Science Learning Centers

                                              Learning Centers In Science

When educators talk about learning centers (or stations) many think about kindergarten classrooms where students hop around from the play center, to the reading center, to the coloring center, etc. I feel learning centers have a place in the middle school classroom as well. Of course, there will not be a play center or a coloring center, but there would be centers which focus on the specific goals set out in a lesson plan or used as enrichment activities to challenge students.

Learning centers achieve several purposes. First, and most obvious, it adds an element of differentiated instruction which should touch on several of the multiple intelligences. It allows students to work in small social groups consistent to the developmental needs of early adolescents. It allows the teacher to pinpoint holes in individual student learning through formative assessment. A learning center is more engaging and fun for students than teacher-run lectures or worksheet assignments. It allows students to be in charge of their own learning. It allows teachers to be creative in the classroom and try new activities. The list goes on and on.

Centers can be used in many ways depending on the unit of study, time allotment, the frequency of use and the types of stations used. The teacher must ask himself, “Do I want students working on the same stations at the same time, or, do I want them to rotate from station to station? Do the stations have to be completed in a specific order? Do all students complete the same stations or do I individualize the rotation for specific learners? How often do I want students to meet in centers? How do I group students? By need/skill? By learning style? Do I let students select their own groups?”

Here I will outline how I would implement learning centers into my science classroom.

Unit: Human Body Systems

Grade:  7^th

I would have students meet in centers twice a week for three weeks. This will allow plenty of time for me teach the entire lesson. There will be six centers in all with groups divided into 4 or 5 students. At the beginning of the year, I would randomly select students into groups. This way I can see how which students get along, which are advanced, which are in need of remediation. I would do this by drawing numbers, or by playing a game that in the end matches students randomly. As the year progresses, I would make changes if need be. I would not match students by achievement or ability. There are other ways to focus on individual student needs during a unit. I want learning centers to not be about how smart you are, but fun and educational for all. Plus, I find that advanced students will help those who need it most. And those who need the help tend to learn better from their peers than the teacher, at times. I would allot 30-40 minutes each day for center activity.

The Six Centers: 1) Creative Writing; 2) Techno; 3) Benchmark; 4) Words, Words Words; 5) OOH GROSS!; 6) Modeling.

CREATIVE WRITING— I feel writing is very important to student learning. Having them creatively describe a chosen body system will allow them to put their own words to what they are learning. This covers the linguistic intelligence.

INSTRUCTIONS: Using your textbook and other classroom materials, choose one of the human body systems which interest you to research. Write a 1^st person Brag & Whine essay. A Brag & Whine essay is where you are the subject (example: You are writing as the nervous system). Write an essay bragging why you are the most important system in the human body, or whine why people don’t give you the credit you deserve. You must use details and facts to back up what you write in your 1^st person essay. When you are done, share your essay with your group.

TECHNO— Students use the computers to watch a video about the human body. This covers the visual-spatial and linguistic intelligence.

INSTRUCTIONS: Each student needs to log onto a computer. Go to www.ted.com and search for “Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight”. Watch the video and take notes, jotting down key words. Think about the following: What is a stroke? How does a stroke affect the brain and its functions? What are the symptoms of a stroke? What is the difference between the left and right hemispheres of the brain? What is the corpus callosum?  Do you know anyone who has had a stroke? What did you notice about their condition? Search “Stroke” on Google and find facts and figures about the disorder. Jot down any interesting and insightful facts and add them to your paragraph.

Answer these questions and write a paragraph about you learned or found most interesting about the talk. Make sure you use details and facts from your notes.

BENCHMARK – I would recommend that there always be one center devoted to developing state-standardized testing skills, specifically reading comprehension.

INSTRUCTIONS: You have 30 minutes to complete the following reading comprehension questions. Fill in the bubble completely. Choose the item which best answers the question.

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS – This is for vocabulary. Allow students to work together to look up and identifying vocabulary words which will be on the end-of-unit exam.

INSTRUCTIONS: Give a definition to the following vocabulary words. Make sure you identify the purpose of each organ, its function, the organ system to which it belongs and what part of the body the organ can be found.

Brain, Arteries, Veins, Liver, Medulla Oblongata, Lungs, Capillaries, Ventricles, Atrium, Kidneys, Gall Bladder, Spleen, Pituitary Gland, Lymph Nodes, Stomach, Esophagus, Large Intestine, Small Intestine, Testes, Ovaries, etc.

