An Exploration of Student Experiences with Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies

Year 2015, Volume: 6 Issue: 2, 95 - 112, 01.06.2015

Jill E. Stefaniak Monica W. Tracey

Abstract

In this exploratory study, we examined how undergraduate students experience learning in a learner-centered teaching environment and their perceptions of motivation towards learning material in an introductory public speaking communications course. Six faculty members participated in a semester-long study where their teaching strategies were observed. Three faculty members participated in a cognitive apprenticeship where they were taught how to implement learner-centered instructional strategies into their coursework. Participants were 109 students who were enrolled in an introductory public speaking course. Data was collected by means of classroom observations, interviews, and the administration of a survey. Our findings indicated that students who were engaged in learner-centered activities within the communications course demonstrate higher levels of motivation towards the course and are more actively engaged in their learning.

Keywords

Learner-centered instruction, Instructional sequencing, Teaching strategies, Student motivation

References

• Bunz, U. (2006). Reviewing organizational communication concepts with the movie “office space”. Communication Teacher, 20(2), 36-39.
• Chou, M. (2011). The influence of learner strategies on oral presentations: A comparison between group and individual performance. English for Specific Purposes, 30, 272-285.
• Collins, A., Brown, J.S., & Newman, S.E. (1989). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the craft of reading, writing, and mathematics. In L.B. Resnick (Ed.). Knowing, learning, and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 453-494). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Dallimore, E.J. Hertenstein, J.H., & Platt, M.B. (2008). Using discussion pedagogy to enhance oral and written communication skills. College Teaching, 56, 163-172.
• Dennen, V.P. & Burner, K.J. (2007). The cognitive apprenticeship model in educational practice. In J.M. Spector, M.D. Merrill, J. van Merrienboer & M.P. Driscoll (Eds.), Handbook of research for educational communications and technology (pp. 425-439). New York: NY: Taylor & Francis Group.
• Design-Based Research Collective. (2003). Design-based research: An emerging paradigm for educational inquiry. Educational Researcher, 32(1), 5-8.
• Doyle, T. (2008). Helping students learn in a learner-centered environment: A guide to facilitating learning in higher education. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
• Duncan, S.L.S. (1996). Cognitive apprenticeship in classroom instruction: Implications for instructional and technical teacher education. Journal of Instructional Teacher Education, 33(3), 66-86.
• Eccles, J.S. & Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 109-132.
• Fetterman, D.M. (2010). Ethnography: Step-by-step. (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
• Gabrielle, D. M. (2003). The effects of technology-mediated instructional strategies on motivation, performance, and self-directed learning (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Florida State University, Tallahassee.
• Hendrix, K.G. (2000). The teaching assistant’s guide to the basic course. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
• Jonassen, D.H., Howland, J., Moore, J., & Marra, R.M. (2003). Learning to solve problems with technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill-Prentice Hall.
• Kacin, S.E. (2013). A design- based research study examining the impact of motivational emailed messages to first year students (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Wayne State University, Detroit.
• Kahl, H. & Venette, S. (2010). To lecture or let go: A comparative analysis of student speech outlines from teacher-centered and learner-centered classrooms. Communication Teacher, 24(3), 178-186.
• Keith, W. & Lundberg, C. (2014). Creating a history for public speaking instruction. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 17(1), 139-146.
• Keller, J. M. (1987). Strategies for stimulating the motivation to learn. Performance and Instruction, 28(8), 1-7.
• Keller, J.M. (2010). Motivational design for learning and performance. New York, NY: Springer.
• Keller, J.M. & Deimann, M. (2012). Motivation, volition, and performance. In R.A. Reiser & J.V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (3rd Ed.) (pp. 84- 95). Boston, MA: Pearson.
• Levasseur, D.G., Dean, K.W., & Pfaff, J. (2004). Speech pedagogy beyond the basics: A study of instructional methods in the advanced public speaking course. Communication Education, 53(3), 234-252.
• Mackenzie, L. (2007). “Double duty”: A suggested activity for meeting the challenge of teaching and performing the freshman public speaking course. Communication Teacher, 21(1), 12-15.
• Main, R.G. (1993). Integrating motivation into the instructional design process. Educational Technology, 33(12), 37-41.
• Mayer, R.E. (1982). Learning. In H. Mitzel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational research (pp. 1040- 1058). New York, NY: The Free Press.
• McCombs, B. & Whistler, S. (1997). The learner-centered classroom and school. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
• Means, T. B., Jonassen, D. H., & Dwyer, F. M. (1997). Enhancing relevance: Embedded ARCS strategies vs. purpose. Educational Technology Research and Development, 45(1), 5-17.
• Merrill, M.D. (2002). First principles of instruction. ETR&D, 50(3), 43-59.
• Moller, L., Huett, J., Holder, D.(2005). Examining the impact of motivation on learning communities. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 6(2), 137-143.
• Pintrich, P.R. (2000). An achievement goal theory perspective on issues in motivation terminology, theory, and research. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 92-104.
• Proctor, R.F. (2000). Using “swing kids” to teach theories of persuasion. Communication Teacher, 14(2), 5-6.
• Pundak, D., Herscovitz, O., & Shacham, M. (2010). Attitudes of face-to-face and e-learning instructors towards active learning. European Journal of Open, Distance, and E-Learning, 1- 12.
• Richey, R.C., Klein, J.D., & Tracey, M.W. (2011). The instructional design knowledge base: Theory, research, and practice. New York, NY: Routledge.
• Robbins, S.B., Lauver, K., Le, H., Davis, D., Langley, R., & Carlstrom, A. (2004). Do psychological and study skill factors predict college outcomes? A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 130(2), 261-288.
• Sawyer, C.R. & Behnke, R.R. (2001). Computer-assisted evaluation of speech competencies in the basic speech course. Journal of the Association for Communication Administration, 30(3), 104-110.
• Spradley, J.P. (1980). Participant observation. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
• Stefaniak, J.E. (2013). The use of cognitive apprenticeships to teach learner-centered instructional strategies in an undergraduate learning environment (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Wayne State University, Detroit.
• Weintraub, S. (1999). Giving students “all of the above”: Combining service-learning with the public speaking course. Voices of strong democracy: Concepts and models for service- learning in communication studies (pp. 119-124). Sterling, VA: American Association for Higher Education.
• Wolcott, H.F. (2008). Ethnography: A way of seeing. (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Alta Mira Press.
• Zimmerman, B.J. (2008). Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological developments, and future prospects. American Education Research Journal, 45(1), 166-183.
• Correspondence: Jill E. Stefaniak, Assistant Professor, Instructional Design and Technology,
• Department of STEM Education and Professional Studies, Darden College of Education, Old
• Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, United States.