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Conference: "From Teacher-Centered to Student-Centered Teaching: The Transformation of the European University"

April 1, 2009
On April 1, the lecture “From Teacher-Centered to Student-Centered Teaching: The Transformation of the European University,” presented by Dr. Joaquín Gairín of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, took place in the Auditorium of the School of Communication and Design. The event was organized by the Institute of Education.

Gairín holds a Ph.D. in Educational Sciences and a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Psychology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). He is a professor and researcher in the Department of Applied Education at the UAB and at the University of Deusto in Bilbao. He is also the director of the doctoral program “Quality in Educational Innovation Processes” at the UAB. International consultant in Europe and Latin America (Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Panama).

Today’s socio-cultural-economic reality increasingly demands professionals who are better trained, creative, proactive, and capable of solving practical problems. Consequently, a more applied form of education is being promoted—one centered on professional tasks and that views initial training as part of ongoing professional development. Student-centered education is the proposed alternative and, in this regard, entails a redesign of curricula, with implications for organizational and classroom processes. It also has implications for university policy decisions and the formats adopted for student mobility and degree recognition processes.

Presentation by Dr. Gairín