An Examination of the Relationship between Student-Centered Learning and Students’

Achievement of Level 4th students of IEP at University of Dayton

By

Maninder Kaur

Graduate Student EDA 551

School of Education and Health Sciences, University of Dayton

In today’s competitive educational world the student’s achievement is one of the

important goals to achieve in learning process. Stern (2007), Academic achievement has always

been a top priority in education. For the best student’s achievement, educators and administration

do try new ideas, methods, practices, and teaching-learning instructions time to time. Since new

changes are occurring students’ academic achievement, so student-centered learning (SCL) is

one of them which influence the achievement of students. SCL is a learning approach which

gives more focus on students’ involvement in contrast to traditional or teacher-centered learning.

SCL is becoming more interested in the modern era. E-learning and flipped classrooms are the

examples of trending student-centered learning. Wright, (2011) there is growing interest in

student-centered learning in higher education, and many universities provide online resources for

their professors at their websites. SCL focused the active participation of students rather than the

main role of teacher. Weimer (2002) makes the point that in the student-centered classroom the

roles of teacher and Student of necessity change, so that the teacher changes from the “sage on

the stage” to the “guide on the side” who views the students not as empty vessels to be filled

with knowledge but as seekers to be guided along their intellectual developmental journey.

Felder & Brent, (1996), Student center instruction attempts to engender active learning by using

methods such as cooperative learning, open ended assignments, critical-thinking exercises,

simulation, and problem-solving activities. SCL made the students more thoughtful and they

critically think about their independent activities. Biggs, (1990), Research in student learning

underscores the Importance of concentrating on what learners do, and why they think they are

doing it, rather than what the teacher does.

focus the achievement of ESL students who have student-centered learning instructions.

Research Problem

English is a universal language, but still it is the second language for most of the

countries. The students of other native languages face problems in the acquisition of English in

ESL classrooms. For the solution of their problems there are different types of ways like indirect

language learning, easy to complex approach etc. There can be other ways also, but in this study

the influence of SCL instructions on ESL students’ achievement will be studied. According to

Foster & Ohta, 2005; Lei, (2008); Razfar, Khisty, & Chval, (2011) this is in line with the theory

of second language acquisition that by having more interaction with their peers in context of

learning English, students will improve their language development both in oral or written

abilities.

Research Question

How do student-centered learning instructions impact the achievements of ESL students?

Purpose o f Research

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between student-centered

learning instructions and students’ achievements in ESL course. Learning method plays a vital

role in the achievements level of students. Therefore, this study will find how student – centered

learning instruction impact the outcomes of classroom operation on based of students’ active,

independent, and complete involvement in learning process.

The research hypothesis is there will be a positive relationship between student-centered

learning and academic achievement. The null hypothesis is there will be no relationship between

student-centered learning and academic achievement

Operational Definitions

Student-centered Learning: The Greenwood Dictionary of Education (Collins, 2003),

describes it as an instructional approach in which students influence the content, activities,

materials, and pace of learning. This learning model places the student (learner) in the center of

the learning process. The instructor provides students with opportunities to learn independently

and from one another and coaches those in the skills they need to do so effectively.

Students’ Achievements: According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Academic

achievement or (academic) performance is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution

has achieved their short or long-term educational goals.

ESL: According to Merriam Webster Lerner’s Dictionary ESL is the teaching of English to

people who speak a different language and who live in a country where English is the main

language spoken. ESL is an abbreviation of “English as a second language.”

The basic purpose of this study is to explain the features of student – centered learning

and examine the relationship between student – centered learning and students’ achievements.

Student Centered Learning (SCL) is an instructional approach which gives more attention

towards students’ role, active participation, interest, learning needs, and responsibility.

According to Attard, Di Iorio, Geven, & Santa (2011), SCL is comprised of many potential

benefits to students and lecturers including: students can be part of an academic community,

increase their motivation to learn, lead student independent and responsibility in learning, and

consider their needs in learning. Slunt & Giancario, (2004), indicated Learner-centered methods

of content delivery allow students the opportunity to control their learning since they require

students to take responsibility for their learning by being actively involved in the learning

process rather than simply passively receiving information from a lecture.

For a long time, most of the teachers are using “traditional” approach that is teachers –

centered instructions, but now student – centered approach is attracting many educators. Faridi,

Bahri & Nurmasitah, (2015), state that the shifting from teacher-centered learning to the student-

centered learning sheds light to the new paradigm of teaching that promotes students interaction

during the teaching and learning process. Students show more involvement in class activities as

they interact with classmates and teachers. For example group work and topic discussions are the

basic activities of student- centered learning which encourage students to be interactive and

involved.

