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Learner-Centered Concepts

ELI is no longer actively pursuing this topic. This page is provided as an historical resource; it is not being updated or actively managed.

Learner-centered concepts are instructional design and teaching practices based on what we know about learning and cognition. Such practices create environments that encourage successful learning. With learning outcomes and student satisfaction increasingly important, learner-centered concepts can help institutions improve teaching and learning, whether in a traditional classroom or an online environment. These key concepts describe the conditions that lead to learning, identify teaching practices and learning activities that create such conditions, and support the design of effective learning environments.

Questions the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) explores include:

How do people learn? What are the central principles for effective teaching and learning? How do we make them accessible to faculty in their teaching practice?
How can we use existing technologies to design more effective teaching and learning experiences?
What key challenges do institutions face in moving to learner-centered environments, and especially in using technology to develop and sustain such environments? What changes must be put in place to create a learner-centered culture?
What implications do learner-centered teaching and learning practices hold for student support, faculty support, and other institutional services?

Get an Overview of the Topic

American Psychological Association, "Learner-Centered Psychological Principles: A Framework for School Reform and Redesign."
Arthur W. Chickering and Steven C. Ehrmann, "Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever," AAHE Bulletin, October 1996, pp. 3–6.
National Research Council, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking, eds. (Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 1999).

See Examples

Digital Storytelling at Cornell University: "Q&A": A Student Video from the Lynx Program
Students in Cornell University's Lynx Program develop digital stories to integrate the various facets of the technology training they receive. Sharing their stories with each other also serves to build a sense of community within the program. View this example of the students' high-quality work and get a sense for the impact digital storytelling can have.
Digital Storytelling at the Maricopa Community Colleges
Can storytelling enrich student learning? Promote faculty development? Linda Hicks and Rachel Woodburn at Maricopa Community Colleges use digital storytelling with faculty and students. According to them, "Everyone has a story to tell, and with the telling of the story comes connection to people, communities, and an interest in new subjects."
LON-CAPA at Michigan State University –Demonstration Site
LON-CAPA is a full-featured, open source, web-based course management system (CMS) similar to commercial CMSs. Its demonstration site offers examples of learner-centered activities and assignments, as well as the opportunity to get a demonstration account to review courses developed and delivered using LON-CAPA.

Access Presentations

John Bransford, The Learning Sciences, Education, and Technology: Issues and Opportunities, Second Annual Heterick Lecture, NLII 2005 Annual Meeting.
Malcolm Brown, "Bringing Theory into Practice: Learner-Centered Principles and New Roles for Faculty and Students," NLII 2005 Spring Focus Session Presentation.
Colleen Carmean, "Learner-Centered Principles," PowerPoint presentation with audio track.
Presentations from 2003 NLII Annual Meeting
- Andrew Clark, Michael A. Kolitsky, Cyprien P.E. Lomas, Ulrich Rauch, and Lisa Spiro, "Four Vignettes of Learner-Centered Design and Practice."
- Susan Gautsch, Otto Khera and Richard M. Lacy, "Towards the Learning Paradigm with Multi–Tiered Curricular Redesign Grants."
- Patricia Lefor and Deborah J. Smith, "Adult Learners and the Learning Enterprise" (presented as part of the panel discussion "Adult Learners, E-Learning, and the Learning Enterprise").
- William E. Pelz and Peter J. Shea, "A Model for Online Learning Environments."
- Carrie Regenstein and Kathy Christoph," New Strategies and Roles for Supporting Teaching and Learning."

Review Relevant Web Sites

LESTER, the Learning Sciences and Technology Repository
LESTER is an online community and database focused on innovations in learning science and technology (LST). LESTER profiles innovative research projects, researchers, organizations, and funding sources.
Mapping the Learning Space: Learner-Centered Principles for Higher Education
If we imagined a university that was truly learner-centered, what concerns and practices would it reflect? This ELI site, which was initiated by 2002 NLII Fellow Colleen Carmean, provides visual maps of the "learning space" created by learning science theory, instructional design practice, and relationships between faculty, administrators, instructional designers, and technology professionals. Each concept in the series of visual maps within this site offers live links to resources, ideas, definitions, and examples.
National Survey of Student Engagement
The NSSE instrument provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to reflect on and assess their educational experience, including how and where they spend their time, the types of assignments they complete, and the nature and quality of their interaction with faculty and other students.
Teach with Technology
This site, sponsored by the Digital Media Center at the University of Minnesota, provides a number of resources to support teaching and learning with technology, including effective learning principles, teaching strategies and tips, exemplary projects, evaluation methods, and research materials.

