Centers - Notes

Centers are flexible enough to address variable learning needs and are distinct from stations. There are two kinds of centers that are particularly useful for differentiated instruction- learning and interest centers. 

• A learning center is a classroom area that contains a collection of activities or materials designed to teach, provide practice on, or extend a student's knowledge, skill, or understanding. 
• An interest center is designed to motivate students' exploration of topics in which they have a particular interest. 

In general, centers should:

• Focus on important, clearly identified learning goals
• Contain materials that promote individual students' growth toward those goals
• Use materials and activities addressing a wide range of reading levels, learning profiles, and student interests
• Include activities that vary from simple to complex, concrete to abstract, and structured to open-ended
• Provide clear directions for students
• Offer instructions about what students should do if they need help
• Include instructions about what students should do when they complete a center assignment
• Use a record-keeping system to monitor what students do at the center and the quality level of their work
• Use formative assessment to guide development of center tasks and assignment of students to appropriate tasks.

The materials and tasks at learning centers are typically teacher constructed. Materials and tasks can focus either on mastery or on extension of specific knowledge, understandings, or skills.