The following article presents a concept of a science club which was developed by two master's students as a part of their thesis and which has been developed and improved ever since. The extra-curricular concept emphasises pupils' individuality through focusing on problem based leaning, station learning, and mixed age groups. Having joined the club pupils work on topics mainly related to biological phenomena which they explore in experiments. As a collaboration between school and university it...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Clubs, Science Education, Scientific Concepts, Foreign Countries, Masters Theses,...
Because many cultures celebrate a harvest time or festival with which many children can identify, this farm preschool curriculum unit is appropriate for a cross-cultural setting. The farm unit is introduced to children through a field trip to a local farm, with children having the opportunity for experiential learning. The farm may be integrated into various curriculum areas in the classroom and the playground may be transformed into a child-size farm. Children's multicultural and individual...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Agriculture, Class Activities, Classroom Techniques, Curriculum Guides, Experiential...
Interest centers are designed to meet the needs of the other children in the class while a small group works with the teacher on the Oral Language Program. This manual is intended to assist teachers in organizing the centers, which will be used for about an hour each day. Arrangement of furniture is discussed, suggestions are made for an art center, library center, and self-instruction center, and the daily routine for using each center is outlined. Detailed lesson plans are provided for the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Art Activities, Class Activities, Classroom Design, Early Childhood Education,...
A learning station, as defined in this document, has six components: 1) it is located somewhere in space; 2) it is designed to enable the student to reach a specific objective(s); 3) logical directions are provided for the student; 4) multilevel activities are available; 5) assessment procedures are clearly defined; and 6) a means of recording student progress is included. The document goes on to describe station format, activities, learning atmosphere, lesson plans, and the grouping procedures...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Annotated Bibliographies, Behavioral Objectives, Educational Technology, Elementary...
General information about United States' aircraft is provided in this program activity guide for teachers and caregivers in Air Force preschools and day care centers. The guide includes basic information for teachers and caregivers, basic understandings, suggested teaching methods and group activities, vocabulary, ideas for interest centers, and lists of teacher resources, local resources, and related books as well as directions for making and flying paper airplanes. (Author/RH)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Aviation Vocabulary, Curriculum Guides, Day Care, Early Childhood Education,...
This booklet discusses the use of structured table activities in preschool programs in Australia and alternatives to these activities, such as free play. The booklet notes that structured table activities tend to be teacher-directed, passive, non-creative, and focus on goals set by the teacher. They often do not address the learning requirements of young children, who need to feel competent and independent, pursue their own interests, represent their own experiences, focus on processes rather...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Class Activities, Creative Activities, Dramatic Play, Early Childhood Education,...
This guide describes the development of a nonsexist early childhood curriculum designed to make teachers and parents more aware of the sexism existing in society and reflected in our schools. The guide is divided into six chapters: Chapter 1 presents a brief history of the Non-Sexist Child Development Project; Chapter 2 examines some of the basic premises in psychological theory and in teacher training courses concerning children and their development. Chapter 3 evaluates five learning...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Bibliographies, Books, Child Development, Childrens Literature, Curriculum Guides,...
This practicum was designed to increase teacher knowledge base in developmentally appropriate practices and increase understanding of the need for play and sensory motor activities in the kindergarten program. The primary goal was that the kindergarten teachers would use more developmentally appropriate practices in achieving curriculum objectives. A variety of strategies were employed to assist teachers in developing a clearer understanding of how the use of play and sensory systems impact...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Active Learning, Child Development, Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Discovery...
Intended for educators who wish to work with small groups of students from larger classes, this catalog describes seven common instructional grouping arrangements, and four associated concerns, revealed by a 1979-1980 survey of teachers and programs in Nevada, Utah, and northern California. The instructional grouping arrangements include (1) cross-age and peer tutoring, (2) developmental programs, based on primary school children's physical development, (3) learning centers within classrooms,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cross Age Teaching, Elementary Secondary Education, Flexible Scheduling, Grouping...
This self-study instrument is designed to support teachers' efforts to implement an early childhood program for children of 5-8 years of age that reflects the qualities of developmentally appropriate programming described in Connecticut's Guide to Program Development for Kindergarten (1988). The contents, which are presented in checklist format, focus on: (1) the learning environment; (2) the integrated curriculum; (3) roles of players in the program; (4) evaluation; and (5) partnerships among...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Check Lists, Classroom Environment, Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Early...
