10 Characteristics of Teacher-Centered Instruction

In this post, you will find anything you need to know about teacher-centered instruction and its characteristics.

In Teacher-Centered Instruction, students put all of their focus on the teacher. teachers talk, and the students exclusively listen.

A typical Presentation – Practice – Production (PPP) lesson tends to be teacher-centered, as the teacher leads the activity and provides necessary information.

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10 Teacher-Centered Instruction Characteristics

These are 10 characteristics of teacher-centered instruction

1. The teacher is the center of knowledge and in charge of learning.
2. Students are usually passively receiving information.
3. The instructor’s role is to be the primary information giver and primary evaluator.
4. Students are viewed as “empty vessels” who passively receive knowledge from their teachers.
5. Teachers and professors act as the sole supplier of knowledge, and under the direct instruction model, teachers often utilize systematic, scripted lesson plans.
6. Teacher-Centered Instruction is fairly low-tech, often relying on the use of textbooks and workbooks instead of computers
7. Assessments are in many cases only carried out as summative and not formative evaluations and they rarely address qualitative issues of the learner’s progress.

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Teacher-Centered Instruction Pros and Cons

These are some of the pros and cons of using teacher-centered instruction:

The pros of teacher-centered instruction:

• The classroom remains orderly.
• Students are quiet as the teacher presents new information and leads the activities
• Teachers retain full control of the classroom and its activities.
• The teacher is an effective model of the target language.
• The teacher is an important source of information on how the learners are doing.

The cons of teacher-centered instruction:

• Students don’t learn to collaborate with other students missing opportunities to share what they have learned.
• Students don’t use their communication skills.
• This type of instruction can be boring for students.
• Teacher-centered education doesn’t allow students to express themselves and direct their own learning.
• Students don’t outgrow their dependency on supervising instructors and teachers.
• Teacher-Centered Instruction doesn’t empower learners’ autonomous study skills and subsequently lifelong learning skills.
• Teacher-centered learning most often doesn’t address the importance of open inquiry.

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Common Tasks related to Teacher – Centered Instruction

Here are some common tasks associated with teacher-centered instruction:

Lectures:

• Delivering content through spoken presentations, explaining concepts, providing information, and offering insights.

Demonstrations:

• Showing students how to perform a task or solve a problem, often using visual aids or examples.

Questioning:

• Asking students questions to check for understanding, promote critical thinking, and encourage participation.

Guided Practice:

• Leading students through exercises or activities to reinforce newly acquired knowledge or skills.

Dictation:

• Reading aloud or providing written content for students to transcribe, helping to improve listening and writing skills.

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Interested in learning how to teach English

These are some posts that cover how to teach reading and listening

1. Presentation, Practice, and Production
2. The Stages of a Reading Lesson
3. Pre-Reading Activities
4. While-reading Activities
5. Post-Reading Activities
6. What types of listening are there?
7. Listening for Gist and Detail
8. The context for Listening and Speaking