Read Related Writings

John Seely Brown, "Growing Up Digital: How the Web Changes Work, Education, and the Ways People Learn," Change, March/April 2000, pp. 10–20.
John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid, The Social Life of Information, Paperback Edition (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press, 2002).
Donald P. Buckley, "In Pursuit of the Learning Paradigm," EDUCAUSE Review, Vol. 37, No. 1, January/February 2002, pp. 28–38.
Andrea diSessa, Changing Minds: Computers, Learning, and Literacy (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2000).
David A. Kolb, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1984).
Diana Laurillard, "Rethinking Teaching for the Knowledge Society," EDUCAUSE Review, Vol. 37, No. 1, January/February 2002, pp. 16–25.
Barbara McCombs, "Assessing the Role of Educational Technology in the Teaching and Learning Process: A Learner-Centered Perspective," Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology 2000.
National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (EDUCAUSE), 2003 NLII Annual Review: The New Academy, " Supporting Learning Through Technology," pp. 10–11.
National Research Council, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking, eds. (Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 1999).
T. J. Shuell, "Learning Theory, Instructional Theory, and Adaptation," in Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction, Vol. 1, Richard E. Snow, P. A. Federico, and W. E. Montague, eds. (Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1980), pp. 277–301.
B. F. Skinner, The Technology of Teaching (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1968).
Etienne Wenger, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1998).

Attend an Event

NLII 2005 Summer Focus Session, Rethinking the Classroom: Designs for Interaction, June 15–16, 2005, East Lansing, Michigan; cosponsored with the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education and Michigan State University.
ELI 2006 Annual Meeting, Advancing Learning: Insights and Innovations, January 29-31, 2006, Westin Horton Plaza Hotel, San Diego, Calif. (conference Web site to be posted).
2006 International Conference of the Learning Sciences (details to be announced).

