Spirit of Organization

I came across an interesting paper written by Geeta Bose on the topic of Learner Centered Methodology in education or LCM. In the traditional approach to education, the subject matter dominates. One of the most obvious expressions of this is when a professor feels compelled to cover all the material in his "outline," often oblivious to whether the student is actually learning anything. The LCM approach, on the other hand, focuses on the learner. The learner is the driving force behind the development of the curriculum and its delivery.

Bose recognizes that educators make some effort to take into account the learner by doing an audience analysis, content analysis, and requirements analysis. The problem is, however, that they seldom use the information that is gathered to mold the design of their courses.

I can hear the objections now: "How can a college allow the students to dictate its curriculum?" That very question comes out of the hierarchical view of education that sees the educators as a sort of reservoir of knowledge and the students as empty buckets just needing to be filled. All of us know that no college education can possibly teach everything one needs to know to be successful in the career one has chosen. Educators must select from a virtually limitless array of knowledge and skills a focused learning set that will meet the needs of students today. LCM allows the student's needs to be the determining factor in that selection.

Bose sets forth the basic theory of LCM and also gives a real-life example of how that theory can be put into practice. Her article will be of interest to anyone interested in the field of learning.

Read the full article.