This month I read Maryellen Weimer’s Learner-centered teaching; Five key changes to practice (2013). This book is one of the foundational texts in teaching and learning and came to me strongly recommended by my supervisor and colleague, who both said they felt they could sit down and read it cover to cover it was so good. I really liked Weimer’s first-person narrative in terms of sharing her thoughts and stories from her teaching in her own voice. I found this style and tone similar to Brookfield (2015).  

The five key changes that Weimer covers in her book are: 

  1. The role of the teacher. 
  1. The balance of power. 
  1. The function of content. 
  1. The responsibility for learning. 
  1. The purpose and processes of evaluation. 

My experience reading this book is that I did not find any earth-shattering ideas, but it was an excellent review of some key components of teaching and learning when it comes to shifting power, engaging students, and increasing learning. I think my experience reading this book would have been quite different if I read it one year ago, closer to the start of my studies in the PIDP program and before I started working at a centre for teaching and learning. When I think back to that time and I was first accessing some of these ideas through my courses and other texts I really felt like my mind was being blown in terms of being exposed to whole new positive possibilities for teaching and connecting with students in ways that are better aligned with who I am as a person. I think if I had read the book at that time it would really have blown the socks off my feet. Now I’m in the stage of trying a lot of these ideas out as an instructor and exploring them as a faculty developer, so I’m accessing the book from a different perspective. I still consider myself very much a novice and early in my learning journey so I really appreciated the time to read this foundational text and become familiar with Weimer’s ideas to add them to my foundation as a Faculty Developer. The parts about collaborative learning really stood out for me and have been helpful for my courses this semester where there is a lot of collaborative, team-based, and small-group work happening. 

Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The skillful teacher: On technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom, 3rd Ed. Jossey-Bass. 

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-centered teaching; Five key changes to practice, 2nd Ed. Jossey-Bass. 

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