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The following list is based on the work of Weimer (2002), a national authority on the subject.
- Shared power between instructors and students—This prevents teaching from becoming too authoritarian and empowers students to become more involved in the learning process.
- Course content as the means to knowledge and not its end—This element is about the relationship between learners, instructional activities, and content. According to contemporary learning theories of constructivism, individuals learn best when they construct knowledge by gathering and synthesizing information collaboratively with their instructors and peers, rather than passively receiving it from instructors or textbooks.
- Role of the teacher as facilitator—The instructor's role strategically changes from being a "sage on the stage" to that of a "guide on the side." In other words, the instructor coaches students to become actively involved in the learning process by exploring content, thinking about it critically, relating it to their existing knowledge, and even challenging it based on what they already know.
- Shifting the responsibility for learning—Students can and should assume responsibility for what they get out of a learning experience. This encourages them to become motivated, independent, and self-directed, thus facilitating lifelong learning, essential for ongoing professional development beyond a college education.
- Using evaluation to promote learning—Students' learning in a course is directly related to how and on what they are being evaluated. Therefore, evaluation methods are closely related to learning outcomes.
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