Reflection point – Oluwafunmilayo Olalusi

My own experience of education - To what extent was it learner-centred?

 In my primary and secondary school days, education was not learner centred because teachers were teaching and not facilitating. They thought by writing on the board and we just had to accept what they taught and wrote as the gospel truth without any challenge from any student. In fact, no student would dare challenge any teacher.

The situation improved a bit with a mixture of teacher-centred and learner-centred in the university. Assignments were given to prod the knowledge of students on any topic. Answers were discussed and the lecturer still had the final say.

My  evidence that my teachers held (or did not hold) the following values:

Valuing all individuals and the experiences they brought to the classroom/Believing all children can learn given the right support: In my first year in the university, in the Mathematics Department, the first lecturer that taught my class had already pre-determined the percentage of students that should pass the course. This nullified these values.

Valuing a range of skills and competencies: Yes, to some extents, students were spotted out as genius

The lecturers saw themselves as a facilitator of learning but not as a learner themselves because they believed they were more knowledgeable than us the students, hence they believed and behaved as though there was nothing to learn from us.