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Why is the Learner-Centered Paradigm so Profoundly Important for Information Systems Education?

1. INTRODUCTION The learner-centered approach(Huba and Freed, 2000) with its emphasis on actively engaging the learner in the educational process and on assessing well-defined educational outcomes, represents a paradigm shift in higher education. The Saulnier et al. paper, found elsewhere in this issue, introduces the learner-centered paradigm and provides a stark contrast between it and the more traditional and dominant teacher-centered paradigm. As a general educational approach, the learner-centered paradigm informs all fields of study. So, why do educators in postsecondary information systems(IS) programs especially need to consider the value of the learner-centered approach? This paper attempts to answer that question. When referring to the paradigm, this paper uses the terms learner-centered and outcomes-based interchangeably, because they are both part and parcel of the same approach. Usually the term learner-centered is used when the emphasis is on issues relating to the student, while the term outcomes-based is used when the emphasis is on the learning outcomes and their assessment. In this remainder of this paper, we look at five major trends and issues that are critically important to postsecondary IS education. For each IS education trend or issue, we discuss the relevance of the learner-centered paradigm and offer one or more propositions to stimulate critical thought among IS educations and to drive future research that synthesizes the learner-centered approach with that IS education area. 2. IS EDUCATION TRENDS AND ISSUES The five key areas for IS education include recruiting and retention of students in information systems programs, the issue of learning in a dynamic field, the prevalence of professional certifications, the presence of a longstanding outcomes-based model curriculum, and the increasingly outcomes-based approach required by accrediting agencies. 2.1 Recruiting and Retention The learner-centered paradigm's emphasis on engaging students and focusing on student success is critical to attracting and retaining students. The recent enrollment declines in computing programs nationally have been a wakeup call to IS programs accustomed to a healthy flow of students motivated by career opportunities. With fewer students, IS programs cannot afford a selective admissions orientation nor survive with courses with low success rates that threaten to further "weed out" students from the program. The learner-centered paradigm challenges us to find a successful approach for all students. Its emphasis is on actively engaging the student in a learning process that promotes student satisfaction and success. The leaner-centered paradigm offers an alternative, by engaging students in the learning process using techniques such as active learning. By exploring rather than listening, and with incremental feedback, students are likely to learn more(Huba and Freed, 2000, p. 153). This concept is analogous to a fundamental tenet of information systems, which has long held that user participation in systems development leads to increased levels of involvement, system acceptance, usage, and satisfaction(Barki and Hartwick, 1994; Baroudi, Olson, and Ives, 1986; Hartwick and Barki, 1994; Hunton and Beeler, 1983) and reduces the potential for user resistance(Markus, 1983). Likewise, a student who is actively engaged is likely to be more involved, successful, and satisfied as a learner. More successful and satisfied learners should increase the rate of retention. Through greater student satisfaction, success, and retention, a program's reputation will improve, leading to increased enrollments both through switching of majors and new recruits from feeder schools through word-of-mouth. Therefore, Proposition 1: Actively engaging learners leads to higher learner satisfaction, success, retention, and increased program enrollments 2. …