Student – centered learning is more active learning in contrast to teacher-centered

learning. Norman & Spohrer, (1996), the aim of learning then is active exploration,

construction, and learning rather than the learner being passive attendant of a lecture and a
textbook reader. Student-centered learning is not one way learning like teacher centered learning

in which teacher dominates most of the learning environment and students only observing like

passive learners. According to Weimer, (2002), a central concern of learner-centered teaching is

learning, and so evaluation in the student-centered classroom is not just to generate grades but,

more importantly, to promote learning.

In student –centered learning students improve their knowledge. Garrett (2008) indicated

that the instructional goal in student–centered classrooms, based on constructivist principles of

learning, is to create a learning environment where knowledge is co-constructed by the teacher

and students rather than transmitted directly by the teacher. A learner-centered environment is

different. It requires students to take on new learning roles and responsibilities that go far beyond

taking notes and passing tests. It is an environment that allows students to take some real control

over their educational experience and encourages them to make important choices about what

and how they will learn. Doyle (2008) states that in learner-centered classrooms, collaboration is

the norm, not an occasional class activity.

Students explore their potentials in students – centered learning and they exchange their

individual ideas with each other. Osman, Jamaludin & Iranmanesh, (2015) believe that

implementing a active learning strategy using a SCL teaching method has made students become

more motivated to learn, link information together, and freely express their opinions with greater

self-confidence. Preszler, (2006) indicated that one component of student-centered learning is

that students organize, evaluate, and enhance their knowledge as they teach their peers. Peer

feedback and self evaluations kind of activities of student – centered learning are working

example for organizing, evaluating, and enhancing students’ knowledge.

solving skills working with classmates. Frambach, Driessen, Beh & van der Vleuten, (2014) said

one of the educational tools in student centered education is small group work, where students

are expected to actively engage in critical discussions about learning topics, problem cases, or

projects. Bishop, Caston & King, (2014) state that working in groups is reflective of the real

world environment where employees collaborate with each other and communicate. Business

world prefers and looks for employees who have a strong ability to communicate and contribute

to their colleagues.

In SCL classes students’ attendance also reported as increased . Pownal,l (2012) believe

this teaching mode is one of the factors that influences student attendance in class and develops

their skills. As students enjoy the independent learning environment, so they attend these classes

regularly. Students play active participation in each activity of classroom and less deny their

presence in classrooms.

Learning a second language is not an easy task, but right directions, learning methods,

and classroom environment can make it easy. The SCL can be a beat approach for ESL students

to be more involved in learning process. Active learning is needed for the best achievements in

ESL and SCL instruction method influence the performance of students.

Sample

The researcher will use a sample of writing grammar level-4 class of IEP Rike Center,

University of Dayton (UD). The IEP center of UD has students from different Non-English

speaking countries such as Saudi Arabia, China, Kuwait, India and many more. Most of the

strength of students is from Saudi Arabia. Students are selected on entry level test. According to

their performance in entry test, they are being enrolled in a level. IEP has five levels. The

researcher will use the students of level-4 writing grammar class which is divided in 3-4 sections.

The sample for this study will consist two groups of participants (n =26) and teaching faculty.

Both the groups will have equal participants (n=13 for each group) with the inclusion of different

gender, race, and age.

Data Source and Instrument

The researcher will collect the data by using the recorded scores of class teachers. The

collected data will be the achieved scores of each participant on based of their performance in

classroom activities such as group work, individual assignment, class presentation, game play,

and quiz. Pretest and posttest will be used to examine the difference in students’ achievements.

Pretest will be conducted before using SCL and posttest will be conducted after the use of SCL

instructions. Mean and standard deviation statistics will be used to test the mean of either test’s

score’s equivalency or difference.

This study will be conducted for 15 days. The researcher will use two sections of writing

grammar class which will have students’ numbers 13 in each class. One class teacher will use

SCL instructions and that class will be experimental group. Other one class’s teacher will not use

the SCL and that class will be the controlled group. Both groups initially will be tested with

pretest of 10 multiple choice questions. After 15 days, they again will be tested with the same 10

questions and inclusion of two open ended question to know about their description about SCL.

During study period, students (of both groups) will perform all the requisite class activities

according to the demand of regular syllabus of IEP and the type of instructional method. After 15

days, the researcher will collect the recorded data from class teachers and also will collect the

data from posttest questionnaire.

Analysis and Results

SPSS program will be used to test the results of this study. For descriptive statistic mean

and standard deviation will be used to get the average of all participants’ scores. For inferential,

hypothesis testing and effect size will be used. Pearson correlation coefficient will be used to test

the relationship between SCL and the achievement of students. The results will be based on the

outcomes of SPSS computed scores. Results will determine the accuracy of one of the hypothesis

of this study.
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