TPC-Journal-V5-Issue3

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 3 387 Limitations of Learner-Centered Pedagogy and Future Research There is a danger in thinking of teacher-centered and learner-centered methods of teaching as dichotomous and discrete. This either-or simplification may be appropriate for generating clear theoretical distinctions, but it is not appropriate for capturing the complex practices of teachers and teaching (Barrett, 2007). It would probably be inaccurate to describe most teachers as being either teacher-centered or learner-centered. In practice, teachers draw on a variety of pedagogical influences, which manifest themselves in a blend of approaches that are unique to that individual (Barrett, 2007). It may be more helpful to conceptualize teacher-centered and learner-centered pedagogy as ideological bookends that exist on a continuum. Thus, an approach to teaching could be considered more teacher- centered or more learner-centered, rather than either teacher-centered or learner-centered. Although some researchers have provided a favorable outlook on learner-centered pedagogy (Vanthournout et al., 2004; Wilson & Fowler, 2005), other researchers have found that students may learn best through teacher-centered approaches (Baeten et al., 2012) or a combination of teacher- centered and learner-centered pedagogical approaches (Baeten et al., 2013). These mixed findings, in conjunction with limited pedagogical research in counselor education, highlight a need for future research to investigate student learner preferences in master’s counseling programs. A fruitful direction for future research would be to explore the perceptions of recent graduates who are now working in professional counseling environments to gain an understanding of what novice counselors perceive as being helpful pedagogical practices during their master’s program. These graduates could offer valuable insight into what teaching practices were most helpful for preparing them for the demands they face working as novice professional counselors. Greater understanding of what pedagogical practices are preferred by students in master’s programs in counselor education, from the perspective of counselor trainees or novice professional counselors, could help educators become more learner- centered by allowing them to tailor their own teaching practices to meet the needs of student learners in their classrooms. Another area of possible research to investigate is how counselor education doctoral students learn to teach. Researchers could review syllabi of college teaching courses to examine how doctoral students are being taught to teach, particularly noting if and how the syllabi reflect a learner-centered or teacher-centered approach. Researchers also could interview counselor education doctoral students and recent graduates to explore ways they learned to be instructors, especially ways that reflect learner- centered or teacher-centered approaches. Learning more about how doctoral students are being taught to teach will illuminate current teaching practices in counselor education at the doctoral level and assist counselor educators to thoughtfully and intentionally examine their beliefs about teaching and make corresponding changes to their courses. Conclusion Counselor educators can benefit from being reflective about our own teaching practices. Thinking about learner-centered pedagogy may be a useful way to reflect on one’s teaching practice and to consider integrating other pedagogical practices into one’s own style of teaching. Although some counselor educators may identify as being either teacher-centered or learner-centered, it is likely that many will see merit in both approaches. It is not necessary for counselor educators to wholly endorse learner-centered pedagogy as their preferred teaching identity in order to infuse learner- centered principles into their teaching. General learner-centered principles compatible with diverse teaching styles and classroom settings include the following: assessing the learning needs and interests