Interest Learning

Centers and Team

Teaching
TEACHING STRATEGIES 1
Interest Learning Centers
 are areas set up within the classroom each with a specific focus
that encourage children to participate in the focus of that area. The
purpose or goal of an Interest Center is to allow children to learn in
the way they learn best: through play!
is a self-contained section of the classroom in which students
engage in independent and self-directed learning activities. Get
information on learning centers and how to incorporate them in to
your instructional routine using this advice.
THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF
LEARNING CENTERS
Enrichment Learning Centers are designed to
offer students a variety of learning alternatives as an
adjunct to a common unit of instruction. These centers are
typically used after the presentation of important materials
or concepts and are designed to provide students with
opportunities to enrich and enhance their appreciation and
understanding of the topics through individual experiences
in the center.
For example, after you have presented a lesson on the life cycle of
plants, you might assign individual students to a center with the
following components:
 Construction of a terrarium using soil, several plants, rocks, etc.
 Observing several plants under the microscope
 Designing an individual observation kit for use in the field
 Preparation of several foods using different types of common plants
 Exploring various news articles on plants in our daily lives
 Creative writing on the uses and misuses of plants in modern society
 Watching a filmstrip on the ecological implications of acid rain on
plant life
 Painting a mural on the stages of plant growth
 Skill Centers
◦ are typically used at the elementary level, more so than at the secondary level.
Students may work on math facts, phonics elements, or other tasks requiring
memorization and/or repetition.
◦ Skill centers are similar to enrichment centers in that they are used after the initial
teaching of a concept or skill. Their difference lies in the fact that students are
assigned particular areas in the center as opposed to having free choice of the
topics they want to pursue. Thus, after introductory instruction on a particular
concept has taken place, you can assign students to various parts of the center to
help reinforce the information presented. You must be aware of the various skill
needs of your students to effectively assign individuals to the areas in the center
through which they can strengthen and enhance these skills.
Interest and Exploratory Centers
differ from enrichment and skill development centers in that they are
designed to capitalize on the interests of students. They may not
necessarily match the content of the textbook or the curriculum;
instead they provide students with hands-on experiences they can
pursue at their own pace and level of curiosity. These types of
centers can be set up throughout the classroom, with students
engaging in their own selection of activities during free time, upon
arrival in the morning, as a “free-choice” activity during the day, or
just prior to dismissal. These centers allow students to engage in
meaningful discoveries that match their individual interests.
 Parts of a Learning Center
Title. Provide an interesting title that identifies the center as separate from other
classroom activities.
Furniture. Arrange necessary furniture in a pleasing and productive manner.
Decide how you will set up chairs, tables, storage facilities, and the like.
Storage. Keep materials in a safe place where they are easily accessible by
students.
Space. Consider the use of space within the center. Where will the activities take
place? Is there a need for independent study? Will large- or small-group
instruction take place within the center?
Materials. Determine how you will obtain materials. You might be able to obtain
materials from parents or the school. You may also want to consider other
sources such as local businesses, catalog supply houses, or community agencies.
Location. Consider the physical placement and arrangement of centers in your room.
Students need to be able to move to and among centers with minimal disruption and
time.
Responsibility. An important consideration in the development of any center pertains
to the responsibilities of students and teacher to the center. For example, students
need to know who is responsible for cleaning up, who will be sure there's an
adequate supply of consumable materials (paper, paint, soil, water, etc.), who will be
in charge of evaluation, and so on.
Learning alternatives. Include a variety of learning alternatives within any center. For
example, include a variety of tasks ranging from difficult to easy. Also include
activities that relate to various students' interests.
Instructions. Post a set of directions in each center. Plan time to share and discuss
each set of directions and/or routines with students as part of one or more
introductory lessons.
Sequence of activities. It may be important to consider how activities within a
center will be sequenced. That is, will students need to complete one or more
specific activities before moving on to more complex activities later?
Number of centers. You will need to decide on the number of centers you want
to establish in your classroom. Base your decision on your management skills as
well as the needs of your students. You might want to start with a single center
and, as you and your students gain more competence in designing and using
the center, develop additional centers later in the school year.
Assignment. Consider assigning students to selected centers as well as offering
students opportunities to select centers on their own.
Duration of centers. Decide how long a center or group of centers will remain in
existence. As a rule of thumb, keep a center in operation only as long as
students' interests are high and it meets your program's instructional goals.
Management system. You can assure the success of your centers by teaching your
students familiar routines (how to move between centers, how to work
cooperatively). Devote several weeks at the beginning of the year to teach these
routines.
Time. Talk with students about the amount of time necessary to engage in or
complete the activities within a center. It is not critical for students to complete all
the activities within a center.
Help! Establish a procedure or routine that will allow students to signal when they
are having difficulty with a specific center activity.
Assessment. Decide on the nature and form of assessment for the center(s). Will
assessment be the responsibility of the students or the teacher? How will it be
accomplished—informally (discussions, observations) or formally (skills test, chapter
exam)?
TEAM TEACHING
In team teaching method two or more teacher make
a plan of subject, cooperatively carry it out and
always evaluate its effects on students periodically
Two or more instructions teaching the same time
within the same classroom and sharing equal levels
of responsibility
TYPES OF TEAM TEACHING

Interest team teaching – two faculty members

present in front of the class simultaneously.
Rational format team teaching – faculty alternate
teaching the class. This rational format has a number of
variations depending on the subject matter and the
number of faculty involved.
 Participation-observer team teaching- all
participating faculty are present for all the classes, but only one
is “teaching “ at the time. Roles that the other teachers could
play as participating observer(s) are model learner, observer,
panel member, or source (klien, 1990).
Team coordination – faculty arrange and integrate a
curriculum so as to maximize learning and connections using
paired or linked courses, an integrated cluster of independent
courses, freshman interest groups, (McDaniels and Colarulli,
1997). Though not necessarily team teaching perse, this
curriculum-level approach to interdisciplinarity can help to
achieve some of the expected gains of team teaching.
MODELS OF TEAM TEACHING

A. One Teach, One Support: One teacher leads instruction,

while the other provides support to students who need
additional help or enrichment, gathers observation data, or
provides classroom management
B. Parallel Teaching: Each teacher, or teacher and student
teacher, plan jointly but each teaches the same information
to different halves of the classroom at the same time.
C. Alternative Teaching: One teacher manages most of the class
while the other teacher works with small group inside or
outside of the classroom. The small group does not have to
integrate with the current lesson.
D. Station Teaching: Both teachers divide the instructional
content, and each takes responsibility for planning and teaching
part of it. In station teaching, the classroom is divided into
various teaching centers. The teachers and students teacher are
at particular stations; the other stations are run independently
by the students or by a teacher’s aide.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF TEAM TEACHING
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Student Teacher Student Teacher
 Increased emotional amd professional  Lack of compatibility
support  Comparison
 Increased dialogue  Difficulty of providing constructive feedback
 Professional growth  Increased work load
 Personal growth  Less Individual Teaching
Mentors Mentors
 Decreased work load  Increase workload
 Learning gains  Weaker relationship with student teacher
 Increased collaboration at school Learner
Learners  Confusion
 Increased support
 Rich and Varied Lesson
 Learning gains