To help students develop needed skills in listening, teachers need to (1) encourage improved listening through interesting learning activities, (2) involve students in presenting ideas as well as listening to content, (3) vary kinds of learning experiences, (4) provide direct training in listening skills, (5) recognize differences in students' academic ability and background experience, and (6) create a stimulating environment to promote active listening. In addition to creating discussion or...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Communication, Classroom Environment, Educational Objectives, Elementary...
For this project I worked with twelve of my fourth grade students from a local school in the southwestern part of Stokes County, North Carolina on increasing their vocabulary skills through the development and implementation of seven vocabulary strategies. During the Literature Review I came across the following seven strategies: Prediction; Association; Verification; and Evaluation (P.A.V.E) procedure; Vocabulary Anchors, semantic webs, concept cards; Pictionary; Jeopardy, and Word sorts....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Reading Instruction, Semantics, Observation, Vocabulary, Vocabulary Skills, Learning...
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of seven chemistry learning centers for use in an ongoing preschool education program. The seven centers piloted were: (1) Observing Color Changes; (2) Making Bubbles; (3) Using a Thermometer; (4) Balancing; (5) Classifying Colors; (6) Cooking; and (7) Sink or Float. All of the centers piloted were designed for use in a play-based early childhood program, since this was the approach already being used for other content areas in the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Affective Behavior, Chemistry, Curiosity, Language Acquisition, Learning Centers...
The aim of this program activity guide is to aid teachers and child caregivers in helping children in Air Force preschools and day care centers better understand and cope with the sometimes difficult experience of moving to another duty station. Basic information for teachers and caregivers, facts about moving in the military, instructional methods, vocabulary, suggested group activities, topics for interest centers, as well as teacher and local resources are provided. (Author/RH)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Curriculum Guides, Day Care, Early Childhood Education, Educational Resources,...
This manual provides a substance abuse prevention curriculum for preschoolers that includes numerous activities that can be used in traditional learning centers. Unit One helps caregivers examine their style of interacting with young children and identify strategies that will facilitate children's problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. Unit Two helps preschool students value and appreciate their bodies by providing them with a collection of activities designed to introduce,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Alcohol Education, Curriculum Guides, Drug Education, Health, Instructional...
As interest in learning centers grows, such questions as "What is a learning center?" and "How does one get started?" are frequently asked. Essentially a learning center consists of designated areas within the classroom where children may go to do a specific activity related to concept development or skill reinforcement. Learning centers are based on four concepts: self-selection, self-motivation, self-pacing, and self-correction. While some children must be directed toward...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Evaluation Methods, Independent Study, Instructional Materials, Learning Activities,...
Key elements in the construction of an operation were an integral part of an empirical study designed to test practical, pedagogical implications of the Piagetian model of cognitive growth. A total of 49 kindergarten children were pretested to determine their levels of seriation and classification operations. Pretests were conducted with a battery of Piagetian tasks that had been refined in a pilot study involving 50 additional children. Subjects were observed in a classroom where a learning...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Research, Cognitive Development, Educational Practices, Hypothesis Testing,...
This special issue consists of a collection of articles focusing on the subject of resource centers and their impact on self-directed second language learning, including their location, installation, function, intervention, and teaching materials. Articles are in English or French; French articles have an English abstract, and English articles have a French abstract. French articles included are: "Teaching Students "To Learn: Lessons from One Experience" (Marie-Jose Gremmo);...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Business Education, English for Special Purposes, English Instruction, Foreign...
The Community Learning Centre (CLC) Project has been carried out since 1998 within the framework of the Asia Pacific Program of Education for All (APPEAL). CLC is a multi-purpose learning center that serves as a local venue for adults, youth and children to engage in all kinds of learning. After a few years' implementation, some countries have expressed the limitation of CLCs if the concentrate solely on education related activities. The document is the proceedings of a workshop to strengthen...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Workshops, Private Sector, Pilot Projects, Nongovernmental...
As classrooms change and become more student-centered, it is essential to provide preservice teachers with opportunities that enhance their learning of different strategies. One strategy commonly seen in student-centered classrooms is the use of learning centers. This study began when three primary teachers (two third grade teachers and one special education teacher) and their principal expressed interest in collaborating with a university teacher education professor. The purpose of the study...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Environment, Elementary Education, Grade 3, Higher Education, Inclusive...
