LCE is not just a set of teaching approaches. Research and practice over recent years (Schweisfurth, 2013; O’Sullivan, 2004; Vavrus, 2009, 2011) has shown that it is better conceptualised as a set of attitudes and values towards classroom relationships, learning and teaching.

But attitudes and values are never clear-cut. One way to think about learner-centredness is as being between two extremes.

_{Teacher in classroom in Zambia}

Activity 1.2: How learner-centred are you? (Part 1) Being learner-centred is about moving further towards the right in the graphic below. Classroom relationships Authoritarian Democratic (Authoritarian: a teacher who does not listen to learners, makes a plan and does not adapt it to what their learners need. Democratic: a teacher who includes all learners in the lesson.) Learning Intelligence is fixed at birth All learners can learn with the right support Teaching Teacher as sole expertTeacher as facilitator of learning Think about your own classroom. Where do you place yourself on the line for classroom relationships, learning and teaching? What would you need to do to move further to the right?

A ‘democratic’ teacher listens to their learners and takes account of their interests, opinions and experience. They are likely to negotiate appropriate ways to behave by, for example, getting the class to agree a set of classroom rules.

In order to help all learners to learn, teachers need to know their learners as well as they can. In a large class this is challenging, but by using the approaches in these training resources, over time you will come to know your learners better – even in a large class. Teachers in Zambia told us that when they used more pair work and thought more carefully about their questioning, the ‘shy’ and ‘slow’ learners often surprised them.

A teacher who acts as a facilitator of learning recognises that the learners will bring talents and experiences of their own to the classroom. The teacher knows the curriculum but can also learn a great deal from their students.

A learner-centred teacher:

1. takes account of the needs of all learners
2. takes account of what learners already know
3. believes that all learners can learn given the right support
4. plans lessons carefully but is flexible when required
5. plans engaging activities which support learning
6. encourages learners to talk about their ideas
7. relates learning to everyday life
8. adopts a variety of teaching approaches
9. provides the opportunity to learn knowledge, skills and values.

The sort of activities being advocated in these resources will help you to understand how these attitudes and values can make classrooms more engaging and learning more effective.