The dearth of learner-centered teaching methods in higher education: an innovation study

2019-03-11This is a study of the use of learner-centered strategies in a small, western university. A review of the literature revealed that learner-centered methods engage students more than traditional lecture methods, create a higher level of retention, and better prepare students for the rigors of employment. The researcher developed a strategy to discover if instructors at the university of study were knowledgeable of learner-centered strategies, utilized them in the classroom, and if the university was meeting its goal of “innovative teaching.” This was accomplished by means of a written survey distributed to all full-time faculty, in-person interviews with nine of the respondents, and classroom observations of eight of the interviewees. The results of the study were that 1) faculty are not well-informed about all the facets of learner-centered teaching methods and 2) faculty used those methods in the classroom less than they think they do or as much as they would like to. The researcher also found that faculty would like to learn more about learner-centered strategies if they were provided with the time and resources to accomplish that objective. Based on these results, it was recommended that this study be replicated on a larger scale to be able to generalize the results more broadly and that the university provide the time and expert instruction to help faculty provide a more learner-centered environment in their classrooms