A COMPARISON OF LEARNER-CENTERED

APPLICATIONS IN OMAN AND OTHER COUNTRIES

Vicky FrankPresidentSeward Inc.

WHAT ARE THE TRENDS IN USING STUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING

METHODOLOGIES, AND HOW DO THESE COMPARE WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF WORKSHOP

ATTENDEES?

Educator Google GroupsICT Education: Those interested in the use of ICT in education development and reform around the globe with special attention to North Africa and the Middle East.

WikiEducator Teacher Collaboration Forum: This discussion forum is intended to be used as platform for Teachers around the World to openly share ideas, good practices, develop content and hold workshops for the benefit of students around the world and themselves.

Educator LinkedIn GroupsROLE: Establishes an (e-)learning community interested in Responsive Open Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) that focus on the learner.

Technology Integration in Education: A social networking group for educators and professionals to network together in order to discuss ways in which technology can be seamlessly integrated into the education of students in grades K-College.

iNACOL: The International Association for K-12 Online Learning

Teacher Forums (Teachers.net) Twitter (Followed educators/groups)

Facebook Groups (Tech in Sp Ed) Email Lists

SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER ONLINE TOOLS

USAOman

IranSouth Africa

New ZealandNigeriaCanadaUganda

NetherlandsThe GambiaSouth Korea

SingaporeScotlandPalestinePakistanNamibia

MoroccoMalaysia

KenyaGuyana

GermanyChinaBrazil

BarbadosAustralia

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

62

46

5

4

3

3

2

2

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

25 Countries157 Respondents

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 380

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

5

7

4

2

7

6

5

12

8

19

3

5

6

1

8

2 2

1 1

8

6

0

2

4

5

3

2 2

0

9

1 1

2 2

1 1 1 1

Average = 15 Years

YEARS TEACHING

LEVEL TAUGHT BY SUBJECT

2

71

7

1520

4 4

13

Post-Secondary LevelMath

Science

Music

Business

Education

English

Technology

Nursing

Other76

2 3

41

3

11

Elementary Level

Math Science

Special Education Music

English Other

23

1

3

4

Other Level (Adult Ed)

MathEnglishOther

8

5

2 1

17

14

Secondary Level

Math

Science

Special Education

English/EFL

Other

41

All 148

HOW ARE YOU TEACHING NOW?

Oman 46

India 11

US 6250.9%

South Africa 4

Nigeria 3

Iran 5

Uganda 2

HOW ARE YOU TEACHING NOW?

New Zealand 3

All 147

HAVE YOU HAD GRADUATE WORK OR PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT IN WRITING/TEACHING ONLINE? US: 59%

Oman: 65%

India: 60%

Iran: 0%

South Africa:25%

New Zealand:67%

Nigeria: 100%

Uganda: 50%

Canada: 100%

Other: 62%

Yes

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

NoUS: 41%

Oman: 35%

India: 40%

Iran: 100%

South Africa:75%

New Zealand:33%

Nigeria: 0%

Uganda: 50%

Canada: 0%

Other: 38%

HAVE YOU HAD GRADUATE WORK OR PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT IN WRITING/TEACHING ONLINE?

DID YOU LEARN STUDENT-CENTERED METHODS IN PRE-SERVICE TEACHING?

US: 58% Yes 42% No

Oman: 61% Yes 39% NoIndia: 73% Yes 27% NoIran: 40% Yes

60% No

South Africa: 75% Yes 25% No

New Zealand: 67% Yes 33% No

Nigeria: 100% Yes 0% No

Uganda: 0% Yes 100% No

Canada: 50% Yes 50% No

Other: 47% Yes 53% No

Canada:

Nigeria:

Iran:

Oman:

US:

Other:

Uganda:

South Africa:

New Zealand:

India:

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

EasierHarderAbout the Same

IS STUDENT-CENTERED TEACHING EASIER OR HARDER THAN TEACHER-CENTERED TEACHING?

ARE YOU USING STUDENT-CENTERED PRACTICES IN YOUR TEACHING?

