MODULE 1

INTRODUCTION TO
MULTIGRADE TEACHING
 WHAT IS A MULTIGRADE
CLASSROOM?
• A multigrade classroom involves
children of different ages and
developmental levels, with
different skills and abilities, in
several grade levels, learning
together with one teacher for an
entire school year.
MULTIGRADE CLASS

In the Philippine public school system,

multigrade classes are those with
three grade levels within one
classroom with one teacher. Classes
with two grade levels are referred to
as combination classes.
MULTIGRADE SCHOOL

• Multigrade schools are those which

have classes that combine students
of different ages and abilities and
grade levels in one classroom.
MULTIGRADE TEACHING

• Multigrade teaching involves a set of

educational strategies and
techniques that will enable the
teacher to provide effective
instruction to a heterogeneous group
of learners.
• Children have unique personality and
set of needs and abilities. So you
should develop and implement
teaching strategies that enable you
to address the needs of each child
linked to his or her age, maturity,
interests, capacities, and
capabilities.
WHAT MAKES MULTIGRADE
TEACHING UNIQUE?
Multigrade teaching is different in two main ways:

1. The curriculum for the grades being combined is

integrated, that is, common elements from the
different year programs are combined into one
program for the class. There is not two or three
separate programs operating, just one that provides
different levels of challenge to the students.
2. The learning is student centered, not grade level
centered, so students have the opportunity to work
at their level of ability, through the different levels
of activities provided by the teacher. The needs of
the student determine the teaching and learning;
learning is student driven.
What Multigrade is Not
• Multigrade is not one teacher running
between two classrooms to teach two
separate grades with separate programs.
• Multigrade is not two classes working in
isolation in the same room, seated at
each end of the classroom and being
taught separate programs by one
teacher.
Where did the idea for multigrade
schools come from?
• Multi-grade classes tend to be associated with
the “developing countries”, but they are also
found in other countries across the world.
Some places in which they are found are
Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, India,
Bangladesh, Peru, Sri Lanka, Norway, Vietnam,
England, France, the Caribbean, the United
States, New Zealand, Columbia, Samoa and a
lot more. These classes exist for a wide variety
of reasons with providing quality educational
services to rural areas as the primary.
• Multigrade schools were actually the first kind
of schools in North America.
• In Great Britain, there were also schools which
used a monitoring system where older, more
advanced students helped to teach younger
students.
• Today multigrade schools are still considered
important in many suburban and rural parts of
North America and Europe. In these countries,
the small villages and towns consider
multigrade schools as better alternatives to
maintaining single grade schools.
 What are the foundations of
multigrade program in the
Philippine educational system?
THE 1987 PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

• Rights of all citizens to quality

education
• Make education accessible to all
• Offer 6 grade levels in the remotest
barangay.
 PHILIPPINE EDUCATION FOR ALL 2015
• BY UNESCO aiming to meet the learning
needs of all children, youth and adults by
2015.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533 – ENHANCED

BASIC EDUCATION ACT OF 2013
• An act enhancing the Philippine Basic
Education System by strengthening its
curriculum and increasing the number
of years for basic education.
 DECS ORDER NO. 38 S. 1993
Incomplete elementary schools shall be expanded to
accommodate all children in schools with less than six (6)
teachers.
DEPED ORDER NO. 81, S. 2009
Strengthening the implementation of Multigrade Program
in Philippine Education

DEPED ORDER NO. 96, S. 1997

Policies and Guidelines in the Organization and Operation
of Multigrade Classes in Philippine Education
1. Complete six (6) grade levels for children in remote barangays
2. Construction of 3-room school building for MG classes
3. Classroom layout should provide for grouping and regrouping
4. Class size of 8-35 pupils
WHY IS THERE A NEED TO ORGANIZE
MULTIGRADE CLASSES IN THE
PHILIPPINES? AREN’T SINGLE- GRADE
CLASSES MORE IDEAL?
• Matter of necessity for remote
barangays.
• Aside from the limited enrolment, the
distance of the barangay to a school,
teacher shortage, lack of funds for school
buildings and other facilities also led to
the organization of multigrade schools in
the different parts of the country.
• In 1990, the Department of Education, Culture
and Sports (DECS) started to consider the
organization and continuing operation of
multigrade classrooms all over the country
within the framework of the efforts to provide
Education for All Filipino children.

• The Department of Education (DepEd)

continues to hold multigrade classes in an effort
to ensure that Filipino students in remote areas
complete their basic education.
OTHER REASONS FOR THE ADOPTION
OF MULTIGRADE PRACTICES:
• Increase access to education
• Overcome the shortage of teachers and facilities
• Very small number of enrollees
• Modernize teaching methods
• Reduce dropout rates and repetition
• Achieve Universal Elementary Education
• Increase participation, cohort survival and literacy
rates
• Provide incentives as a means of teacher
rationalization to meet shortfalls during the
period of reform implementation
 POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF MULTIGRADE
TEACHING:
• Increase enrolment (make annual intakes
possible in small schools)
• More efficient use of facilities and resources
• Employ teachers more effectively
• Improve learning by allowing students to learn
at different rates
• Better quality of teaching
 Underpinning Philosophies of
Multigrade teaching:
• Constructivist in approach
• Student/Learner-Centered
• Collaborative and Cooperative learning
• Independent and Self-directed learning
• Differentiated Instruction
Underpinning Principles of Multigrade
teaching:
• Children are unique
• Children can learn best from experience
• Children can do and learn well from one
another
• The role of the teacher is to provide a
conducive learning environment
• The curriculum must cater to varied interests,
abilities and levels.
 USEFUL SUGGESTIONS TO MAKE
MULTIGRADE CLASSROOM INCLUSIVE AND
CONDUCIVE TO LEARNING:

• Group strategically
•Prepare flexible and appropriate
materials
•Promote self-paced learning
•Give extra attention to children with
special education needs
 OTHER MULTIGRADE TEACHERS’
TASKS INCLUDE:
• Adapting the curriculum and lesson
plans
• Developing Teaching and Learning
Materials
• Creating Active Learning Strategies
• Assessing Learning and Teaching
Performance
 USEFUL LESSONS FOR MULTIGRADE
TEACHERS TO ENSURE BEST QUALITY
LEARNING
• Understand the diversity and
complexity of your students
• Personalize your teaching
• Make your classroom “child-friendly”
• Adapt the standard national curriculum
• Be creative in your management of the
multigrade classroom
• Be flexible in your use of time
• Be innovative in the development and
reproduction of teaching and learning
materials
• Use the students’ mother tongue as
the medium of instruction
• Take advantage of whatever resources
there are around you
• Master the other skills needed to help
a small, remote, often poor (and
poorly-supported) school succeed
 The Golden Rule
Adapt the national curriculum to the context
of the local community and of your
multigrade classroom and implement it
flexibly, using a variety of classroom
management and teaching strategies
according to the backgrounds, learning styles
and needs of your individual students.