Multi-age classroom.

Mostly this means that the class contains students from two grades.  Sometimes it can mean that there are three grades in one class.  One of the best classes I ever taught was a ‘three grade’ classroom.  When a class is evenly divided between two or more grades the teacher knows that he or she has to have different expectations for each grade.  It is when a class contains only one or two children from one grade that parents need to know exactly why their child was chosen to be in that class.

There can be many reasons for putting a child into a different grade- nt all of them are based on sound educational practice!  So, if you are concerned about the class your child has been put in make sure that you get the information you need about why this happened.

Benefits of multi-age classrooms

*  Not all children learn at the same pace.  Your child might benefit from being with children who are at his or her level of learning

* Children learn from each other and older children can help younger children learn while benefiting their own learning. Teaching is a great way to learn.

* Having the same teacher for two or more years in a row can be a real benefit to a child’s learning. The teacher gets to know the child and time at the beginning of the year is not wasted.

* Multi-age classroom encourage responsibility for learning.  Children are often given projects and expected to carry out research on their own

* Friendships – children can make friends with older or younger children depending on their maturity

*  Sense of security – children feel less threatened by change and are able to concentrate more on learning

Barrier to learning in multi-age classrooms

*  Noise level – because there may be children working on different projects at the same time it is easy for teh noise level to increase.  A good teacher will make sure that it stays withing a ’safe’ level.

* Rigidity of teaching – in a multi-age classroom teachers need to be flexible and open to new ways of working.  Some teachers find this difficult to do and struggle to keep every child learning at capacity.

* Poor home school communication. It can be harder for teachers to let parents know what is going on in their classrooms when there is so much happening.  Parents need to make an extra effort to learn what their child is doing in class.

What type of learner benefits most from a multi-age classroom?

Before I discuss this I want you to know that I loved teaching in multi-age classrooms.  I found that they fitted my teaching style. So, assuming that you have a teacher who also enjoys teaching this way- these students will benefit most…

A student who …

* likes to work as part of a group

* makes friend easily

* does not need to be told what to do all the time

* comes from a multi-age family (has siblings) and is used to others having different needs

* Likes project work and the research that goes with it

What type of learner will find a multi-age classroom a difficult learning space?

A student who …

* is used to being told what to do and when to do it

* an only child who may not have had experience working with other children of a different age

* a child who likes to learn on their own

What setting is best for your child?

Archna Sharma