Archives Archived ELI Topics Archived NLII Topics		Learner-Centered Concepts On This Page You Can... Get an Overview of the Topic See Examples Access Presentations Review Relevant Web Sites Read Related Writings Attend an Event Learner-Centered Concepts ELI is no longer actively pursuing this topic. This page is provided as an historical resource; it is not being updated or actively managed. Learner-centered concepts are instructional design and teaching practices based on what we know about learning and cognition. Such practices create environments that encourage successful learning. With learning outcomes and student satisfaction increasingly important, learner-centered concepts can help institutions improve teaching and learning, whether in a traditional classroom or an online environment. These key concepts describe the conditions that lead to learning, identify teaching practices and learning activities that create such conditions, and support the design of effective learning environments. Questions the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) explores include: How do people learn? What are the central principles for effective teaching and learning? How do we make them accessible to faculty in their teaching practice? How can we use existing technologies to design more effective teaching and learning experiences? What key challenges do institutions face in moving to learner-centered environments, and especially in using technology to develop and sustain such environments? What changes must be put in place to create a learner-centered culture? What implications do learner-centered teaching and learning practices hold for student support, faculty support, and other institutional services? Get an Overview of the Topic American Psychological Association, "Learner-Centered Psychological Principles: A Framework for School Reform and Redesign." Arthur W. Chickering and Steven C. Ehrmann, "Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever," AAHE Bulletin, October 1996, pp. 3–6. National Research Council, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking, eds. (Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 1999). See Examples Digital Storytelling at Cornell University: "Q&A": A Student Video from the Lynx Program Students in Cornell University's Lynx Program develop digital stories to integrate the various facets of the technology training they receive. Sharing their stories with each other also serves to build a sense of community within the program. View this example of the students' high-quality work and get a sense for the impact digital storytelling can have. Digital Storytelling at the Maricopa Community Colleges Can storytelling enrich student learning? Promote faculty development? Linda Hicks and Rachel Woodburn at Maricopa Community Colleges use digital storytelling with faculty and students. According to them, "Everyone has a story to tell, and with the telling of the story comes connection to people, communities, and an interest in new subjects." LON-CAPA at Michigan State University –Demonstration Site LON-CAPA is a full-featured, open source, web-based course management system (CMS) similar to commercial CMSs. Its demonstration site offers examples of learner-centered activities and assignments, as well as the opportunity to get a demonstration account to review courses developed and delivered using LON-CAPA. Access Presentations John Bransford, The Learning Sciences, Education, and Technology: Issues and Opportunities, Second Annual Heterick Lecture, NLII 2005 Annual Meeting. Malcolm Brown, "Bringing Theory into Practice: Learner-Centered Principles and New Roles for Faculty and Students," NLII 2005 Spring Focus Session Presentation. Colleen Carmean, "Learner-Centered Principles," PowerPoint presentation with audio track. Presentations from 2003 NLII Annual Meeting Andrew Clark, Michael A. Kolitsky, Cyprien P.E. Lomas, Ulrich Rauch, and Lisa Spiro, "Four Vignettes of Learner-Centered Design and Practice." Susan Gautsch, Otto Khera and Richard M. Lacy, "Towards the Learning Paradigm with Multi–Tiered Curricular Redesign Grants." Patricia Lefor and Deborah J. Smith, "Adult Learners and the Learning Enterprise" (presented as part of the panel discussion "Adult Learners, E-Learning, and the Learning Enterprise"). William E. Pelz and Peter J. Shea, "A Model for Online Learning Environments." Carrie Regenstein and Kathy Christoph," New Strategies and Roles for Supporting Teaching and Learning." Review Relevant Web Sites LESTER, the Learning Sciences and Technology Repository LESTER is an online community and database focused on innovations in learning science and technology (LST). LESTER profiles innovative research projects, researchers, organizations, and funding sources. Mapping the Learning Space: Learner-Centered Principles for Higher Education If we imagined a university that was truly learner-centered, what concerns and practices would it reflect? This ELI site, which was initiated by 2002 NLII Fellow Colleen Carmean, provides visual maps of the "learning space" created by learning science theory, instructional design practice, and relationships between faculty, administrators, instructional designers, and technology professionals. Each concept in the series of visual maps within this site offers live links to resources, ideas, definitions, and examples. National Survey of Student Engagement The NSSE instrument provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to reflect on and assess their educational experience, including how and where they spend their time, the types of assignments they complete, and the nature and quality of their interaction with faculty and other students. Teach with Technology This site, sponsored by the Digital Media Center at the University of Minnesota, provides a number of resources to support teaching and learning with technology, including effective learning principles, teaching strategies and tips, exemplary projects, evaluation methods, and research materials. Read Related Writings John Seely Brown, "Growing Up Digital: How the Web Changes Work, Education, and the Ways People Learn," Change, March/April 2000, pp. 10–20. John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid, The Social Life of Information, Paperback Edition (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press, 2002). Donald P. Buckley, "In Pursuit of the Learning Paradigm," EDUCAUSE Review, Vol. 37, No. 1, January/February 2002, pp. 28–38. Andrea diSessa, Changing Minds: Computers, Learning, and Literacy (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2000). David A. Kolb, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1984). Diana Laurillard, "Rethinking Teaching for the Knowledge Society," EDUCAUSE Review, Vol. 37, No. 1, January/February 2002, pp. 16–25. Barbara McCombs, "Assessing the Role of Educational Technology in the Teaching and Learning Process: A Learner-Centered Perspective," Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology 2000. National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (EDUCAUSE), 2003 NLII Annual Review: The New Academy, " Supporting Learning Through Technology," pp. 10–11. National Research Council, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking, eds. (Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 1999). T. J. Shuell, "Learning Theory, Instructional Theory, and Adaptation," in Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction, Vol. 1, Richard E. Snow, P. A. Federico, and W. E. Montague, eds. (Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1980), pp. 277–301. B. F. Skinner, The Technology of Teaching (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1968). Etienne Wenger, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1998). Attend an Event NLII 2005 Summer Focus Session, Rethinking the Classroom: Designs for Interaction, June 15–16, 2005, East Lansing, Michigan; cosponsored with the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education and Michigan State University. ELI 2006 Annual Meeting, Advancing Learning: Insights and Innovations, January 29-31, 2006, Westin Horton Plaza Hotel, San Diego, Calif. (conference Web site to be posted). 2006 International Conference of the Learning Sciences (details to be announced).
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