Teaching Multi-Graded

Class
TMGC 311
Multi-graded Class
-class consists of students of
different grade-levels
Multi-age Class
Class consists of students of
different ages.
Multi-level Class
Class consist of students of different
level of understanding/ learning.

Similar with multi-graded classes.

Advantages of Multi-aged Class
The enhanced social and natural settings in
multiage classrooms can help raise students’ social
and emotional skills.
Research on early childhood multi-age grouping (Logue,
2006) found that student disobedience was considerably
less prevalent in multiage groupings than in single-age
classroom
and because of higher rates of language exchange
among mixed-age children, those in multiage groupings
had higher language development as well(Logue, 2006)
some evidence does suggest that children in multiage
classrooms achieved a higher cognitive developmental
level at a faster rate than those in classrooms of same-
age peers (Frosco et al.,2004)
including students of different ages in one classroom
creates a caring environment, as it encourages older
students to serve as role models or mentors to help
their younger peers.
could lead to better teacher-parent relationships and
increased parent involvement (Miller, 1994).
Disadvantages
by using the same curricula to teach diverse groups of
students, they might neglect some students’ needs,
especially those of high- and low-achievers.
dissatisfaction and rejection by parents. Mixing their
children with children of other ages raises concerns
about the quality of instruction.
Many teachers report having almost no preparation
for teaching students of different ages, and about 8 in
10 teachers oppose differentiated instruction
The increased workload is also a point of dispute.
Since teachers who have had more extensive training
and professional development usually have more
opportunities to teach multiage classes, an experience
gap between those who teach single-graded classes
and those who teach multiage classes may result,
leading to feelings of superiority in multiage groups
Seeing Challenges as
Opportunities
 Taking advantage of diversity within and
between groups
Handling one grade with students from diverse
family backgrounds, ethnic/linguistic
traditions, and socio-economic circumstances
and with different ability levels (and some with
experience in pre-school programmes and
some without) is difficult enough. Combining
more than one grade in a multigrade context is
even more of a challenge
 What is important to understand,
however, is that such diversity
should be seen not only as a
challenge but also as an
opportunity for providing better
quality education for all your
students.
Balancing time and multi-tasking
The secret to being a successful multigrade
teacher is to balance your time effectively.
This is a challenge when addressing the
different learning needs of groups of and
individual students, but preparing a variety
of activities that keep all groups of students
engaged in the multigrade environment is an
opportunity to develop new and more
effective teaching practices
Engaging your students and keeping them
focused on learning
Your responsibilities as a multigrade teacher
multiply as you create a space for each group to
keep your students engaged in one or another
activity.
 You also need to develop activities on which all
students can work – and help each other with. It
is here that your ability to keep students focused
on the activity they are involved in is important.
Breaking your isolation as a multigrade
teacher
As many multigrade schools are in geographically
remote locations, you might feel isolated as a
multigrade teacher. This makes it difficult to keep
aware of the best practices and developments in other
schools
 The local community can be involved in generating
and sharing resources and support for your school.
Managing a Multigrade Classroom
The Teacher
 You play a central role in managing the classroom in the
following ways:
 Planning the use of the classroom “space”, especially
flexible seating arrangements for both you and your students
  Planning and carrying out multiple lessons at the same
time
  Designing activities for students to keep them involved
  Creating, arranging, and using teaching and learning
materials
  Establishing norms of behaviour expected of students to
keep them learning
Understanding the
Current Context and
Creating a FUtUre Vision
Multi-grade Setting
 It is essential to take time to gain a clear
understanding of the context of your multigrade
classroom.
You can start by asking yourself the following
questions:

Once you have a good
understanding of the
students in your class, take
time to create a vision in
your mind about what you
want your multigrade
classroom to look like.
Using Positive Discipline
 Establishing norms of student
behaviour in the beginning can go a
long way towards solving this problem.
To create an environment of positive
discipline in the classroom, and to
make sure you never use any kind of
physical, corporal punishment
Tips for Positive Discipline:
 Use the first week of school to familiarize your
students with their new (or improved) multigrade
environment - assign responsibilities for tasks to be
carried out, show them the different spaces for
each activity, involve them in arranging the classroom
and keeping things organized, and have them practice
moving the classroom furniture and resources (and
themselves!) around the room as needed for the
different parts of the school day.

Tips
Ask your students to discuss in groups
the rules they follow at home and at
school, have the groups report back to the
whole class what rules they have in
common, and then write some of these up
on the board. Students then vote for their
top six rules, and you can use these as the
basis of your class’s code of conduct.
Tips
Decide on consequences for students who
follow or do not follow instructions. Special
praise for students showing desired social
skills and good behaviour and other kinds of
positive feedback work well to produce
positive energy among students.
Help children working in smaller
groups to understand what behaviour
you expect during group activities –
taking turns, encouraging all group
members to contribute, etc
Specify the rules to be followed for
each space - for example, if you have
created a reading corner, explain to
your students that they must be quiet
and not talk when they are in that
space.
Demonstrate a code of conduct to
students not only through direct
instruction but also by modelling
good behaviour yourself
Demonstrating Sensitivity
to Each Student’s
Uniqueness
Diversity and Uniqueness
 Students in multigrade schools
generally live in rural, remote, and
sparsely populated areas. Their families
may be very poor, and they may be
living in home conditions not
conducive to study
 They may also speak a language at
home different from that in the
school, and some may have special
education needs related to stunting
due to malnutrition, impaired
vision and hearing, and other
physical or cognitive disabilities.
The educational background of
parents also enhances or decreases the
interest of their children in learning at
school. Studies have shown that parents’
education, and mothers’ education in
particular, makes a difference in the
enrolment, retention, and learning
achievement of a child.
 It is therefore important for you as a
multigrade teacher to understand the
family and individual backgrounds
of each of your students and manage
the resulting differences in their
interest and ability to learn
You can encourage girls to take part in
classroom activities (sometime in groups
with other girls, sometimes in groups with
boys) by having the same expectations of
success for them as you do for boys, and
ensuring they have an equal opportunity to
ask and answer questions in class and to
take responsibility for classroom affairs.