US: 94% Yes 6% No

Oman: 82% Yes 18% No

India: 91% Yes 9% NoIran: 100% Yes 0% No

South Africa: 100% Yes 0% No

New Zealand: 67% Yes 33% No

Nigeria: 100% Yes 0% No

Uganda: 100% Yes 0% No

Canada: 100% Yes 0% No

Other: 100% Yes 0% No

WHY DID YOU ADOPT A STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING APPROACH?

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0%

69%

36%

38%

23%

It is a better fit for teaching my subject.

Other

To improve practical problem solving and critical thinking.

Technology has made student-centered methods easier to implement.

Any other approach really doesn't work--they can't learn if it's all about you.

It is a more natural way to teach...as it follows the children's interest.

To provide students an opportunity to develop their own interests, provided [the learning] lies within the curricular sphere.

Student-centered is better suited to online.

Research shows students learn more with SCT.

WHY DID YOU ADOPT A STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING APPROACH?

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0%

69%

36%

38%

23%

It is a better fit for teaching my subject.

Other

To improve practical problem solving and critical thinking.

Technology has made student-centered methods easier to implement.

It's the need of this era.

It is very effective; motivating; interesting; easy for the teacher, etc.

To develop students all around. It also builds their confidence and ability to construct and transfer knowledge.

It fits my beliefs about teaching and learning and it suits my personal style.

Self directed approach provides motivation in learning.

It fits my teaching philosophy and teaching style.

WHY DID YOU ADOPT A STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING APPROACH?

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0%

69%

36%

38%

23%

It is a better fit for teaching my subject.

Other

To improve practical problem solving and critical thinking.

Technology has made student-centered methods easier to implement.

Requested by superior (Head of Department)

WHAT BARRIERS HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED TO SCL?

27%

26%24%

23%

Requires course redesignStudents are not prepared for itTakes more time to teachHard to cover all the content

110/157

WHAT METHODOLOGIES ARE YOU USING TO HELP STUDENTS SUCCEED?

Laptops

Wikis/Discussion Forums

Games

Blogs

Social media content (YouTube, SlideShare, Flickr)

Synchronous online communication (e.g., chat, Twitter, IM, text)

Lecture capture and replay

e-Portfolio

Widgets (calculators, math simulations, science experiments)

Social media communities (ELGG, Facebook, MySpace, Ning, LinkedIn)

Podcast

Mobile devices

Virtual worlds (Second Life, ActiveWorlds)

0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 45.0% 50.0%

114/157

110 respondents answered this question.

DO STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING APPROACHES LEAD TO IMPROVED STUDENT PERFORMANCE?

Yes

WHAT BENEFITS HAVE YOU OBSERVED?

Greater conceptual understanding

Greater student confidence

More complex critical-thinking skills

Better motivation for further learning

Better problem solving abilities

Better transfer of knowledge to other situations

Better retention

Better class attendance

More independence in lab settings

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0%111/157

Lack of technology access/skill

Takes more time to teach

Hard to cover all the content

Student resistance

Requires course redesign

Students are not prepared for it

Don't like change in teacher's role

Firewalls and other technical obstacles

Loss of teacher authority

Student-centered approaches don't lead to improvements in student performance.

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0%

WHY AREN’T YOU USING STUDENT-CENTERED PRACTICES IN YOUR TEACHING?

8 Oman

3 USA

1 India

1 New Zealand

13/157

WILL YOU USE STUDENT-CENTERED PRACTICES IN FUTURE TEACHING?

Yes No Maybe0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

38.5%

7.7%

53.8%

13/157

8 Oman

3 USA

1 India

1 New Zealand

8/157

WILL YOU USE STUDENT-CENTERED PRACTICES IN FUTURE TEACHING?

13/157

Yes No Maybe0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

25%

0%

75%

8/157

FUTURE OF THIS SURVEY

Survey is currently active at www.surveymonkey.com/s/student-centered

To receive complete set of results and/or list of groups and forums, email vfrank@sewardinc.com

This presentation will be available on SlideShare or by request

THANK YOU!