Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to compare the achievement of the certificate of education students in Thai who studied in the teacher-centered and Learning Center classroom. Sixty elementary certificate students at Chiengmai Teachers College were selected and divided into two groups, the experimental group and the control group. The topic studied wasSamkrung, a part of Thai Literature programs. The control group studied in the conventional classroom by listening to the lecture and utilizing certain instructional media such as a tape, slides and text books. The experimental group was divided into four groups of activities. Each group studied by himself from instructional media that was arranged in instructional packages. Each group was given 20 minutes to complete work in each activity center. Then they moved on until the work at all centers were completed. To determine the achievement of each group a test was given to both groups, right after the end of the lesson. A week later the same test was given to both groups again in order to determine the retention of the subject matter. Findings : 1. The achievement between the study in the Learning Center and teacher-centered classrooms was significantly different at the .01 level. 2. The evidence showed that learning in the Learning Center classroom yielded more retention ability of certain knowledge than the teacher centered classroom. 3. The mean between the first and the second post tests of the control group was significantly different at the .05 level. The mean between the first and the second post tests of the experimental one was also significantly different at the .05 level. 4. The scores of the second test of both groups were a little lower than those of the first one.