Learning Centers in a Mid-Level ELA classroom

In class the other day we went through learning centers to learn about vocabulary instruction. This instructional strategy was used effectivley and appropriately in our college context. But we must ask ourselves if it is an appropriate strategy to implement with middle school students. Through my limited experience and knowledge of learning centers, my answer is yes. I think learning centers are developmentally appropriate for the middle school age group. Allowing students to be actively engaged in the exploration of knowledge that you as an instructor want them to recieve is beneficial for middle school students in a variety of ways. It benefits their physical development as it allows students to move around from station to station rather than sit one seat, in one position for an entire lesson. It benefits their intellectual development through allowing them to explore different aspects of a larger concept at each station and then tie these aspects all together in the end to form a cohesive and thorough understanding. Well developed and planned learning centers also benefit students' moral and ethical development through the fostering of higher order thinking skills and encouraging the consideration of various viewpoints of the topic being learned. Learning centers also benefit the emotional and psychological development of the students through the understanding that the teachers care about them and their learning. With the small group setting, it provides a wonderful opportunity to interact with students on an individual level and build those important relationships. This instructional method also benefits social development through interaction with peers at each station. Learning centers encourage positive group work and collaboration and a safe environment where ideas can be shared and valued by others.

To facilitate student learning, I would utilize a variety of classroom management techniques while implementing learning centers, many of which were modeled for us in class. I would begin by having everyone gathered together before explaining the content and tasks associated with each station. I would provide clear and concise instructions for expectations at each station and clearly describe the location of each station. Then, once the foundations of the learning centers have been established, I would divide the class into groups in a creative way and clearly explain where each group should go first and how the rotation works. I would explain the amount of time that is to be spent at each station and let them know that when the bell sounds or the alarm goes off, it is time to rotate to the next station. The key idea for classroom management for learning centers in a middle school classroom is clarity in the directions and expectations of all students and preventing any confusion with where they are supposed to be when and/or what they are supposed to be doing at a certain station.

When looking at an ELA classroom, specifically, it requires appropriate judgment when considering when to use learning centers. I think it could be utilized successfully when teaching a variety of ELA concepts. Writing may be an appropriate time to implement this strategy of learning centers; each station could be a step in the writing process and involve an activity that teaches students how to pre-write/brainstorm or how to edit, for example. Reading could also be an appropriate time for learning centers; for example, one station could involve vocabulary, one station could involve predicting, one station could revolve around comprehension. There are plenty of opportunities to use learning centers in an ELA classroom; it simply requires effective implementation and creativity!

To learn more about learning centers, I used the Google search engine to discover more about this strategy. I found a source that may be helpful to you as you begin to think about implementing learning centers in your future classroom. It is a pdf file presented by Cindy Blevins and is a general overview of how to implement learning centers into the middle school classroom. She provides helpful tips to take into consideration when developing learning centers and provides ideas for ELA specific learning centers as well. Check it out when you have time!

Fact: middle school students can struggle with reading

Middle school students can struggle with reading. They can struggle with decoding, with vocabulary instruction, and with fluency. And all these struggles add up to a significant struggle with comprehension, which provides purpose and meaning to the act of reading. Kylene Beers, author of When Kid's Can't Read, was certainly surprised at this fact during her first year of teaching and I think many other new teachers are shocked to make this discovery as well during their first years. Many mid-level teachers expect their middle school students to know how to read independently and successfully; they assume they are equipped with the tools and strategies necessary to comprehend appropriate level text and, therefore, will not need to teach the students these things. But once in the classroom, they discover that the reality of the situation is not parallell to their expectations. Being aware that there will be struggling, dependent readers in the middle school classroom and that a mid-level ELA teacher will need to teach decoding, vocabulary, orthography, fluency, and comprehension skills is the first consideration when entering this setting. As Rachel Malchow Lloyd stated in class, one out of every ten middle school students struggles with decoding and reading. This statistic shows the prevalence of this unfortunate issue.

Once the mid-level teacher is aware of this fact, the next logical step is to assess the struggling students to determine which area or areas require attention and strengthening. Through our small group and large group discussions in class, it can be argued that one of the most effective methods of assessing a student's decoding skills is to simply listen to them read orally and note the miscues to determine what the student can and cannot do. This rather simple assessment can tell you so much about a student and his or her reading abilties. Our group also discussed the importance of exposing students to reading; whether through the teacher reading aloud or students reading a book of their choice silently, we need to provide the students with opportunities to observe the modeling of quality reading and then to practice those skills. In terms of vocabulary instruction specifically, it is important to know that students cannot effectively learn a monstrous list of new words; they need the opportunity to hear the words used in context frequently and make connections between the words and their lives.

