The learning center is a special classroom divided into several centers. A center is an area or space of the classroom where a variety of hands-on materials and meaningful activities are available for the children.

These materials have the following characteristics: 

• They are arranged by subject, purpose, or projected skill planned by the teacher.

• They can be used either independently by the children or under teacher’s supervision.

• They help reinforce and enhance skills and concepts, and also facilitate the understanding of different learning styles.

Learning centers are an excellent way to individualize the curriculum, as an alternative way to meet the varying learning needs of young children. The main goal of the learning center is to provide opportunities for the children to play an active role in the learning process, allowing them to make choices and decisions on their own from an early age. 

The Learning Center:

• encourages exploration and discovery: children learn by doing.

• provides multiple techniques and methods that adapt to different learning styles.

• permits individualized teaching to small groups or individuals.

• encourages positive behavior because students take active part of the process and are allowed to make choices and decisions.

• provides positive reinforcement.

• develops a sense of responsibility in the children.

• structures children’s interaction: they are encouraged to verbalize and develop social relationships, including sharing.

• allows children to make decisions: the children choose an activity that meets their personal needs and goals.

• permits more interaction between the teacher and the students.

• grants the opportunity to meet the needs of individual students through flexible grouping and varied activities.

• builds self-confidence as the students experience success in their activities.

• reinforce social skills, as it gives the students the opportunity to explore, discover, create, practice, apply other skills, and collaborate with classmates.

• helps students become more independent learners.

SCHEDULING CHILDREN INTO CENTERS

There are two ways of scheduling children into centers: rotation system and self-selected system.Rotation System: children move through centers in a systematic way. The teacher selects a rotation wheel or a chart to indicate the center that is going to be used by the children. This allows the students to work in the center for a specific time period and then move on to another center if considered by the teacher.Self-Selected System: children move on their own through the centers in a systematic way. This system can also be a combination of teacher and student planning. The teacher designates certain centers or activities as mandatory, i.e., Math, Reading, and Writing Centers, while students are allowed to choose other centers or activities. The designation of centers will depend upon the students’ needs. 

TYPES OF CENTERS

The teacher uses a combination of the different types of learning centers: Curriculum-oriented: e.g., Math, Science, or Reading centers. The use of this type of center allows teachers to easily design teaching plans, and also helps them meet precise academic goals for students. The teacher uses also a thematic approach to develop theme-related activities for all the different curriculum centers. Theme-oriented: Center full of theme-related, integrated activities, e.g., Math Center, Science Center, Reading Center, Art Center, Housekeeping Center, and Fine Motor Skills Center. 

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

The use of learning centers allows teachers to easily assess and evaluate individual student progress. Through the implementation of centers, teachers are able to monitor and interact with children individually, in a more personalized manner. Because children work independently, the teacher can thus identify more accurately how they spend their own time.

Learning centers provide the perfect opportunity to observe students as they work on their activities and at the same time, cooperate with others. The centers also offer more time and flexibility for student-teacher conferences and the preparation of anecdotal records; both considered quite efficient tools for educators.