Back from “guide on the side” to “sage on the stage”? Effects of teacher-guided and student-activating teaching methods on student learning in higher education

• Published in: International journal of educational research 2019, Vol.95, p.26-35
• Main Authors: Fischer, Elisabeth, Hänze, Martin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Constructivist learning theories; Higher education; Student-activating teaching methods; Teacher-guided teaching methods
• ISSN: 0883-0355; 1873-538X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2019.03.001

[Display omitted] •Student-activating methods are claimed to enhance student learning and motivation.•Our study with 80 university courses and 1713 students challenges this statement.•Cognitive involvement and learning outcomes increased with teacher-guided methods.•Student-activating methods tended to have negative effects.•The analyses endorse cognitive involvement as a mediator for learning outcomes. This field study compares the effectiveness of teacher-guided and student-activating teaching methods. Expert observations of 80 university courses were combined with self-report data from 1713 students attending the courses. Controlling for students’ initial interest on the individual level and for course format, homework, and initial interest on the course level, two-level path analyses with the amount of teacher-guided and student-activating methods as predictors, and students’ final interest, subjective learning achievement, and perceived development of academic competencies as criteria – all mediated by the students’ cognitive involvement – revealed opposing effects of the two methods. Teacher-guided methods were associated with an increase in students’ cognitive involvement, interest, learning achievement, and development of academic competencies, whereas student-activating methods tended to show negative effects.