From as early as the school was established in China, teachers dominated the entire classroom, students just have to receive and imbibe what teachers taught in class and any kind of challenge or doubt was discouraged and dampened. The results were independent thinking has been hampered; the spirit to doubt and argue has been impeded. In such atmosphere, no dare to challenge the authority. Pundit or expert means standard. In a circumstance like this, if we want to better our education and to install a productive atmosphere in classroom, we must oppose this teacher-centered lecture format and build up a student-centered one.
Why, you may wonder, should students center the classroom? Firstly, knowledge counts only when the receiver thoroughly absorbed it and the teacher-centered lecture format definitely hindered the procedure. In teacher-centered lecture format, teachers may offer some formula and solutions for mathematic problem or some facts and events in history, but that only means the students truly understand the knowledge the received. When they encounter a new problem or phenomenon, they have no idea to solve it or explain the cause and effect of it.
In student-centered lecture format, teachers only have to offer some cases and guidance lead to solution, the students, on the other hand, under the guiding from teacher, equipped by what they have learned, find out definite solution themselves and truly acquired what teachers want them to know in the process.
Secondly, teaching is learning. This means teachers have to update knowledge themselves in order to offer fresh nutrition for the younger mind. Being challenged and argued is the best way to spark new idea and thinking. To keep knowledge fresh is to keep it alive. Furthermore, in teacher-centered lecture format, students feel bored and passive; while in student-centered lecture format, boredom and passiveness are gone, students act actively and concentratedly because they have to join the discussion or to answer question raised by teachers or their peers. Thus, the classroom atmosphere improves.
Overall, the teacher-centered lecture format is outdated, for it discourages independent thinking and doubt; the student-centered lecture format is productive and agreeable, for it welcomes challenge and opens the door for true knowledge.
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