to learn, which is in large part a function of meeting basic needs to be
competent and to exercise personal control.
Intrinsic motivation is facilitated on tasks that learners perceive as interesting and personally
relevant and meaningful, appropriate in complexity and difficulty to the learners' abilities, and on
which they believe they can succeed.
Intrinsic motivation is also facilitated on tasks that are comparable to real-world situations and
meet needs for choice and control. Educators can encourage and support learners' natural
curiosity and motivation to learn by attending to individual differences in learners' perceptions of
optimal novelty and difficulty, relevance, and personal choice and control.
9. Effects of motivation on effort
Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner effort and guided
practice. Without learners' motivation to learn, the willingness to exert this effort is unlikely
without coercion.
The effort is another major indicator of motivation to learn. The acquisition of complex
knowledge and skills demands the investment of consider- Gable learner energy and strategic
effort, along with persistence over time. Educators need to be concerned with facilitating
motivation by strategies that enhance learner effort and commitment to learning and to
achieving high standards of comprehension and understanding.
Effective strategies include purposeful learning activities, guided by practices that enhance
positive emotions and intrinsic motivation to learn, and methods that increase learners'
perceptions that a task is interesting and personally relevant,

DEVELOPMENTAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS

10. Developmental influences on learning
As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints for learning. Learning is
most effective when differential development within and across physical, intellectual, emotional,
and social domains is taken into account.
 Individuals learn best when the material is appropriate to their developmental level and is
presented enjoyably and interestingly.
 Because individual development varies across intellectual, social, emotional, and physical
domains, achievement in different instructional domains may also vary.
 Overemphasis on one type of developmental readiness such as reading readiness, for
example, may preclude learners from demonstrating that they are more capable in other
areas of performance
 The cognitive, emotional, and social development of individual learners and how they
interpret life experiences are affected by prior schooling, home, culture, and community
factors.
 Early and continuing parental involvement in schooling and the quality of language
interactions and two-way communications between adults and children can influence
these developmental areas.
 Awareness and understanding of developmental differences among children with and
without emotional, physical, or intellectual disabilities, can facilitate the creation of
optimal learning contexts.
11. Social influences on learning
Learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations, and communication with
others.
 Learning can be enhanced when the learner has an opportunity to interact and collaborate
with others on instructional tasks.
 Learning settings that allow for social interactions, and that respect diversity, encourage
flexible thinking and social competence:
  In interactive and collaborative instructional contexts, individuals have an opportunity for
perspective-taking and reflective thinking that may lead to higher levels of cognitive,
social, and moral development, as well as self-esteem.
 Quality personal relationships that provide stability, trust, and caring can increase
learners' sense of belonging, self-respect, and self-acceptance, and provide a positive
climate for learning.
 Family influences, positive interpersonal support, and instruction in self-motivation
strategies can offset factors that interfere with optimal learning such as negative beliefs
about competence in a particular subject, high levels of test anxiety, negative sex role
expectations, and undue pressure to perform well.
 Positive learning climates can also help to establish the context for healthier levels of
thinking, feeling, and behaving. Such contexts help learners feel safe to share ideas,
actively participate in the learning process, and create a learning community.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FACTORS
12. Individual differences in learning
Learners have different strategies, approaches, and capabilities for learning that are a function of
prior experience and heredity.
 Individuals are born with and develop their own capabilities in addition, through learning
and social acculturation, they have acquired their own preferences for how they like to
learn and the pace at which they learn. However, these preferences are not always useful
in helping learners reach their learning goals.
 Educators need to help students examine their learning preferences and expand or modify
them, if necessary.
 The interaction between learner differences and curricular and environmental conditions is
another key factor affecting learning outcomes.
 Educators need to be sensitive to individual differences, in general. They also need to
attend to learner perceptions of the degree to which these differences are accepted and
adapted to by varying instructional methods and materials.
13. Learning and Diversity
Learning is most effective when differences in learners' linguistic, cultural, and social
backgrounds are taken into account.
 The same basic principles of learning, motivation and effective instruction apply to all
learners. However, language, ethnicity, race, beliefs, and socioeconomic status all can
influence learning. Careful attention to these factors in the instructional setting enhances
the possibilities for designing and implementing appropriate learning environments.
 When learners perceive that their individual differences in abilities, backgrounds, cultures,
and experiences are valued, respected, and accommodated in learning tasks and
contexts, levels of motivation and achievement are enhanced.
14. Standards and assessment
Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and assessing the learner as well as
learning progress - including diagnostic, process, and outcome assessments are integral parts of
the learning process.
 Assessment provides important information to both the learner and teacher at all stages of
the learning process.
 Effective learning takes place when learners feel challenged to work towards appropriately
high goals; therefore, appraisal of the learner's cognitive strengths and weaknesses, as
well as current knowledge and skills, is important for the selection of instructional
materials of an optimal degree of difficulty.
 Ongoing assessment of the learner’s understanding of the curricular material can provide
valuable feedback to both learners and teachers about progress toward the learning goals.
 Standardized assessment of the learner progress and outcomes assessment provides one
type of information about achievement levels both and across individuals that can inform
various types of programmatic decisions.
 Performance assessments can provide other sources of information about the attainment
of learning outcomes.
 Self-assessments of learning progress can also improve students’ self-appraisal skills and
enhance motivation and self-directed learning.
Alexander and Murphy gave a summary of the 14 principles and distilled them into
five areas:
1. The knowledge base. One's existing knowledge serves as the foundation of all future
learning. The learner's previous knowledge will influence new learning specifically on how he
represents new information, makes associations, and filters new experiences.
2. Strategic processing and control. Learners can develop skills to reflect and regulate their
thoughts and behaviors in order to learn more effectively (metacognition).
3. Motivation and affect. Factors such as intrinsic motivation (from within), reasons for
wanting to learn, personal goals, and enjoyment of learning tasks all have a crucial role in the
learning process.
4. Development and Individual Differences. Learning is a unique journey for each person
because each learner has his own unique combination of genetic and environmental factors that
influence them.
5. Situation or context. Learning happens in the context of society as well as within an
individual.

