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Create Classroom Momentum with Learning Centers

Did you know?

Research shows students differ in their preferential modalities for processing information (Allen & Butler, 1996; Dunn, 1990; Gardner, 1986, 1993; James & Blank, 1991; Mayer & Massa, 2003). However, most teachers rely almost exclusively upon print and aural modes of presentation (Haggart, 2003).

Research shows varying teaching strategies to address all sensory preferences increases learning, regardless of the individual student’s primary preference (Thomas, Cox, & Kojima, 2000).

Research shows that teachers can most readily differentiate instruction by considering students’ individual learning styles and strengths (Sprenger, 2003).

"Learning how to learn is life’s most important skill." –Tony Buzan

Performance Learning PLUS is a monthly e-newsletter by Performance Learning Systems (PLS), a comprehensive educational services company that has provided a full spectrum of programs, products, and consulting services to educators and business professionals since 1971.

Get the new year started on the right foot for you and for your students! Winter break often rejuvenates our students and ourselves but may interrupt the momentum you had built before the break. Start rebuilding momentum and reconnecting by discovering or reaffirming how your students learn best; then offer learning activities that teach, support, and encourage your students. You'll create momentum in your classroom when your students are actively engaged and interested in these activities. One way to engage students and create that momentum is to use Learning Centers in your classroom.

See the Tips below to learn how to Create Classroom Momentum with Learning Centers.

TIPS: Create Classroom Momentum with Learning Centers

Your students learn primarily through four sensory preferences — visual, auditory, tactual, or kinesthetic. Students learn best when learning activities appeal to their dominant style(s). This doesn't mean you have to teach the same lesson four different ways. In fact, doing so would definitely cause you to lose momentum. Instead, you can appeal to all four sensory styles and engage students with learning activities that offer meaningful experiences your students will remember, and that aren't a drain on your time and resources.

One way to engage students and create that momentum is to use Learning Centers in your classroom. Learning Centers are designated areas in the classroom where students do the work. These Centers can help enhance, reinforce, or extend a particular skill or concept associated with a unit of study.

The first step is to profile your students to discover how they learn best. (See Helpful Resources below for an example of an effective learning styles profile for students.) Once you have profiled your students, put them in groups of four to six. It's best if you place students with a variety of learning styles in each group. Students who are strong in one style can help those who are weaker, and comfort levels will vary at each Center.

CREATE LEARNING CENTERS

Next, create Learning Centers around your classroom. In your subject area, you’d have at least four Centers (one for each sensory style), and probably more than four since the average classroom has more than 24 students. If you need more than four Centers, the additional Centers can appeal to any of the four senses. If you have more visual students, you might want to create an additional Visual Center since that will be most appealing to them. On the other hand, they'd be encouraged to stretch their learning if the Center were Auditory, Kinesthetic, or Tactual instead.

The general characteristics you'll want to keep in mind for creating Learning Centers for each of the sensory styles would be:

  • Kinesthetic: A Kinesthetic Learning Center needs to be spacious and roomy. At this Center, allow students to work lying on the floor or sitting on large exercise balls. Provide equipment that encourages students to use large motor skills, such as jump ropes, carpentry tools, sports equipment, props, or costumes.
  • Tactual: A Tactual Learning Center is best situated in a quiet corner where students can converse and create. Supplies to consider for this Center would be small objects or a variety of art and craft supplies such as pipe cleaners, buttons, pens, paper clips and stickers.
  • Auditory: An Auditory Learning Center, like a Kinesthetic one, will probably be noisy and can be disruptive to students in the Visual and Tactual Learning Centers. Consider situating an Auditory Learning Center far from the other Centers to keep them from interfering with one another. This Center will focus on speaking and listening, you may want to have voice recorders available, an audio playback device, musical instruments or scripts to read. You might also consider providing directions for this Center for students on audiotape.
  • Visual: A Visual Learning Center should ideally be in an area where students can quietly look at pictures or books. Supplies you might want to consider for this Center are pictures, paper, pens and pencils.

You can write directions for each Center beforehand and make them available at the Centers, or you can provide a verbal overview about each Center to the whole class before they get started. Make yourself available to answer questions once students are at their Centers.

Centers can be set up just for the day, or you can add new materials to Centers throughout a unit or even all year. Centers can be used to introduce new material or reinforce something you've been teaching. They are an excellent momentum boost whenever your class needs it.

The Learning Centers examples below appeal to the ways your students learn best, through one of four sensory styles and are appropriate for middle school science classrooms. (See Taking it Further below for more examples for different subjects and grade levels.)

EXAMPLES OF LEARNING CENTERS
KINESTHETIC LEARNING CENTER: MAP IN MOTION

Have students create a "moving map" of the planets in alignment by playing the parts of the planets. For instance, one student is the Earth and needs to decide how fast to move around the sun (another student), as well as how far he or she needs to stand from the sun during the rotation. The "speed" at which each planet moves would have to be relative. (Be sure students have lots of space for this activity.)

TACTUAL LEARNING CENTER: ALIEN ENCOUNTER

Make cards of the seven planets. Each planet card should have a brief bulleted list of facts about that planet on the back of it. Provide supplies (pipe cleaners, toilet paper rolls, aluminum foil, pom-poms, buttons, feathers, etc.). Have students, individually or in pairs, select a card and based on the information they read, use the supplies to create an alien that would live on that planet.

AUDITORY LEARNING CENTER: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PLANET

Create cards with the planets' names on them. You may also put a little information about each planet, again depending on your students' experience and grade levels. Each student is to give a short speech, sharing knowledge and information about the planet on the card he or she chooses with others at the Auditory Center.

VISUAL LEARNING CENTER: LOOKING FOR DETAILS

Draw or find a picture of the planets. Draw in eight to 10 erroneous details, like a jet ski on Saturn, or reversing the placement of Earth and Saturn. Errors can be obvious (like the jet ski) or more challenging (like planet placement), depending on your students' experience and grade levels. Give students three minutes to find as many errors as they can and have them write the errors on a piece of paper.

It is up to you whether students can consult notes/textbooks. Students can work together on one picture and find the errors as a team, or you can provide a picture for each person and he or she can find the errors individually. Then after a designated period of time, students pass the picture to the next person.

For additional ideas, see "Taking It Further."

Sources: The above Learning Centers are based on PLS's graduate course Teaching Through Learning Channels ®.

Reference:

Allen, B. A., & Butler, L. (1996). The effects of music and movement opportunity on the analogical reasoning performance of African American and white school children: A preliminary study. Journal of Black Psychology, 22(3) , 316-328.

Dunn, R. (1990). Bias over substance: A critical analysis of Kavale and Forness' Report on modality based instruction. Exceptional Children, 56 , 352-356.

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences. New York:: BasicBooks.

James, W. B., & Blank, W. E. (1991). A comparison of perceptual learning styles of adult high school graduates and nongraduates. Adult Basic Education, 1(2) , 98-106.

Haggart, W. (2003). Discipline and Learning Styles: An Educator's Guide. .

Mayer, R. E., & Massa, L. J. (2003). Three facets of visual and verbal learners: Cognitive ability, cognitive style, and learning preference. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(4) , 833-846.

Sprenger, M. (2003). Differentiation through learning styles and memory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Thomas, H., Cox, R., & Kojima, T. (2003). Relating preferred learning style to student achievement: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Vancouver, BC [Canada]: ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 445 513.

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