Currently, when it comes to deepening the reform of higher education teaching and improving the quality of talent cultivation, the concept of "student-centered" education is often mentioned. However, many teachers, students, and education workers are not very clear about what the essence of "student-centeredness" is and how to truly achieve it.
In fact, as early as 1998, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization proposed a new perspective and model for higher education, emphasizing the need to shift towards a "student-centered" approach. It suggested that international higher education decision-makers should focus on students and their needs, considering students as the main participants in educational reform.
The essence of "student-centered" under this concept is clear:
Firstly, it emphasizes paying attention to students' needs, not just focusing on the ideas of the supply side, but also considering the attitudes of the demand side. Secondly, it aims to make students the main participants in educational reform. This participation does not merely involve students participating in evaluations or modifying courses according to their preferences, but rather allowing students to participate as protagonists throughout the entire process of educational reform, including teaching activities, educational management, resource allocation, school administration, school culture, and even involvement in the social environment.
In summary, "student-centered" education emphasizes de-emphasizing the role of schools and teachers, providing resources to students during the teaching process, giving students maximum autonomy in the use of various resources, and respecting students' choices and personal preferences as much as possible.
In contrast to the aforementioned requirements, we find that Chinese higher education has long been dominated by a mass-oriented talent cultivation model, with the curriculum settings for various majors being basically consistent and neglecting personalized student development, which is still far from the requirements of "student-centeredness."
Considering that the curriculum largely determines the goals of talent cultivation and the knowledge and skill structure of students, let's use the curriculum as an example to illustrate the shortcomings in "student-centered" education:
Firstly, students have limited freedom to choose courses. Objectively, due to the large number of required courses and the difficulty in providing flexible training programs for students in various majors, students must complete all required courses specified in the training plan before they can develop their interests through elective courses. By the time students complete these required courses, they often have little energy left to develop their interests.
Secondly, there is limited scope for students to decide on the content of course assignments. This problem mainly exists in STEM majors. Although many course assignments adopt forms such as group projects to encourage student collaboration, the fact that the assignment topics are proposed by teachers and then completed by students in collaboration limits students to passive acceptance of tasks, rather than allowing them to explore based on their own intellectual strengths and interests.
Thirdly, there are few forms to reflect students' course learning outcomes. Currently, students' course grades mostly appear in the form of scores, generally based on the weighted assessment of homework and exam scores. To facilitate grading, despite the diversity of course content and teaching methods, course assignments and exam formats often remain singular in textual expression, and evaluation is mainly carried out by school teachers. Students' individual talents, interests, etc., are not fully showcased.
In my view, being "student-centered" fundamentally means placing students' demands and interests at the core and maximizing students' autonomy in exploratory and innovative thinking.
Firstly, it involves guiding students to choose their development direction according to their own interests. With the rapid expansion of knowledge in human society, disciplines have become highly differentiated and integrated. University majors represent the "broad caliber" direction, while students need to focus on the "narrow caliber" direction within the framework of mastering basic knowledge and professional skills. This is the best way to cultivate outstanding innovative talents and highly specialized talents in professional fields.
As students delve deeper into their major studies, they will increasingly perceive their preferences for certain "narrow caliber" disciplinary directions, which are quite valuable. Each student's intellectual structure also has its own emphasis. For example, some students enjoy theoretical research but are not good at hands-on practice, while others excel in practical skills but struggle with theoretical memorization and written expression. In short, universities should help students recognize their own professional interests, preferences, and strengths through various forms, enabling them to cultivate themselves in the most suitable direction until they bloom and bear fruit.
Secondly, it entails encouraging students to participate in the formulation of personalized training plans. Schools should allow students to actively participate in designing their own academic and career goals to keep pace with their actions.
Firstly, based on students' development intentions, schools can recommend career planning. For example, they can suggest that students interested in theoretical research pursue academic development, while encouraging those inclined towards practical work to focus on technological development and application. At the same time, schools should inform students of the intellectual structures and quality requirements needed for different development directions.
Secondly, schools should allow students to jointly discuss their course learning plans with their academic advisors, which is crucial for determining how far students can go. Students should be allowed to reasonably and legally choose courses both within and outside the university, even courses from foreign universities. This will be a significant challenge for the student education management of domestic universities and is the core link of being "student-centered."
Finally, schools should fully utilize their resources to create a professional community composed of peers with common interests, alumni, mentors, and potential employers, providing students with opportunities for exploration and communication within the community, thereby helping students continuously clarify their future goals and action plans.
Thirdly, schools should provide students with the necessary training resources for personalized development as much as possible. The value of school education lies in providing students with the educational support they need to succeed, which requires all relevant departments of the school to take action. For example, being "student-centered" will impose new requirements on teachers to guide students, prompting teachers to reallocate their time and energy. Universities need to reassess the standards of teacher success from the perspective of institutional culture and clarify the incentives for teachers.
In addition, schools can engage industry professionals and teachers in collaborative efforts to cultivate professional talent. Leveraging the industry's understanding of practical technical standards, product requirements, case studies, and on-site production environments, they can design teaching facilities and platforms tailored to these needs. This collaborative approach helps to establish a socially recognized higher education system endorsed by the industry. Furthermore, schools should actively facilitate connections for students to participate in external internships and other projects.
