Learner-Centered Instruction: Building Relationships for Student Success

Shows teachers how to foster positive characteristics of engagement in their students

Learner-Centered Instruction: Building Relationships for Student Success covers teaching methods, classroom management strategies, and ways to engage students and support their success. Authors Jeffrey H. D. Cornelius-White and Adam P. Harbaugh show K-12 teachers how to use the learner-centered instruction model to develop teacher-student relationships, as well as relationships with parents, administrators, other teachers, and professional organizations.

Focusing on teaching as facilitation applied through warmth, trust, empathy, and realness, Learner-Centered Instruction shows teachers how to share control and choice in classroom management through a balance of influence and cooperation. Well-grounded in research and theory, this book emphasizes encouragement, challenge, and adaptation for differentiated instruction through methods such as inquiry, cooperative small group learning, and authentic, relevant endeavors.

Key Features and Benefits

• Includes chapter-opening "Reflect on Your Experiences" questions that invite readers to connect to prior knowledge, understanding, and experiences
• Incorporates "Case Studies" that connect readers to realistic classroom and teaching scenarios, followed by related "Reflection" questions that ask readers to consider practical applications of the cases discussed
• Helps readers develop their understanding through skill-building exercises, visual aids, discussion questions, and suggested resources

Jeffrey H. D. Cornelius-White, Psy.D., LPC, is Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling, Leadership and Special Education, Provost’s Fellow for Teaching and Learning, at Missouri State University in Springfield, and Adjunct Assistant Professor for the Cooperative Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is Chair of the Board of the World Association for Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapy and Counseling, Co-Editor of The Person-Centered Journal, Content Editor of the Journal of Border Educational Research, and co-editor of the 2008 book with PCCS entitled: Facilitating Young People’s Development: International perspectives on person-centered theory and practice. He has also been a Dean’s Fellow, Service-Learning Fellow and Program Director for School Counseling at MSU. His 50 publications have been mostly concerned with person-centered and social justice issues in education, psychology, and counseling. Jef is the father of two children, Evan and Avery, and partner to his wife Cecily. He enjoys biking, swimming, reading, and playing with his kids.

Adam P. Harbaugh is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the Department of Middle, Secondary, and K-12 Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He primarily teaches middle and secondary methods courses. Adam holds a Master’s and Ph.D. Degree in curriculum and instruction and Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in mathematics. Adam is also a certified middle grades and secondary mathematics teacher with experience in middle- and high-school mathematics classrooms. Adam’s publications and research interest are centered on supporting teachers′ effective use of communications, problem solving, and technology in their mathematics classrooms. He is an Associate Editor of School, Science, and Mathematics Journal. Adam is the father of two children, Sarah and Jackson, and partner to his wife Rebecca. He enjoys running, photography, racquetball, and spending time with his family.