Teaching vs. Learning

The past year I have heard a lot of the movement from teaching to learning, or rather - the change from teaching-centered educations to a proclaimed better learning-center form of education. Until I read Charles Brickman's "Teaching Centered vs. Learning Centered" article I was extremely gung-ho about this movement from a seemingly one-side education from teacher to student to a more collaborative method.

However, my thought now is what the students themselves are doing to accommodate and take advantage of this transition. I know increased emphasis is being placed on student success on standardized tests. But what good is this doing if more and more students are still ill-prepared for college academics? A 2006 USA Today article said only 51% of graduating high school seniors are prepared for college reading demands. To me this sheds light on the thought that today's students are still ill-prepared for critical and analytical thinking requirements.

Here are a few interesting thoughts from Brickman:

The teacher now must facilitate learning in spite of the challenges today’s students bring into the classroom... To overcome these obstacles the teacher must learn what motivates his/her students, what their individual needs are, what their strengths and weaknesses are and what their learning styles are... While we all generally acknowledge that changes in the family unit, values, mores, discipline, abuse and financial hardships are having a significant impact on student academic success, we also realize that many of these issues are outside the control of teachers – yet teachers are being asked to facilitate successful student learning in spite of these issues...

These dynamics may be changing the roles and expectations of teachers – perhaps a paradigm shift is already underway. One thing is certain, our perspective and philosophy must change if we are to be successful. What we’ve done in the past cannot be counted on to work in the present or future. The skill sets, philosophy, and personalities needed by today’s teachers are much different than those of the past.

Must we transition to a “learning centered” philosophy or is it a question of increasing the rate of that transition?