There are varieties of approaches for providing RTI interventions in the general classroom. One such approach is the use of acceleration centers- one of the most effective formats for addressing a wide range of abilities in the general education classroom.
The Fitzell Acceleration Center™ as an RTI Strategy
The Fitzell Acceleration Center™ is not a product that can be purchased; rather it is a concept and process for center teaching at the secondary level.
The benefit of the acceleration center model is that it’s a powerful RTI strategy for:
• Differentiation
• Response to student learning (or non-learning)
• The inclusive classroom
• Addressing multiple ability levels in the classroom
• Correcting student apathy and lack of motivation
Acceleration center teaching is an advanced teaching structure. It can be combined with any other pedagogy or teaching method.
In broad terms, acceleration centers incorporate a ‘station’ in a corner of the room, a piece of the room, a setup in the room, or a crate in the room. Its purpose is to have students focus on one topic.
That topic might address the standards in which your students did not do well on the state test last year. On the other hand, it might be an aspect of your curriculum that you need to repeat for some students who struggle, while at the same time provide advanced material for those students that need to be challenged beyond the standard curriculum.
The goal is to give all your students an opportunity to succeed. It’s also a perfect structure for delivering Tier Two interventions as well as supporting Tier One (the general classroom) and, where possible, Tier Three interventions.
No Teacher Has Time to Create Old Fashioned Learning Centers Anymore!
I remember spending an entire week creating a learning center on plants many years ago. Every single night I was cutting out leaves, flowers, and petals. I made hands-on activities using clothespins and construction paper. I spent hours upon hours on this learning center. Friday was the big day. I introduced the center to the students, and explained the instructions. I had that sense of excitement and fulfillment a teacher experiences after having worked so hard to create what they feel should be an award-winning lesson plan. My students finished the center in 45 minutes. All those hours of prep work and it was over in 45 minutes!
Who has the time for that today? My observation is that, generally speaking, teachers do not center-teach anymore. We just don’t have the time to prepare learning centers using this paradigm. Additionally, secondary teachers rarely use centers. They may be used in some science classes, but for the most part, it’s a foreign concept and considered ‘elementary’.
Watch the Video: How To Engage In Their Own Learning Quickly And Easily With Student Made Learning Centers
How is an Acceleration Center DIFFERENT from a Learning Center?
An acceleration center is not the same as an elementary learning center, however. It’s a combination of several “station” methods. If you have ever created a learning center, implemented an Accelerated Reader™ program, or if you are familiar with SRA (Science Research Associates) Individualized Direct Instruction for Reading Mastery, you have worked with different types of centers. The acceleration center takes the best of each of these models and combines them into a model that is appropriate at the secondary level.
Acceleration centers are similar to the concept of a learning center except that teachers do not create a separate center for every unit they are teaching. They don’t have a holiday center, for example, or a math center created for a specific lesson plan. Instead, teachers focus on a curriculum strand taken from their state standard that aligns with the Tier Two intervention needs of students in the general classroom.
The activities in the center range from the very basic skills in the strand (Tier Two interventions for struggling students) to the highest level skills (Tier One activities and strategies for all students) and, possibly even college-level material (enrichment curricula) if students can reach that far.
Tier Two Interventions Made Possible in a Full Class Period with Acceleration Centers
For students who need Tier Two interventions, the focus of the center could be based on one of their areas of difficulty: finding similarities and differences, understanding cause and effect, foundational concepts required for algebra, etc. The focus of the center is based on assessment data collected by the general education teacher and the RTI team where applicable.
Once developed, each center remains for the entire year, and beyond.
• You make it once and use it all year.
• You prep it once and possibly add to it during the year.
• The only maintenance required is student assessment and re-assignment.
For Dozens of Lesson Planning Ideas… For Your Differentiated or Response to Intervention Classroom
Get this Book Now!
Easy-to-implement and practical interventions
Sample lesson plans and visual models
Examples of how to address budgeting, staffing, performance, and student culture constraints