3. The increasing prominence of SCL
The Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve ministerial declaration stated that
‘European higher education also faces the major challenge and the
ensuing opportunities of globalisation and accelerated technological
developments with new providers, new learners and new types of
learning. Student-centred learning and mobility will help students
develop the competences they need in a changing labour market and
will empower them to become active and responsible citizens’
(Communiqué 2009:1).
4. Discussion point: SCL and the
massification of Higher Education
within the current funding climate
• Resources need to be correlated with the
increased number of students;
• Staff need to be qualified in teaching a diverse
group of students;
• Assessment procedures for teaching need to be
improved and adapted to the context
• Students develop learning-how-to-learn skills;
• Support services need to cater particularly to
groups that are at risk of underperforming;
5. Discussion point: Types of learning
instruments - students gaining skills.
▫Problem based learning;
▫Collaborative learning;
▫Demonstrations and practical examples used in
learning;
▫Simulations in class;
▫Project work;
▫Debates between learners;
▫Placements in enterprises/industry and work
experience;
7. Action - T4SCL Project
• SCL – a concept with varying definitions – need for a true
re-launch;
• Long-standing need to clarify and deepen the academic
community and policy makers' understanding of the
practical implications of the recent paradigm shift from
teacher to student-centred learning;
• Need for sound SCL strategies and approaches
8. Partnership
• ESIB/ ESU – Coordinator;
• EI – Partner.
• Other organisations involved in the project:
ANOSR, KSU, SRVS, VVS
9. Project Objectives
- Clarify and unfold the true practical meaning of the
SCL concept for policy makers;
- increase the capacity of ESIB/EI members to be
active and constructively critical in the design and
implementation of SCL systems.
10. Main Deliverables/Outputs
• Research reports (desk research and survey)
• SCL Toolkit
• Training on SCL (Pilot training and training session)
• Student-centred learning Conference
• National events - Promoting SCL at the national level
• Quality and Evaluation Reports
• Dissemination of the results
• Developing SCL policy
11. Results and Impact
At the European level, the project will (hopefully!) contribute to a
profound understanding of the SCL concept and the tools and
strategies for successful implementation (training sessions, project
events and the SCL Toolkit);
The academic community will be empowered to start a fruitful
debate on the opportunity, benefits and best approaches to make
SCL a reality;
The spread of existing successful SCL approaches and critical
reflections;
The online availability of the project deliverables will ensure their
usage well beyond the official time frame of T4SCL.
12. Main events
SCL conference – Romania: May 2010
Launching of the desk research report and survey results
100 participants, 4 days
Training of trainers – Malta: June 2010
15 participants from both ESU and EI, 3 days
European training on SCL - Slovakia: September 2010
50 participants from both ESU and EI, 3 days
Stakeholders’ Forum/ ESU ESC 20 - Belgium: October 2010
Main project dissemination and validation event
30 participants from outside of Belgium – both ESU and EI (from
T4SCL budget), 3 days
countribution from the Belgian Presidency
17. Toolkit - Principles of SCL
Principle I: scl requires an Ongoing Reflexive Process.
Principle II: scl does not have a ›One-Size-Fits-All‹ Solution.
Principle III: Students have Different Learning Styles.
Principle IV: Students have Different Needs and Interests.
Principle V: Choice is Central to Effective Learning in scl.
Principle VI: Students have Different Experiences and
Background
Knowledge.
Principle VII: Students should have Control qq Over their
Learning.
Principle VIII: scl is about ›Enabling‹ not ›Telling‹.
Principle IX: Learning needs Cooperation between Students
and Staff.
18. Benefits for Students
• Academic Community
• Learning Motivation
• Independence and Responsibility
• Responding to
Student Needs
19. Benefits for teaching staff
• Facilitation
• Massification and Diversity
• Working Conditions
• Review and Improvement
• Motivation and engagement
20. Institutional and Societal Benefits
• Lower drop-out rates
• Quality Assurance
• Improving and Evaluating
• Lifelong Learning
24. Examples of SCL I
• Romania – Favourite Teacher
▫ National Campaign
▫ Recognition
▫ Focus on the fact that academic staff member had
gone above and beyond what was required
25. Examples of SCL II
• UK and Student-centred Learning
▫ HE Academy
▫ QAA
▫ NUS and local students’ unions
▫ HE Institutions
▫ Government
Tuition fees?
26. Examples of SCL III
• Croatia and Student-centred Learning
▫ SCL not a clear priority previously
▫ Willingness to change, but lack of resources
▫ Some formal policies exist:
Legal regulations on learning
Student representation
QA policy
Lack of substantial change
▫ Who will champion SCL?
27. Moving forward
• Increasing institutional initiative, in order to further change
• Teacher training courses and a change in mindset – focus on
innovative teaching-methods
• Make sure that research does not further erode the student
experience
• Student participation is needed at all relevant levels –
without this there is unlikely to be satisfactory SCL
• Lessening bureaucracy and increasing institutional
understanding of SCL – fear of it
Working together to achieve change!
28. Personal Experiences of SCL
1.Think of the best teaching
experience you have had…
…Did it involved SCL?
If not, do you think it would have
been beneficial?
Seven types of learning instruments here – put your hand up if you haven’t experienced any of these. Okay, now, anyone who has experienced more than two, keep your hand up. Now more than four, more than six, and all of them…in all classes?
t4scl, as a pioneer initiative, aims to assist policy makers in designing sound studentcentred
learning (scl) strategies and approaches and to increase the capacity of student
and staff representative organisations to be active partners in
spreading a culture of scl in higher education institutions across
Europe. The project aims to provide comprehensive insight into
the necessary tools, challenges and success stories of scl as a fundamental
basis for lifelong learning (lll). It also aims to provide
concrete policy input—during and beyond the project lifetime—to
ongoing discussions as to the future of the EU Education & Training Programme and
the next phase of the Bologna Process.
Following on from the initial desk research and survey undertaken with both ei and
esu member organisations (higher education staff unions and national student unions
respectively), published in May 2010, this toolkit is one of the last initiatives, marking
the end phase of the project. It represents a key outcome of the project. This toolkit
follows extensive research and a series of events at both European and national levels,
combined with trainings on the subject-matter.
Figure 1: most salient aspects of the concept of student centred learning, in percentages (only showing the issues receiving a higher than 50 % response rate from any of the two groups).
Most cited examples of existing national policies to promote student centred learning, in percentages.
On the basis of an examination of the theory behind scl and following an intensive
discussion with teachers and students on what they consider scl to be, which took
place at the launching conference of the t4scl Project—Time for a New Paradigm in
Education: Student-Centred Learning—in Bucharest, Romania in May 2010, below is a
list of general principles underlying scl. These principles do not aim to form a comprehensive
picture of what scl is about. Rather they put forward a clearer understanding
and debate about the topic.
The benefits of student-centred learning for the students involved are many and varied. Coming into an academic community possibly for the first time can shape the way students think for the rest of their lives. Student-centred learning provides skills for life, creates independent learners and responds to the changing and differing needs of individual students.
