Learning Center: From Classroom-Specifics, To Status Quo

In the long time that education has subsisted to serve society’s needs, it comes no surprise to learn that the sector successfully pulled a lot of learning structures and strategies.  Others have long gone to become obsolete, while others flourished.

A perfect example for a flourishing strategy is the Learning Center.  At its early conception, the strategy was restricted to a portioned area in a classroom or a room in a whole school edifice.  This portion was expected to house a categorised set of learning materials, like the computer room.  Apart from this characteristic, it is also especially designed to simulate a particular level of learning, or style.

However, those attributes have grown, and so were its roles.  The term, Learning Center, now carries a distinct but generalised reference to educational institutions.  For these institutions to qualify as learning centres, they will have to acquire acknowledged status rankings.  In layman’s terms, be pegged as the best or one of the bests.

The transition of the term’s connotation is quite astounding.  Its rise into being an umbrella term isn’t exactly senseless.  For one, the two connotations are parallel in its message:

• That to be a Learning Center means to empower independent explorations, and celebrate innovations.  To be such implicates the aversion to phobias consisting of fear of being told to be wrong.  As a result, students become fearless inventors and problem-solvers.  

This message makes students vie for admissions to such educational institutions.  At a younger scale, this also pushes parents to choose for such centres for their children – that is, if they want a more sustainable approach to facilitating their children’s learning.  Most of all, it puts everyone at the position of aspiring to go to a utopian learning environment – a gift for students, and source of pride to parents.a

Top Five Learning Centers in the World for 2012

Two months ago, this site wrote about the top five learning centres in the world for 2011, as listed by the QS World University Rankings. According to that ranking, University of Cambridge of the United Kingdom was the best university. The UK school was followed by Ivy League learning center Harvard University of the United States. At third is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of the US. Rounding up the top five are Yale University (US) and University of Oxford (UK).

That was, however, the ranking for top universities in 2011. Have the rankings changed this year? Here are the top five of the 2012 World University Rankings list, as published by education and career network Quacquarelli Symonds.

• #5: Retaining its ranking is the UK-based University of Oxford. The learning center, which specializes in arts & humanities and social sciences & management, gained an overall score of 98.6.

• #4: At fourth is University College London (UK), after receiving an overall score of 98.7. Specializing in life sciences and medicine, UCL jump from seventh in 2011 rankings.

• #3: Sliding to third in 2012 is last year’s number two university, Harvard University. The Ivy League university scored 99.2 in this year’s rankings.

• #2: Another slide in the rankings was logged by the University of Cambridge, with an overall score of 99.8.

• #1: Last year’s third place is 2012’s best university in the world, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT, known as an excellent learning center for engineering courses, received an overall score of 100.

Making up the top ten of the 2012 QS World University Rankings are #6 Imperial College London (UK, 2011:6), #7 Yale University (US, 2011:4), #8 University of Chicago (US, 2011:8), #9 Princeton University (UK, 2011:13), and #10 California Institute of Technology (US, 2011:12).

The Top Five Learning Centers in the World

If you are given the chance to study your chosen course at your preferred school, what learning center would it be? There are many students who asked themselves with this question. It is not unusual, though, since it is within a person’s right to choose where he wants to learn necessary knowledge and skills to secure a bright future.

It is only normal to aspire to study at one of the best learning centers in the world. By attending one of them, a student could hone important knowledge and skills. The QS World University Rankings has evaluated over 700 universities in the world, and has ranked each learning center according to academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, faculty-student ratio, proportion of international students and proportion of international faculty. Here is a list of the top ten universities in the world for 2011, according to the QS World University Rankings.

Topping the rankings is the University of Cambridge of United Kingdom. The University of Cambridge is known for its courses in natural sciences, life sciences & medicine and arts & humanities.

At second is the prime Ivy League learning center Harvard University of the United States, which offers courses that specialise in management, life sciences & medicine and arts & humanities. Coming in third is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US). MIT is widely known for producing world-class engineers and scientists.

At fourth and fifth places are Yale University (US) and University of Oxford (US) respectively. Both Yale University and University of Oxford specialise in arts & humanities and social sciences & management.

Rounding up the top universities in world in 2011, according to the QS World University Rankings, are: Imperial College London (UK), University College London (UK), University of Chicago (US), University of Pennsylvania (US) and Columbia University (US).

Schools: Important Centers for the Learning Process

Education is one of the processes in life that could be considered very important and significant. It is important because people acquire knowledge and skills only through this process. Education is also significant because without this process, there could have not been any development and progress in the society. Playing an important role in this process of imparting knowledge and skills are the teachers, professors or instructors. Also having an important role are educational administrators who take care of other things aside from teaching. Having an equally important role are the places where the learning process takes place – schools.

