Learning Centers

LEARNING CENTERS


I remember when learning centers were the “buzz” back in the ‘70s when I went to undergraduate school. It was all we learned and did. Then as time went on, things changed and centers still existed, but were not used as much because, like any “new” approach, it was felt that all teaching was done through centers and the public was not comfortable with that. Direct teaching was missed, so the learning center died down. Now we are getting back into that way of teaching. It makes so much more sense. Practical learning is so much more meaningful. I know that the time factor is an issue for teachers to plan the centers and for the students to engage in the centers, but the experience and what the students come away with is so worth it. Realistically, all of our teaching cannot be presented in this way. The students still need the facts, but they can be presented in an innovative, meaningful way to hold the interest of the child.

While working on a tolerance unit with my reading classes, we read the book, Freedom Crossing by Margaret Goff Clark. It is a story about a young slave boy and his journey to freedom via the Underground Railroad. The story also discusses the feelings of the people who helped the slaves escape slavery while on this road to freedom. We discuss the characters’ feelings and the reasons why they may do what they do. We role play and engage in various activities where the students are discriminated for various reasons such as blue eyed children are not allowed to talk in class, and children with braces are shunned by others. It’s not much, but it gives the students a first hand experience as to discrimination. After reading the book, my students engage in center activities. My purpose for engagement in the centers at this time is to help the students get a better understanding of that time in history and to guide them in using their understanding of the message of the story read.

There are five centers. The first center (Technology Center) is one where the students go to an interactive website and actually take a journey on the Underground Railroad. The journey resembles a “choose you own adventure” book where the student can choose which path to take, given a few choices. They may go back to the site at a future time and change their choices to see what different things could happen to them if they made different choices. The second center is a music center where the students listen to Go Down Moses, The Drinking Gourd Song, and The Underground Railroad (a rap song describing slavery and the Underground Railroad.) The third center is a writing center where the students’ task is to write the “next” chapter of the story or an epilogue. They must keep in mind that they have to be true to the story and the times. The fourth center is an art/math center where the students are to use the symbols used on quilts during the time of slavery and create a quilt that would relay a message to the slaves to help them reach freedom. Sample quilt square patterns that were actually used during that time are displayed for the students to use and to help them brainstorm as to patterns they can create that would be symbolic of the times. An explanation of the is required as well. The fifth center is a vocabulary center where students work on a word search and crossword puzzle to reinforce their knowledge of words they have hopefully added to their vocabulary.

I usually have the students visit two centers a day with the last day visiting the fifth center (the one that they haven’t visited yet. After the students have visited all five centers and started each task linked to that particular center, the students continue to complete each of the five tasks. They may revisit any of the centers at any time. The students may work alone or with others. Each center has its own set of rules. At the culmination of the activities, each child would have 1) taken a journey on the Underground Railroad and reflected about it in writing, 2) written a poem or song with words (lyrics) relating to slavery, 3) written a chapter or epilogue to continue the Freedom Crossing story, 4) completed a “paper” quilt using graph paper and geometric forms to create a story, and 5) completed two puzzles using newly acquired vocabulary. I assess my students along the way to ensure that meaningful learning is happening and their presentations validate their learning. The Q&A session and certain representations in their projects will help with the summative assessment of the understanding of tolerance.

The table-top display that we are creating at the Newark Museum will depict a learning center. We have learned that when putting our table-top display together we will need to focus on certain things. First of all we will need to make the purpose of our display very clear. Having a focal point using what we feel is the most important form of art in our display would need to be considered. Having text that is clear and concise, as well as headings and titles that are bold and placed strategically will help to keep the students interested. Too much text may turn them off. Due to the fact that people spend about seven seconds in front of a display, as Kevin stated, incorporating interactive elements would help hold the students’ interest. The table-top display that we are putting together would incorporate many different activities that could be broken down into individual learning centers. From any learning center activity, a teacher would lead their students to inquiry questions and further ideas to explore and learn about.

The attached sites give you many answers and ideas to problem/project-based learning.
http://homepage.mac.com/cohora/pbl/pblin.html
http://www.amphi.com/teachers/pgreenleaf/edtech/pblactivities.html