Who Learns Better: Teacher or Student in Charge?

A Level 4 English lesson exploring education.

educationrelative clauses

What's in this lesson

A Level 4 (upper intermediate) ESL lesson on education, practising relative clauses. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.

From the reading: Who Learns Better: Teacher or Student in Charge?

In 2023, a meta-analysis of 300 studies involving more than 80,000 students found that student-centred classrooms produced, on average, 23% better long-term retention than traditional teacher-led ones. That single figure has reignited a debate that has been running through pedagogy for more than half a century. On one side stand direct instruction advocates, who argue that structured teaching is the most reliable way to build foundational knowledge. On the other stand inquiry-based learning researchers, whose evidence consistently shows that students who set a task for themselves remember far more than those who passively receive information.

Vocabulary

student-centred
pedagogy
set a task
curriculum
standardised testing
assess progress
attainment gap
rote learning
catch up on
benchmark

Grammar: Relative Clauses

Non-defining: form: John Hattie, who compiled 1,400 studies, changed how teachers think. — commas required; adds extra info
which / whose: The Ontario trial, which involved 14,000 students, ran for one year. — use which for things, never that

Discussion questions

Have you noticed that some subjects felt easy to memorise but impossible to apply later?
Why do you think some students thrive when given freedom and others struggle with it?
Do you remember a lesson where you discovered the answer yourself — how did that feel?

Who Learns Better: Teacher or Student in Charge?

Grammar: Relative Clauses

What's in this lesson:

Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.

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