What if…..?
…..our curriculum topics were centered around a big problem that
needed to be solved through collaboration and inquiry?
…..we replaced subject disciplines with “problems/themes/issues”?
….we assessed students based on projects that they created vs. tests
created by others?
……we had more student learning take place outside of the school
classroom (e.g. workplace, online)?
….our students created their own evidence of learning that was used to
make a difference in the real world?

Learner Centeredness does not just take place in Kindergarten Classes;
It is mindset as to how we approach teaching and learning for ALL LEARNERS

ANOTHER
TYPICAL
DAY OF
LEARNING
CALVIN???

Retrieved from “What did you
do in school today?”, Canadian
Education Association, 2009
Grade 9 -12 students
What happens here?
What happens here?

What could RDC do to increase student satisfaction?
•Develop a learning-centered ethos
•Focus on engaged learning
•Focus on developing a sense of community

Today’s Targets:
Moving from the shallow end to the
deep end of the learning pool
1. I will seek to understand what it means
to be a “learner-centered” teacher
2. I will examine the best instructional
design decisions to engage and empower
learners
3. I will determine what learner-centered
is in my role as teacher, and what this
means in today’s classrooms with today’s
students

The Learner
is the Center
What ideas do you
have to build/assess
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
in your curriculum?
How will you design
“TEAMS”, “SIDES” and
COMMUNITY into
your curriculum?
How will you give your
students VOICE and
CHOICE in their learning?
Brent Galloway
Chairperson, Bachelor of Education Program
Red Deer College | 100 College Boulevard |
Red Deer | AB | T4N 5H5
work 403.357-3634 |

A few “personal” caveats about
“learner-centeredness”
 It is not about lowering expectations for students
 It is not about eliminating all learning tasks that students
dislike doing (e.g. exams)
 It is not about less accountability for students
 It is not about being accessible to students 24/7
 It is not “necessarily” about the instructor working harder
than the student
…..but it is about being responsive to the learners’ needs,
involving them in course/classroom decisions, using research-
proven practices to design powerful learning experiences, and
making decisions that are made in the bests interests of our
students.

Curriculum in the 21st Century
What’s
up?
“What is old becomes new again”
Instructional Design in the 21st Century:
What would John Dewey think?

Symbols, Models and Frameworks
of learning and education
 Compare and Contrast
 Finish the sentence:
Colleges/Universities/Schools are like _______________________
because ________________________________________________
Learning is like _______________________because ___________
_______________________________________________________
A symbol of learning/education today is ____________________
because________________________________________________
How would our students complete this exercise?

An Old and Familiar Tune
Or a A New Song
Which song are you singing?
Is it time to change our tune? If so, why?
Learner-Centered education is NOTa new concept

History of Canadian Education
What does the picture tell you?

The Life and Times of
Canadian Education

Compare and Contrast
The 20th Century
Curriculum
The 21st Century
Curriculum

Art
Phys-ed and
Health
Science
Social
Studies
Mathematics
Language
Arts
Music
Curriculum in the 20th Century
The Old Model

Digital and
Technological
Fluency
Communication
Social, Cultural,
Global and
Environmental
Responsibility
Creativity and
Innovation
Critical Thinking,
Problem Solving
and Decision
Making
Collaboration
and Leadership
Lifelong Learning,
Personal
Management and
Well-Being
Curriculum in the 21st Century
The New Model

3Rs x 7Cs = 21st Century Skills
Critical Thinking
Creativity and Innovation
Collaboration/Teamwork and Leadership
Cross-Cultural Understanding
Communication/Media Literacy
Computing/Digital Literacy
Career and Learning Self-Reliance
**(Trilling & Fadel, 21st Century Skills)

Curriculum:
The Future, You and Your Students
 What kind of curriculum experience will
you design?
 Will your curriculum address the issues,
problems and critical themes of today?
 Will your curriculum plan inspire,
motivate, and engage students?
 Will your curriculum allow for
collaboration?
 Will your curriculum meet the needs of
the 21st century learner?
 Will your curriculum demonstrate
creativity and innovation in teaching and
learning?
What is engaged learning?
Not sure? Just ask the students?

Me – in grade 2
Powerful learning is learning
that lasts a lifetime.
What do you remember about
your education?

Me – in grade 4

Me – in grade 6

The Engaged Learner…
Drawing Exercise:
Draw a time when you were highly engaged as a learner, and still
remember to this day. What did it look like? What did it sound like?

“’At risk’ students are those who leave school before or after
graduation with little possibility of continuing learning”
***Roland Barth

TEAMS:
Together Everyone Achieves More Success

S
I
D
E
S
Strategic
Instructional
Design to
Engage
Students
Tate
Marzano
Bennett
Silver
FLOW
=
Engagement

20 Instructional Strategies To Engage the Learner
Graphic Organizers
Writing and Reflection
Brainstorming
Field Trips
Debates
Visuals
Movement
Humor and Celebration
Music, Rhythm, Rhyme & Rap
Cooperative Learning
Problem Based Learning
Role play/Drama/Charades
Summarizing and Note-making
Technology
Visualization
Games
Storytelling
Manipulatives/Models
Mnemonic Devices
Drawing and Artwork
By Marcia Tate

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, Flow: The Optimal Experience
F
L
O
W

Project-based Learning Inquiry Learning
Problem-based Learning Service Learning
Self-directed Learning Differentiated Learning

Constructivism requires us to give up control and
share it with the students

A “Better”Model
Instructor Student
Instructor
Student New Model

Turn and Talk for Two
 What is role of my students? What is my role as a teacher?
 Which instructional strategies will help my students
direct/control their own meanings and their own learning?
 How will I assess this “constructed learning” (tests, projects,
service learning, presentations, final exams)
 How else can I give control/ownership to students in my
courses? How can I empower them? How can I capture their
voice?
 What are the challenges in giving up control?
 How am I a “Learner-Centered” teacher?
 How am I NOT a “Learner-Centered” teacher?

Are we teachers?
 Determining the learning destination
 Creating questions that foster inquiry
 Designing units, backwards
 Determining assessment evidence
 Recognizing the benefits of performance criteria
or are we designers?
Architects of instruction?
Facilitators of learning?

We Swim Together, or We Sink Together
“
JUMP IN – The water’s fine, and so is the learning

Resources:
 21st Century Skills by Bernie Trilling & Charles Fader
 Better Learning Through Structured Teaching by Douglas
Fisher & Nancy Frey
 Beyond Monet by Barrie Bennett & Carol Rolheiser
 Classroom Instruction That Works by Robert Marzano,
Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock
 Never Work Harder Than Your Students by Robyn Jackson
 Sit and Get Won’t Grow Dendrites: Professional Learning
Strategies to Engage the Adult Brain by Marcia Tate
 The Strategic Teacher by Harvey Silver, Richard Strong, &
Matthew Perini