Throughout a person’s academic life, he could experience studying at different types of schools, each offering a certain degree of academic curriculum design to educate a person at a particular age.

A learning center offers primary education for students from age six to 11. Primary or elementary schools are learning centers that are focused on delivering basic education. Another learning center offers secondary education that focuses on imparting more advanced knowledge and skills to a certain age bracket. Secondary schools in some countries are much of preparation for students aiming to apply for tertiary education. In other nations, secondary institutions are a venue for students to receive some qualifications and levels.

Tertiary education is often provided through universities and colleges and even vocational schools. Unlike primary and secondary schools that offer basic and general education, a learning center like a university or a vocational school offers theoretical or practical training for acquiring certain knowledge or skill. Vocational schools offer training for acquiring certain skills, while college education often focuses on gaining a certain degree, be it undergraduate or graduate degrees.

Schools serve as vital centers where teachers impart knowledge and skills to students. Thus, school’s contribution to the education deserves praise.

When and Where Education Starts

One may wonder when and where education starts. The answer depends on how one defines education. This blog will use the term “education” in its general and truest sense – the process of imparting knowledge and/or skills.

As far as most people in the society are concerned, education starts in schools. In the United Kingdom, the law says education must start when a child reaches five years of age. Parents, however, could enrol their children to a pre-school learning center to prepare their child for formal education. Many countries set a certain age when children could enter formal education. Primary and secondary schools, alternative schools, sixth-form institutions, universities and colleges – these are the primary learning centers that offer formal education. The curriculum of these formal education institutions are often set by respective national authorities governing education. In the UK, law states that children from five to 16 years of age must attend formal secular education. The UK government has established a number of public schools for that purpose.

On the other hand, there is called informal education. It is often said that informal education starts at home. True, since home is the first and basic learning center wherein parents impart not only knowledge but also love and aspirations to their children. Some say that children start to learn after they were born, while others say that even unborn babies have the capacity to absorb inform. The former means education starts at home at a very early age, while the latter means knowledge could be imparted even before the baby could confirm his existence in this world.

No matter what age or where learning center education starts, all of us have the duty and responsibility to impart knowledge to other people, especially our own children. Both home and schools are learning centers.

Education System in the UK: A Primer

According to the World Bank, education is one of the most fundamental building blocks for human development and poverty reduction. Thus, developed nations have made education as one of their top priorities when drafting their annual strategies and budgets. In the United Kingdom, the education system is divided into four main levels: primary, secondary, further and higher education.

The UK implements a K-12 education system, wherein a child has to legally attend primary and secondary education, from about five years old until he is 16 years old. The child has to attend a learning center, or a school recognized by the authorities. The British Council states that over

90% of UK students attend state schools. The rest attends a privately own learning center or independent school. Some children are educated through home learning.

Primary and secondary education in the UK is not governed by one central department. Instead, each country in the UK has a separate education system. The UK Government takes care of England; the Scottish and Welsh governments are responsible for Scotland and Wales, respectively; while the Northern Ireland Executive is liable for Northern Ireland’s education.

Aside from the primary and secondary education that a child has to legally attend, he may opt to extend into further education, which is a requirement for entering a college or a university. Further education includes: general further education and tertiary colleges; sixth form colleges; specialist colleges; and adult education institutes. A learning center like a sixth form college allows a student to study for advanced school-level qualifications like A-levels.

After completing further education, a student may choose to enter a university that offers higher education. Higher education allows a student to earn a certain degree on a particular field of specialization. Application is managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

Setting up a Learning Center in a Primary School Classroom

In the primary school setting, a learning center or center of learning is usually described as an education programme that is incorporated in the lessons for the students and included in the physical set-up or design of a classroom. The center of learning would supplement the official educational curriculum and it serves as a supplementary educational tool for improving or enhancing the abilities or skills of the students to learn and study. The physical setting up and incorporation of a center of learning in the classroom requires a thorough planning.

Moreover, carrying out the programme in the classroom should be gradual so there would be no disruption or problems for the students who would adjust to the new set up in the classroom. If you are a primary school teacher interested in setting up a learning center in your classroom, you should read and study the guidelines or procedures for the physical aspects of creating the center in the classroom, and in carrying out the educational program of the center. You should first ask the school principal or school
administrator on your plans for setting up a center of learning in your classroom. When you obtain the approval, you could obtain assistance from the resources in the library about information and other materials for creating and carrying out a center of learning. In addition, various Internet websites provide free information and resources for teachers on how to set up the center and carry out the educational programme of the center.

The basic guidelines in setting up a learning center in a primary school classroom includes organising and rearranging the room so that it would be conducive to the center. The center of learning should be set up on the perimeter of the room, and it should have a defined space with small cabinets or shelves as the boundaries that separate the center from the rest of the classroom.