Congratulations, Mary Yelken! You’re the winner of "The Learner-Centered Classroom" giveaway! Thank you to everyone who submitted responses!

I accidentally discovered instructional systems design (ISD) in graduate school when I enrolled in a required course for a teacher education program. During the course— University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s EDUC602, with my still-mentor and now-colleague, Chuck Hodell—I discovered that as much as I thought I wanted to be a teacher, what I really wanted to do was help people perform better at work, and to use learning as a lever for organizational improvement.

That’s not something I could have known prior to stumbling upon ISD, but I am glad I realized it as early in my career as I did. Since that fateful semester in Spring 2001, I have passionately dedicated my career to ISD in an interminable pursuit of betterment.

I love design; I see it everywhere I look, and the privilege of building a career around something that I adore is not lost on me. ISD challenges me to be better, get better, develop more, and stretch my thinking. I’m constantly growing as a designer, and perhaps one of the most surprising paths I have walked is from designer to instructor.

When I was first asked to teach, I arrogantly accepted the offer. After all, how difficult could it be to teach ISD? It was an art and a science that I practiced every single day. Teaching would be easy.

But when I look back on my first semester as a college professor, I cringe. I wish I could find every one of those students and give them a full refund on their tuition. My subject matter expertise gave me a false sense of security, blinded me to my shortcomings, and distracted me from the true task at hand. Perhaps those students learned, but if they did, it wasn’t because of my flawless instruction!

I have met many colleagues and peers in similar situations. Their subject matter expertise earned them an invitation to teach, and they accepted—either with brazen confidence or knee-knocking trepidation. We all struggle with knowing where to begin, whether it’s for a full college semester or an hour of instruction in a breakout session at a conference. In consulting with those who find themselves in this situation, and through years of practice and reflection on my own instruction, I have developed a framework that helps me help others reframe their classrooms.

Rather than approaching the classroom from our own perspectives, as instructors, I recommend approaching the classroom from the perspective of the learner. Prioritize the learner experience over the instructor experience so that relationships become the centerpiece of the classroom. Then, you can promote learning by focusing on the relationships that are most important to the learner.

There are four primary relationships in a learner-centered classroom: 

1. the learner-to-instructor relationship 

2. the learner-to-content relationship 

3. the learner-to-learner relationship 

4. the learner-to-self relationship.

Approaching the classroom as a network of relationships is a helpful framework for new or veteran instructors because relationships are central to the human condition. We all understand relationships and what it means to have connections with other people and other things. We have relationships, of one kind or another, with everyone we meet.

For subject matter experts concerned about leading a classroom full of learners for the first time, framing the experience as a series of inter-relationships makes it more familiar and accessible. For the veteran instructor, using this approach may highlight an opportunity to introduce, or strengthen, one of the relationships within existing learning events.

I recommend reading the full TD at Work, “The Learner-Centered Classroom,” if you’re interested in learning more about the techniques or instructional methods that can be used to develop each of these relationships in your learner-centered classroom. To look inside the issue, click here. 

What are some ways that you can build positive relationships with learners?

For a chance to win a copy of the August 2014 TD at Work (formerly Infoline), "The Learner-Centered Classroom," answer the above question in the comments section below. If you prefer to email your response, please send it to [email protected]. To be eligible to win, your comment must be received by 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 2 and include an email address where you can be reached.  After reviewing the comments and emails received, I will select a winner and announce the winner in this post by Wednesday, September 10.