Learning Centers

Learning Centers "In a developmentally appropriate classroom, the teacher's role is that of facilitator and enabler," (Crosser). The physical and spatial design of the classroom directly reflects this core philosophy of placing students at the center of their learning environment. However, the learning environment must be a diverse, modular, and highly interactive space that encourages change and flexibility. Teachers are cast in a role of "facilitator and enabler," as well as supervisor to ensure safety and comfort.

The design of the classroom and its learning centers is important for study because of the need to strategize, organize, and plan the way the environment looks and feels for both students and the teacher. This paper addresses four learning centers that are ideal for a classroom composed of four-year-olds. These learning centers will encompass the gamut of needs of preschoolers. Creative enterprises, play, and social interactions are key components of the preschool environment. Therefore, the learning centers within a preschool classroom should engage students on these three levels.

Crosser (2008) points out the need to "include play areas for manipulatives" in the classroom such as "blocks; dramatic play; books, puzzles, and table games; water and sand; puppets; woodworking; and large muscle activities." Art centers replete with all manner of materials will help stimulate creativity, and should also not be limited to the visual arts. Musical instruments appropriate for four-year-olds will help add to the learning experience, also allowing for rich social interactions among the students in the small or large groups.

Play centers including outdoor spaces for games allow for the constructive channeling of energy. Safety should always, of course, come first: "children should never be left unsupervised," indoors or out (Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren, 2012, p.124). All types of activities in the preschool classroom can be accomplished and engaged in independently, in small groups, or in large groups. Both small and large groups are helpful for social development. Diversity is the key to creating an appropriate preschool learning environment.

Discussion Children are "sensual learners," and therefore "the physical environment also plays a major role in how children learn and what they come to know. The younger the child, the more this is true," (Kostelnik, et al., 2012, p. 123). Kostelnik et al. (2012) also note that "organizing learning spaces indoors and outdoors, providing materials that suit the ages and abilities of all the children in a group, and preparing a daily schedule that promotes optimal learning are important tasks of early childhood professionals," (p. 124).

This is why an ideal learning environment includes multiple learning centers reflecting the diversity of activities in the preschool classroom. Both indoor and outdoor spaces can be arranged to accommodate for three basic social configurations: solitude, small group, and large group activities. Safety and comfort can be integral to space design, as the teacher should be situated in.