Creating and Sustaining Student-Centered Classrooms

A classroom environment is complex.  Instructors balance a multitude of contextual decisions and situational factors.  You, as the instructor, are best able to interpret and respond to these dynamics.

No one pedagogical strategy is a silver bullet.  The focus is on engaging students in their learning.  Using a range of pedagogical strategies is most effective way to do that.  Mix and match them according to your content and your students. 

One goal of the Office for Teaching and Learning is to help instructors find, implement, and assess pedagogical strategies that most closely link to current research on human development and learning.  That helps us focus on pedagogical strategies we know have the potential for the greatest benefit.  This section is designed to get you started thinking about a range of pedagogical strategies that are student-centered and that promote active engagement and learning.