The readings and discussions of this course have provided effective and meaningful practices and strategies to be implemented with struggling readers in the middle school. My only concern at this time is what step to take if and when the strategies learned are not successful with a particular student? What if you try a variety of instructional methods to help a struggling student and the student does not show any progress? Specifically, how do you help those struggling students who become frustrated and simply want to give up? How do you encourage them to keep trying?

Goals and the Attributes Required to Accomplish Them

10 September 2010

Middle school students are drastically different from elementary and high school students--they have different interests, needs, opinions, and perceptions of the world around them. Therefore, it makes sense that students in this age group require different learning goals in the classroom.

When looking at the ELA classroom specifically, there are particular learning goals that should be addressed throughout the year. The first goal I would set for my ELA students is ensuring that they can all read successfully and be independent readers. Even though many assume that all middle school students walk through the door knowing how to read, Kylene Beers points out in her book, When Kids Can't Read, that this is a false assumption. She describes an independent reader as someone who knows how, on thier own, to make the text make sense. Beers describes her teaching goal in chapter 2: "I want to...teach them how to struggle with a text, how to develop the patience and stamina to stick with a text, how to figure out on their own what is separating them from success with the text, and what they should do to fix it" (16). After they become independent, successful readers the next step I would set for students is to make connections with the literature. Connecting the literature to themselves, to their communities, and to the world is what makes literature meanigful; it provides a purpose to reading. And being able to communicate these personal and emotional connections with teachers and peers, whether oral or written, is another next important step. Although these goals are broad, I believe they lie at the heart of what ELA instruction is all about at the middle level .

In order for students to accomplish these goals, however, an effective teacher must be in place to guide and facilitate student learning. During the last couple of course sessions, we discussed what attributes make an effective teacher with a strong focus on classroom management. From what I gained through the readings and the class discussions, I have come to the following conclusion. Effective teachers are passionate, strong, involved, humorous, organized, professional, knowledgeable, caring, and the list goes on and on. Effective teachers have and implement effective classroom management and take the time to understand their students. They take time to understand thier abilities, their interests, their insecurities, their culture, and their individuality. When  reflecting upon my own attributes and which ones will help me to become a better educator, I think I feel most strongly about getting to know my students and I have that desire to use that information to help them succeed at school. Where I feel weakest is in the area of discipline. I could strengthen this skill throughout the semester by focusing on discipline and simply not putting up with disruptions and misbehavior. Disciipline requires confidence and strength, which I can build up in myself to help me become a more effective teacher.

The Golden Rule (as it applies to blogging)

The golden rule, treat others as you would like to be treated, seems to be applicable to literally everything, even blogging. As a public, technological, and powerful tool, blogging needs to be treated with caution and care. Therefore, it is important to establish guidelines that are to be followed during a blogging enterprise. One rule, that is pure gold and has been recited for centuries, seems to encompass all the other important guidelines under its broad umbrella.

Treat others as you would like to be treated. This simple sentence is arguably the most important rule to follow when participating in an online professional learning network. I discovered this particular guideline while perusing the links provided on our course wiki page (https://sites.google.com/site/midlevelliteracyandpedagogy/assignments/personal-learning-network/ELA-blog-writing-assignments). What I like most about this rule is that it is a rule that everyone already knows and almost every other rule or guideline that could be thought of related to blogging could fit under this one broad rule. As I embark on this blogging adventure, if I ever question if something is appropriate or the right thing to do, I simply put myself in a different position and imagine how I would feel if the situation were reversed. For example, if I am questioning whether or not to go off on a tangent unrelated to the subject at hand during a post to my fellow colleagues, I can ask myself if I would enjoy reading a post that was unfocused and did not seem to have a clear purpose. The answer for most of us would probably be no.

The following are more specific examples of guidelines that I found on the links previously mentioned and that fall under the golden rule. These guidelines are ones that I personally found respectful, easy to follow, and particularly pertinent to our professional learning network.

1. Do not post personal information, not your own and not anyone else's. I think it is very important to share personal stories throughout this learning process, but names of those involved should be kept confidential out of respect for their privacy.
2. Going along with this aspect of sharing stories, only share information that you can verify is true. Do not post anything you cannot prove and do not spread gossip, once again out of respect for those involved.
3. Share your opinion freely and be honest but remember to present it as what it is--opinion, not truth.
4. Give constructive feedback. Be honest yet respectful when commenting on colleagues' blogs and ensure responses are helpful and deliberate. This also means that while you may disagree with a post, you should not turn this disagreement into a personal attack against the poster.
5. Be professional. Be professional in your post, comments, and feedback through use of proper grammar and punctuation, by citing your sources, and being intentional in your writing.

I find these guidelines to be very valuable in my blogging endeavor and I will hold true to them to the best of my ability. Although they may be difficult to follow at times, if we are conscientious of our blogging behavior and hold one another accountable for our actions, the collaborative experience of participating in a professional learning network will be that much more enriching.