OHH GROSS! – Have the students read a magazine article or book about diseases in one or more of the organ systems

INSTRUCTIONS: Select a short journal or newspaper article for the group to read. Read it together out loud. The group then needs to nominate a recorder to write a summary (two paragraphs at the least) of what you read. What did you learn? Did you find the story interesting? What are some symptoms of the diseases or disorders you read about? What can be done to prevent these diseases? How are they treated?

Find articles on this Website: http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions

MODELLING – Students create a model of an organ system of their choice.

              INSTRUCTIONS: Using the materials provided, choose a human organ system and create a 3-D model of it on the poster board. Make sure to label each major organ and write a definition, including its function and purpose, for each.

Doodlebug Lesson Reflection

Lesson Plan Reflection

It’s been about a week after I presented my lesson plan on animal adaptations for a 6^th grade science classroom. The following is a reflection on the strengths and weaknesses I perceive after presenting the lesson as well as things I would do differently to make it more efficient and to enhance student learning and engagement.

LESSON OVERVIEW:

I attempted an inquiry-based lesson allowing students to simulate a predator-prey scenario of “Doodle Bugs” (colored dot paper on colored poster board) Each group of 3 students received three colors of “Doodle Bugs” one of which matched the color of the dot paper. We were testing the animal adaptation of camouflage or coloration (though students were not told this at the outset of the simulation). Then we went through three iterations of predators killing the bugs (taking them off the poster board) and reproduction (adding a colored bug for each surviving one). Students graphed their results after each iteration and discussed our findings.

 WEAKNESSES OF LESSON:

1)      Results of student simulation were inconsistent with purpose of simulation.

In a perfect world, the results of the simulation would have highlighted the advantages of camouflage on survival. The green bugs in the green environment would have thrived, red on red, etc. But the results were fairly inconclusive except for one group. There were two reasons for this. One, students were sitting down at their table. Therefore, they were simply grabbing the bugs which were closest to them. They weren’t focusing on color as much as what was nearest to them. Second, those students who acted as predators saw where the “game warden” was placing the bugs on the board. I concluded that the students could plan out where the bugs were and could grab them easier.

                Improvements

First, I would allow all students be predators that way they would all be engaged in that process. Second, all students would interact with all the Doodlebug environments, instead of staying at their station the entire time. Thirdly, I would have students rotate around the room station to station during each iteration. The purpose of this is to keep students active in the simulation by moving around the room. This adds a bodily-kinesthetic element to the lesson, and it would eliminate the issue of students simply picking the bugs which were closest to them while sitting down.

2)      The use of too many colors clouded the explanation of post-simulation discussion

Part of this problem was that only nine students showed up for class that day. My initial plan was to use several (more than three) colors on five different boards. I used orange, red, blue, yellow, purple, black, white and green. Because all the boards and colors weren’t used, it was difficult to compare colors to others on different boards.

                Improvements

Next time, I will stick with three colors (i.e. red, blue and yellow) and only use those color boards. That way we can compare similar simulations and compare more effectively how, for example, a red bug would survive on a red board compared to a blue or yellow board.

3)      Lesson could have better utilized inquiry to improve student engagement and learning

Although I thought students were well engaged in the simulation, the entire experiment was given to students. And while students were asked questions and came up with questions of their own, the lesson was not entirely inquiry-based.

                Improvements

I would probably allow students to design their own experiment with Doodlebugs. They could be of different shapes, sizes, two-dimensional and three-dimensional, paper or other substances and have them predict the outcome. This would allow the students to take control over what they test and would make the lesson more individualized to their own specifications.

STRENGTHS OF LESSON:

1)      The lesson utilized three or more of the multiple intelligences and succeeded in differentiating instruction.

Students were asked to make graphs and calculate data, students-used their hands and physically interacting with the experiment, students watched a video demonstrating the use of physical and behavioral adaptations and students shared the results of their specific simulation with the rest of the class, students worked together in groups.

2)      The conclusion of the lesson tied everything together well and hit on the BIG IDEA of the lesson.

The video and subsequent discussion helped clear any confusion students had about natural selection and adaptations. They could see the octopuses and squids morph their bodies to camouflage into their surroundings. The video was short and to the point and concluded the lesson nicely.

3)      Students were active in their learning

Instead of filling out worksheets or listening to a lecture, students were active with the simulation. The simulation allowed students to experience and visualize natural selection right in front of them. The simulation was more effective than more passive approaches to learning where the information is given to students. In this case, the students were able to make their own conclusions.