LESSON 2: THEORIES OF LEARNING

Learning Theories
Learning theories are sets of conjectures and hypotheses that explain the process of
learning or how learning takes place. Many learning theories guide instruction. According to
Akdeniz et al. (2016), the three basic approaches while dealing with learning theories are
behaviorist (behaviorism), cognitivist (cognitivism), and constructivist (constructivism). One of
the most famous learning theories is Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory. This theory
explains that children take an active role in the learning process. As learners interact with the
world around them, they continually add new knowledge, build upon existing knowledge, and
adapt previously held ideas to accommodate new information.
While these approaches overlap, they are interdependent or one approach serves as a
foundation of another. This means that the cognitive approach recognizes behaviorism because
the cognitive process is seen in behaviorist learning. Likewise, the constructivist approach
anchors its principles on the cognitive approach. We will discuss in the succeeding lesson these
theories and their implications for teaching and learning.
You should, therefore, be critical in applying the learning theories you think is or most
applicable in any given situation. What is more important for now is that you gain a repertoire of
learning theories that you will need as future teachers. Let us begin our voyage.
l. BEHAVIORISM/ASSOICATIVE LEARNING THEORY APPROACH
Behaviorism depicts observable and measurable aspects of human behavior. All behaviors are
directed by stimuli. Meaning, changes in behavior are evident and will result in stimulus-
response associations. Behaviorism believes that behaviors can be measured, trained, and
changed.
Behaviorism suggests that learners must be actively engaged and rewarded immediately for
their involvement in the activity in order to achieve learning. Nonetheless, it cannot be
predetermined that learners respond positively to praise and that active learning follows (Sotto
2017). In this case, learning must be active and outright praise is given to increase behavior.
John B. Watson, known as the Father of Behaviorism, and Burrhus Frederick Skinner are the two
principal originators of behaviorist approaches to learning. Watson believed that human behavior
is prompted by specific stimuli. On the other hand, Skinner believed that behavior is controlled
through positive and negative consequences.
Watson’s view of learning was partly influenced by Ivan Pavlov. According to Pavlov, behavior is
acquired through conditioning. Conditioning is an established manner that occurs through
interaction with the environment. There are two major types of conditioning, classical and
operant conditioning.
BELIEFS OF THE BEHAVIORIST APPROACH
 It operates on the principle of “stimulus-response”
 Behavior is observable and measurable.
 It prefers actual behavior as an indicator of learning.
1.1 Ivan Petrovich Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning. This type of conditioning asserts that an
individual learns when a previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned
stimulus until a neutral stimulus evokes a conditioned/desired response.
FEATURES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Unconditioned Stimulus Automatically produces an emotional or
physiological response.
Unconditioned Response Natural occurring emotional response
Neutral stimuli Stimuli that do not elicit a response.
Conditioned stimulus Evokes an emotional or physiological
response after being conditioned.
Conditioned response Learned response from a previously
neutral condition.

The phase of Classical Conditioning

Legend: UCS- Unconditioned stimulus
UCR- Unconditioned Response
NS- Neutral Stimuli
R- Response
CS- Conditioned Stimulus
CR- Conditioned Response

Phase 1: Before conditioning has occurred

UCS UCR

Phase 2: The process of conditioning

NS--------UCS R

Phase 3: After conditioning has occurred

CS CR
Principles of Learning in Classical Implications
Conditioning
Acquisition. A process by which the A child learns to fear the dentist’s clinic
conditioned response is acquired from by associating it with a painful tooth
the experience of another person. extraction that he or she has
experienced.
Stimulus-Generalization. A process A child tends to be anxious in all
by which the conditioned response is instances in school because of the first-
transferred to other stimuli similar to hand experience he or she has
the original conditioned stimulus. experienced with a terror teacher.
Stimulus-Discrimination. A process A child should be able to distinguish
by which a conditioned response is things that seem alike but are different
transferred to other stimuli different (b from d, p from b, or plus (+) sign
from the original conditioned stimulus. from negative (-) sign). Otherwise,
If generalization is a reaction to learning disabilities will occur.
similarities, discrimination is a reaction
to differences.
Extinction. A process by which a The anxiousness of a child toward a
conditioned response is lost. terror teacher gradually vanishes if, in
the succeeding days, he or she
experiences pleasant treatment from
the teacher. Otherwise, phobias will
occur.