This report confirms many of the recommendations offered in the 1990 report and offers updated guidance in these areas. Recommendations include practical teaching activities for use with children, training and support strategies for teachers, and ways to involve parents and volunteers. A summary of the recommendations is followed by information on the Head Start International Business Machines (IBM) Partnership Project (a joint effort of the Head Start Bureau and IBM); a rationale for computers...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Environment, Classroom Techniques, Compensatory Education, Computer Uses in...
The concept of achieving mobility for outdoor teaching using a small mobile educational unit and the techniques of facilitating the mobility of equipment and supplies are discussed in this article. A small trailer unit can be used to enrich the learning experiences of students. Since the mobile educational unit is adaptable, it can be used as a classroom-laboratory on wheels. A trailer unit has many other advantages, such as: (1) the equipment can be conveyed to each school, thus saving...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Equipment, Educational Facilities, Field Trips, Flexible Facilities,...
This article reports on an action research study that focused on developing the distinct multiple intelligences of an English class of fifth graders through interest centers at a Colombian school. A multiple intelligences questionnaire, an open-ended observation form, and a student mini-report sheet were used to collect data. Findings revealed that through the interest centers, students maximized some of their intelligences. The implementation phase showed how careful planning, considering the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Multiple Intelligences, Elementary School Students, Learning Centers (Classroom),...
A practicum tested the effectiveness of a learning-center approach in improving the overall academic achievement of kindergarten children who were speakers learners of English as a second language (ESL). The entire kindergarten class participated in the method, but only nine students were selected on the basis of their score on the Brigance Test. Four major instructional centers were used: handwriting; teacher-directed instruction; follow-up activities; and independent activities. The program...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Cooperative Learning, Critical Thinking, English (Second...
This booklet for educational administrators and instructors contains a series of 30 strategies to overcome problems of delivering a vocational program in small rural schools. The strategies, written in abstract form, are intended for adaptation or modification for local use. Each is presented in this format: definition, purpose, description, planning, staff requirements, multimedia use, initial cost, and additional cost per student. These strategies are presented: cooperative schools concept,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Computer Assisted Instruction, Cooperative Education, Cooperative Programs,...
Guidelines are provided for constructing, introducing, and using a planning board as an instructional aid with young children in learning centers. Basically, a planning board is a device that involves children in planning and selecting their own activities; it specifies in an appealing way what activities are available in classroom learning centers and how many children may participate in a particular area at a given time. Included in the guide are illustrated directions for constructing 18...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Early Childhood Education, Elementary School Students, Guidelines, Learning Centers...
In the Fall of 2003, the Office of Human Relations Programs (OHRP), the campus-wide equity compliance and diversity education arm of the Office of the President at the University of Maryland, College Park, created, developed, and began implementation of the three-year "Social Justice from Classroom to Community" (SJCC) project through its Student Intercultural Learning Center (SILC). This article is the first of three in a non-consecutive series of articles on the SJCC project. This...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Human Relations Programs, Student Diversity, Human Relations, Learning Centers...
A learning center is one area of a classroom that contains a collection of programmed activities and materials which can be used either to teach, reinforce, or enrich a skill or concept, or to provide information. Learning centers are a tool to individualization and can be of types: (1) a skill learning center or (2) an information learning center. A skill center is designed to enrich, reinforce, or teach a skill or a concept, while the main purpose of an information center is to provide the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Education, Individualized Instruction, Individualized Programs,...
This paper provides an orientation to learning centers for middle school teachers. A description is given of the characteristics of a learning center and the kinds of student activities that can best be conducted in an area set apart for individual or small group projects. Benefits from using learning centers, are cited, such as added variety to the classroom routine, enriched instructional activities through visual, auditory, and tactile senses, and encouragment of student motivation and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Class Activities, Class Organization, Classroom Techniques, Independent Study, Junior...
This report describes the formative evaluation of Project CHILD (Computers Helping Instruction and Learning Development), a project that: (1) integrates computer technology into the curriculum areas of reading, language arts, and mathematics, and (2) includes primary (K-2) and intermediate grade (3-5) learning-center clusters taught by collaborative teams of three teachers specializing in different subject areas. A description of the two program sites--Volusia County and Okaloosa County school...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Computer Assisted Instruction, Computer Oriented Programs, Cooperative Learning,...
