Definition
of Multi-age Classroom
The term
“multi-age”, in its most simplistic form, refers to a classroom with
students of various ages. However, under this definition, almost any
classroom qualifies as a multi-age classroom. After all, a traditional
first grade classroom has students with birth dates ranging over a
twelve-month period, older students who has been retained, and younger
students who have received early promotion. Hence, the term multi-age has
become much more complex. It has developed into an actual philosophy of
teaching, based upon developmentally appropriate ideals, where students of
various ages, interests, and abilities work and learn together in a mutual
relationship.
Almost all
teachers will agree that regardless of which students are placed in a class,
individual needs are just not the same. All students learn differently and
at varying rates.
The multi-age
philosophy respects these individual needs and characteristics.
In The
Multi-age classroom the teachers capitalize on the mixed ages by setting up
an environment that meets the academic and social needs of each child. In
this environment the teachers will provide a developmentally appropriate
curriculum based on each child’s needs. The term “development appropriate”
means that each child’s unique progress and growth are used to determine
what he or she is ready to accomplish. This philosophy recognizes that
students learn and develop at different rates, just as they crawl, talk, and
ride a bike at different rates. Children should not be held to time
constraints, i.e., grade levels or school years.
Developmentally speaking, a six-year-old may not be ready to read. Yet, in a
traditional first grade, the child would be expected to and possibly pushed
into it or otherwise labeled “low ability.”
Self-esteem
could be unintentionally crushed. The multi-age classroom, however,
provides the student with a literature rich environment, role models, and
more time to become ready to read. The student remains in the program for
multiple years and enjoys more time to begin reading at his or her own
pace. Research has concluded that this additional time has enable many
students to develop at their natural rates and therefore have an increased
self-concept. (Cushaman, 1990)
Re-definition
of Roles
In a multi-age
classroom, the role of the teacher shifts dramatically. Rather than acting
as the featured speaker with the role of dictating knowledge to passive
students, the teacher becomes a facilitator, one who manages the environment
and gives learning opportunities to students by allowing them to construct
their own knowledge.
The student
becomes an active participant who is valued as unique and is afforded the
liberty to create knowledge and learn information based on interest. In a
Common Sense Guide to Multi-Age Practices, authors Jim Grant and Bob Johnson
(1994) provide a clear description of each participant’s role with the
following lists.
Teacher’s Role
· Facilitator
-Planner
·
Model
giver -Challenge
giver
·
Active
participant -Kid watcher
·
Encourager -Family ally
·
Listener
/talker -Mentor
·
Learner -Guide
·
Assessor -Provider of
routines and procedures
·
Provider of
materials -Responsive individual
·
Information
giver -Member of the School Community
·
Questioner
Student’s Role
·
Active
participant
·
Learner
·
Listener/Talker
·
Explorer
·
Questioner
·
Answer
finder
·
Scheduler
·
Responsive
individual
·
Member of
the School Community
·
Critical
Thinker
·
Meaning
maker
·
Initiator
Finally, there
is a change in the parent’s role; a parent becomes a co-educator who is seen
as an important, equal participant in the education of the child. The
parent is included in the decision-making processes for his or her child and
joins both the teacher and the child to form and educational bond based on
meeting the desired goals for the child.
Pilot
Programs: The Kentucky Educational Reform Act of 1990 has now mandated
multi-age classrooms for all students in the Public Schools.
The State of
Oregon, under State House Bill 3565, has begun a review of non-graded
primary models and feasibility studies for statewide implementation (Cotton,
1993). The Province of British Columbia in Canada began the transition to
non-graded primary education in 1991.
What Does the
Research Say?
Both
qualitative and quantitative studies have been conducted, and each shows a
significant difference in effective measures, as students in multi-age
classrooms out-perform students in single-grade environments. (Miller, 1990)
More
Advantages
-
Increased
student academic achievement
-
Improved
Standardized Test scores
-
Development of cooperative attitudes
-
Enhanced
student social skills
-
Improved
student attitudes toward school
-
Increased
Student attendance
-
Parent
Satisfaction
-
Fewer
discipline referrals
-
Reduced
student retention
-
Elimination of teacher isolation
-
Increased
teacher empowerment
One benefit of
a multi-age classroom that upstages every research study and teacher’s
comment is that of the student’s self-esteem. Students in these classes
have more positive attitudes about themselves and their strengths and
weaknesses, and they are more capable of expressing their desired
educational outcomes. Multi-age students are risk takers and play an immense
role in their own education. They know that they each have a special place
and that they will succeed. Instead of sounding like the little train and
chanting “I think I can, I think I can,” as it puffed along and pushed its
way uphill, these students race uphill loudly shouting, “I know I can, I
know I can” (Abbott, 1989)
The above information was taken
from a Professional guide on” the Multi-age Classroom”
TCM 881 Teacher Created
Materials, Inc. by Jodi L. MCClay
Lazear, D. (1991) Seven ways of
teaching. Palatine, Il:Skylight.
Lolli, E. (1993) Muti-age: Why
it’s needed. In Multi-age classrooms: The ungrading of America’s schools
(pp. 15-17) Petersborough, NH: Society for Developmental Education
