Applying Learner-Centered Principles to middle school education

Theory Into Practice, Spring, 2003 by Judith L. Meece

Support for the LCPs in middle school classrooms

As discussed previously, young adolescents need classroom environments that afford opportunities to develop their cognitive abilities and competence, to gain independence and autonomy, and to connect positively with adults and peers. Rather than focusing exclusively on the motivational or social climate of classrooms, the Learner-Center Model takes a more holistic approach (McCombs & Whisler, 1997). It includes strategies for promoting high academic achievement as well as off-setting problems of alienation, disengagement, and emotional distress.

I was fortunate to participate in the development and validation of the Assessment of Learner-Center Practices (ALCP) surveys. The validation sample included 109 teachers and 2,200 students from middle schools in urban, suburban, and rural communities across the United States. More than 80% of the teachers were White, and just over half were women. Forty percent of the teachers had 16 or more years of teaching experience, and a majority taught either science or mathematics.

Both teachers and students completed surveys to assess the use of learner-centered teaching practices in the classroom (for description of assessment instruments, see McCombs & Whisler, 1997). For the purposes of the validation study, three goal orientations were included based on my prior research (Meece et al., 1988; Meece & Miller, 2001):

1. mastery goals, defined as a desire to improve one's ability, to master a skill, and to understand learning material;

2. performance goals, defined as a desire to demonstrate high ability and to outperform others; and

3. work-avoidance goals, defined as a desire to complete tasks with a minimum of effort. This third goal measure was included to assess academic disengagement.

To validate findings related to the influence of goals on other measures of motivation and learning, the study also included rating scales to assess students' academic efficacy and level of cognitive engagement in schoolwork (active vs. superficial). Teachers were asked to rate each students' classroom performance. In addition, information was also collected on teacher demographic characteristics, such as certification level, teaching experience, and gender.

The analyses revealed several interesting findings for middle school educators. Both teachers' and students' ratings of learner-centered practices were correlated with measures of student motivation and achievement, but patterns of relations were stronger for student ratings. Only teachers' reported support for higher order thinking showed a positive relation to student outcomes. In contrast, students' ratings on all dimensions of learner-centered practices (e.g., honoring student voices, caring and respecting students, promoting higher order thinking, and adapting to individual and development differences) were positively related to student motivation and achievement. Of interest was the differential relation of learner-centered practices to students' achievement goals. Each learner-centered dimension was positively associated with students' mastery goal ratings, with correlations ranging from .42 to .52. Positive relations were also found for students' ratings of their performance goals, with correlations ranging from .16 to .21. In contrast, students' work-avoidant goals and learner-centered perceptions were negatively correlated (r's = -.02 to -.07). Thus, learner-centered practices appear to have the strongest positive relation to students' mastery goals. Consistent with motivation research, mastery goals related positively to students' ratings of academic self-efficacy (r = .60) and active engagement in learning activities (r = .77), as well as teachers' ratings of classroom performance (r = .15).