Teacher action research using both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were used to examine impacts of using visual learning strategies on five preschool children (ages 3-5) with autism in a self-contained classroom. During the six weeks of the study, pictures representing nine learning areas and specific developmental activities were used for giving directions, helping children make appropriate choices, helping them follow sequences, and scheduling the days activities. Data...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Action Research, Autism, Behavior Problems, Classroom Techniques, Cues, Data...
BECAUSE THE AUTHOR FEELS THAT THE REGULAR ACADEMIC CURRICULUM DOES NOT MEET THE LIFE NEEDS AND INTERESTS OF THE MENTALLY RETARDED, HE SUGGESTS THAT THE CENTER OF INTEREST OR UNIT APPROACH BE USED. THIS TYPE OF CURRICULUM AND GROUPING FOR INSTRUCTION IS DISCUSSED. LISTS OF SUGGESTED CENTER OF INTEREST UNITS ARE PRESENTED FOR RETARDED CHILDREN OF VARIOUS DEVELOPMENTAL LEVELS. (EB)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Children, Curriculum, Curriculum Guides, Grouping (Instructional Purposes),...
Each classroom has certain beliefs and values, traditions and rituals, roles, expectations, and materials that contribute to a distinct classroom culture. This paper views and interprets children's experience in centers as socially constructed, dynamic, and situated in multiple, interdependent, cultural, and historical contexts. The paper provides a history of centers, and rethinks the purpose and process of centers. Centers are presented and conducted for different purposes based on the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Environment, Classroom Techniques, Cultural Context, Learning Centers...
Many experts agree that high-quality television can be an excellent supplement to active learning in the classroom and at home. This guide contains activities for children ages 3 to 6, each activity incorporating a theme or topic related to an episode of "Arthur" presented during the program's third season on the Public Broadcasting System. The guide presents 30 activities that can be done with materials commonly found in the home or classroom and that are designed to build school...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Class Activities, Early Childhood Education, Emergent Literacy, Learning Activities,...
This health curriculum guide for preschool teachers is structured around units with specific health themes. The 10 areas addressed are growth and development; mental and emotional health; personal health; family life and health; nutrition; disease prevention and control; safety and first aid; consumer health; drug use prevention; and community health. The units can be used in sequence for 9-12 months, or they can be used individually at the teacher's discretion. A total of 34 objectives are...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Diseases, Drug Abuse, Drug Use, Educational Objectives, Family Health, First Aid,...
This article discusses a unique distance learning facility that allows people, while they are busy working with individuals in another corner of the room, to see what exactly is going on in a learning center and how children are communicating with one another. The article is divided up into the following sections: A New Window on Learning; Observation Procedures; Observation Tools (Improving Instruction and Student Learning; Teacher Reflection; Parent Involvement; and Documenting Student...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Observation, Confidentiality, Parent Participation, Parent School Relationship,...
Involving 307 primarily Hispanic children with varying levels of English and Spanish language proficiency and 9 teacher-aide teams from grades 2-4 bilingual classrooms in schools located in 5 districts in the San Jose (California) area, the study examined whether classroom social status affected the frequency of study interaction and whether interaction, in turn, affected the amount of learning in a specific curriculum. Expectation States Theory analyzed the sources of status and their effects...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Bilingual Students, Classroom Communication, Classroom Environment, Elementary...
This publication is a detailed guide for both adult basic education program managers and practitioners to the concept of adult literacy provision within an open learning model. It has three major sections. Section 1 investigates the aims and directions common to both open learning and adult basic education. It provides reviews of programs that have incorporated an individualized approach into their learning provision. Section 2 is a practical guide to the operation of an open learning center...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adult Basic Education, Adult Literacy, Independent Study, Individualized Instruction,...
This study aimed to identify talented students' levels of satisfaction with the performance of the gifted centers. The sample of the study consisted of (142) gifted and talented students enrolled in the Najran Centers for Gifted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to the sample of the study. The results revealed that talented students were highly satisfied with the administration and teachers, whereas they were only moderately satisfied with enrichment...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Academically Gifted, Learning Centers (Classroom), Questionnaires,...
