Volume_5_Issue_3_Digest

9 TPC Digest with greater freedom to explore areas of interest, and strive to help counselor trainees develop how they think (e.g., critically, reflectively, complexly) rather than simply what they think (i.e., memorization of specific content). It may be particularly challenging for counselor educators to incorporate learner-centered teaching strategies into didactic courses that are traditionally heavy in content versus smaller experiential courses such as practicum and internships. We provide a case study to demonstrate how a learner-centered approach may be applied to a traditionally didactic counseling course. The intent of this manuscript is to help counselor educators reflect on teaching practices that can help prepare their students for the demands of working as professional counselors. We believe that incorporating learner-centered teaching approaches in content- oriented courses in counselor education programs can help students develop deeper approaches to their learning, which may increase their capacity for reflection and independent thinking. We believe that it is helpful for counselor educators to consider their teaching practices and to consider learner-centered pedagogy, regardless of what pedagogical approaches they prefer. Learner- centered pedagogy is broad enough that instructors can integrate it with other approaches to teaching. Randall M. Moate, NCC, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas-Tyler. Jane A. Cox, NCC, is an Associate Professor at Kent State University. Correspondence may be addressed to Randall M. Moate, Department of Psychology and Counseling, University of Texas-Tyler, 3900 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75707, randallmoate@gmail.com . For the past decade, there has been a call in higher education for educators to shift from teacher-centered methods of teaching to learner-centered pedagogy. As of yet, learner- centered pedagogy has not been thoroughly addressed in the literature in counselor education. We believe that integrating learner-centered teaching practices into pedagogy can help counselor educators prepare their students for the demands of working as a professional counselor. Students who graduate from master’s counseling programs must have a tolerance for ambiguity and be able to demonstrate independent and reflective thinking when entering the workplace. Counselor education programs prepare students to meet these challenges by teaching students important content knowledge and clinical skills. Content knowledge has traditionally been taught in didactic-oriented courses (e.g., counseling theories, couples counseling, diagnosis, ethics), and clinical skills have been taught in smaller experiential courses (e.g., prepracticum, practicum, internship). Some researchers have suggested that counselor trainees find experiential and applied learning more helpful than acquisition of content knowledge. Thus, counselor trainees may benefit from traditional didactic-oriented courses being taught in a more experiential and applied manner. Experiential and applied learning are two important aspects of learner-centered pedagogy. Instructors who incorporate these aspects diversify didactic-intensive approaches to teaching content-oriented courses. Their use of a learner-centered approach to teaching can help students take deeper approaches to learning. Instructors who use a learner-centered approach encourage students to learn with depth and meaning rather than expecting students to reproduce large amounts of factual information with precision. This type of learning can help counseling students develop the critical and reflective thinking skills required of professional counselors. In contrast to didactic-intensive, teacher-centered methods of instruction, instructors who use learner-centered pedagogy seek to engage students as active participants in their learning experience. Lecture and coverage of course content serve as tools for starting intellectual exploration rather than being the predominant focus in the classroom. Teachers provide students Read full article and references: Moate, R. M., & Cox, J. A. (2015). Learner-centered pedagogy: Considerations for application in a didactic course. The Professional Counselor , 5 , 379–389. doi : 10.15241/rmm.5.3.379 Randall M. Moate Jane A. Cox Learner-Centered Pedagogy Considerations for Application in a Didactic Course