These third-grade materials, from the Religion in Elementary Social Studies (RESS) project, explore the relationship of religion to ethnic traditions in our multiethnic and multireligious society. Included here are the teacher's guide, the printed student materials, and an evaluation report from RESS level 3. The materials stress active learning. Interest centers are used to introduce seven modules on ethnicity. Students are involved in a discovery approach to learning through the use of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Curriculum Development, Curriculum Evaluation, Elementary Education, Ethnic Groups,...
This document describes a community resource plan developed for rural special educators at a small elementary school near Salem, Oregon. The plan was designed for the specific needs of rural special educators, who generally have greater need for materials, personnel support, and financing than their urban counterparts. The resource plan includes: needs assessment; grant writing; cross-age and peer tutor training; the use of volunteers and paraprofessionals; implementation; and evaluation. To...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Community Resources, Educational Planning, Elementary Education, Learning Centers...
Defining a writing center as a collection of activities and materials in a classroom for the purpose of stimulating, guiding, and encouraging children to write, this booklet offers suggestions for establishing and operating such a center. Various sections offer a rationale for the center, present activities to stimulate both creative and expository writing, and detail the equipment and materials needed for the center. (FL)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Audiovisual Aids, Creative Writing, Elementary Education, Expository Writing,...
In this article, we discuss the importance, specifically for developmental educators, of understanding diverse students' use and perceptions of learning centers. Among the results of a survey of students' perceptions of the mathematics program in the General College, University of Minnesota, we found statistically significant differences in how often students from different ethnic backgrounds used the Math Center. In addition, we found differences in students' use and perceptions of the Math...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Experience, Learning Centers (Classroom), Socioeconomic Status, Grades...
This book is designed to help teachers construct learning centers focusing on the community and community helpers. By using dramatic creative play and simulations, students become more aware of occupations and potential career choices. The career center provides a thematic approach to career education and a foundation for individual and group activities in the classroom. The resource book contains ideas, activities, and patterns for 10 community centers, with additional ideas for more. The...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Career Awareness, Career Choice, Career Development, Career Education, Community,...
This program activity guide consists of information Air Force preschool teachers and child caregivers can use to increase young children's understanding of the meaning of flags in general and the flag of the United States in particular. (Author/RH)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cultural Awareness, Curriculum Guides, Day Care, Early Childhood Education,...
The use of logos in the early childhood classroom is one aspect of a rich written language environment in which the young child can begin to acquire literacy in a meaningful way. The early childhood classroom provides many opportunities for the use of logos in context. Sociodramatic play provides one such opportunity. Whether the play is arranged around a home center or other theme, it will provide ample opportunities to include packages, signs, and labels appropriate to particular themes. This...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Beginning Reading, Context Effect, Dramatic Play, Early Childhood Education,...
This study has traced the growth of a new facility intended to promote independent language study in a Japanese university. The study traces this Self Access Learning Center (SALC) from its inception through the first two years of its development. It has revealed how key qualitative insights from an archive of semi-structured interviews, conversational narratives and questionnaires with students, teachers, center staff and university management are marked by their shifting and diverse nature....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Language Planning, Semi Structured Interviews, Learning Centers (Classroom), English...
The purpose of the study reported was to determine the best ways to manage interest centers in the elementary classroom. The study considered six techniques of assigning students to interest centers--teacher assignment, in which children were asked by their teacher to work at the center on a certain day; daily sign-up, in which children were allowed to choose at the beginning of the day whether they would like to visit the center; weekly sign-up, in which students picked the day they would like...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Class Organization, Classroom Techniques, Elementary Education, Learning Centers...
This qualitative study analyzed the language of 24 kindergarten students in the classroom's home center during the first weeks of school. Data were collected through informal interviews with the teacher, audio recordings and field notes taken during observation of children at play in the home center. Analysis of spontaneous conversation began with weekly transcript reviews, and categories were developed and revised. The categories for analysis included rules, roles, and themes of the play...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Child Language, Kindergarten, Kindergarten Children, Language Acquisition, Language...
This module focuses on the use of play as a natural and effective means for expanding the learning opportunities for young children in special preschool settings. It includes discussions of the different roles teachers assume as they incorporate play into their curriculum. The guide highlights instructional approaches which promote child learning, describes components of learning centers that capitalize on a child's inherent curiosity, and gives practical suggestions for material rotation and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Design, Curriculum, Disabilities, Instructional Materials, Learning...
