Characteristics of Successful Multi-Grade Teaching Methods

Key Terms:
 Classroom
A classroom is a place where students learn social behavior’s,
values, learn to communicate and gain knowledge according to their age and
learning ability. This prepares them to deal with real life situations in a better
and competent manner.
 Class room Management
Classroom management is a process and a skill which plays a
vital role for effective teaching and learning. A well-managed classroom
results in active learning.
 Cooperative Learning
Cooperation is working together to accomplish shared goals.
Within cooperative activities individuals seek outcomes that are beneficial to
themselves and beneficial to all other group members. Cooperative learning
is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to
maximize their own and each other’s learning.
The idea is simple. Class members are organized into small groups after
receiving instruction from the teacher. They then work through the
assignment until group members successfully understand and complete it.
 STAD (Students Teams Achievement Division) Models
 In this model, after a teacher presentation, students work in
teams to learn the taught material and then take individual quizzes and
finally receive the team awards.
 Background Information of Multi- Grade Teaching:
Multi- Grade teaching involves the teaching of children from two
or more grade levels in one classroom. Normally the problem is faced in rural,
sparsely populated areas, where the number of students enrolled doesn’t
warrant posting of one teacher for each class. Sometimes, due to financial
constraints, the posting of more teacher isn’t possible. Multiple class
teaching may be practiced in large schools sometimes, when a teacher is
absent for one reason or another and a substitute isn’t available.
Multi-Grade teaching implies the school situations where the number of
pupils in different grades is so small that the pupils of several grades
together add up to a normal or slightly larger than normal class. It connotes
combination class groupings in a school with one two to three classrooms.
Multi-grade teaching is generally seen in one teacher schools, two teacher
schools, sometimes even in three teacher schools, multi-level classes in larger
establishments, ungraded early childhood education units and special
multilevel aggregation of pupils. The enrollment of such schools usually
varies between 10 to 100 Multi- grade teaching isn’t an answer to meeting
teacher shortages in the educational systems but is a strategy to improve the
quality of education in rural communities.
 Challenges of Multi- Grade Teaching
1. An average primary school teacher is ill equipped to handle a multi-grade
classroom situation.
2. The nature of the curriculum and textbooks, which are prepared almost
entirely in a mono-grade context create further problems.
3. Teacher training programs haven’t focused on practical issues and
techniques for handling multi-grade teaching studies.
4. There isn’t raining package for multi-grade teachers. The aspects could
be:
o Time management
o Improving teaching skills
o Preparation and organization of the teaching learning materials.
o Organization of art and cultural activities.
5. Timetables aren’t flexible enough…..
  What is the head Teacher’s Role in Multi-Grade School?
A. The head teacher plays a key-role in increasing supportive school culture.
B. The head teacher must ensure that all teachers feel supported.
C. The head must provide teachers with opportunities to learn multi-grade
teaching methods monitor the progress of implementation and give the
teachers praise, feedback and suggestion.
 Characteristics of Successful Multi-grade Teachers, which
should be considered in teacher selection
A. Well-organized
B. Creative and flexible
C. Willing to work hard
D. Resourceful
E. Self-directed
F. Willing to work closely with the community
G. Strong belief in the importance of cooperation and personal responsibility
in the classroom with the ability to develop these characteristics in pupils.
H. Prior successful experience at the grade levels to be taught.
 General Types of Activities found in most Multi-grade
classrooms
A. Quiet or individual study
B. Testing
C. Whole class instruction
D. Partner work
E. Group discussion
F. Reference work
G. Teacher tutoring or small group instructions
 Facts
1. Multi-grade teachers must be trained to give different lesson sat at the
same time to pupils at different grade levels.
2. Children sit in grade-groups facing their own writing board(WB)
3. If there are two grade groups in the class the WB are placed either end of
the classroom with children facing opposite directions.
4. During the lesson the teacher moves frequently between the different
groups.
5. Give reading instructions to one grade; give dictation to the other grade.
6. One grade is copying handwriting math exercises from the WB; the other
grade will be instructed on a new math item.
7. The extra work involved in multi-grade teaching must be recognized by
giving teacher some incentives.
8. Teacher in multi-grade classrooms must receive a lot of support and must
meet regularly with teachers from other multi-grade schools.
9. In the multi-grade classroom there may be many different kinds of might
be working on a group art project while two students may be peer tutoring in
math. Two first grades may meet with the teacher, and several students
might be completing independent assignments requiring the use of a tape
recorder and the computer. The teacher’s task is to arrange the classroom so
that all these activities can take place at the same time with a minimum of
disruption and of teacher direction and supervision.
 Three step designing your multi-grade classroom
Step 1
Describe the way it is now.
Draw a floor plan of the room you will be teaching in. this may be the
classroom you taught in last year or a new one.
Step 2
Deciding on the types of activities that will occur
Identify the specific learning activities that will take place in your room and
write them on the lines below. It may be helpful to write down the types of
behavior you expect for each activity.
Step 3
Drawing the final plan
Review your drawing of the classroom in which you will be teaching in terms
of the activities you have listed in step 2. Now lay out your classroom to
promote the learning activities you desire, noting the placement of
furnishings materials and storage area.
 General Guidelines
1. Room to move:
Bear in mind that children and you also need to be able to move freely
between the groups of desks with a minimum of disturbance to others. Try to
avoid jamming children’s desks and chairs against the wall.
2. Light:
Arrange the desk as far as possible so that the children don’t have to
work facing into direct sunlight. The light should come from the side of the
child.
3. Writing Board:
 Two WB, one at either end of the classroom, are very useful for multiclass
teaching. Portable WB that can be moved for group work can be very handy
too.
4. The teachers table:
This should be carefully placed to give you the teacher an unobstructed
view of the whole classroom. Of course the effective teacher spends very little
time sitting at his or her desk.
5. The reading corner:
The children come to this area for quiet, personal reading or to receive
reading instruction. Be kept there, along with books, flashcards, reading
games, etc.
6. The science & nature corner:
Children at primary school have an enormous curiosity about natural
world around them. In this corner they can collect things that interest them.
They may grow seeds here, collect fruits and nuts, or display their leaf
rubbings. They may keep insects, reptiles, small mammals or fish in
transparent containers.
7. Teaching – Learning strategies:
Grouping is one of the strategies in multi-grade teaching situation which
can play an important role in the teaching –learning situation. In multi-grade
teaching a teacher teaches more than one class in the same time or period.
o Oral quiz competition among all grades.
o Small group instruction
o Cooperative learning models
1. Learning Together (LT)
2. Students Teams Achievement Division (STAD)
o Project work among all grades.
o Work on scrapbook of different grade level students.
o Brainstorming
o Discussion
o Group work
o Pair work
o Demonstration
Instruction should be in written form for students by teachers for
implementing different tasks.
 Assessing, Evaluating and Marking:
One of the roles which a multi-grade teacher must carry out is to
monitor the progress of pupi9ls learning so as ensure quality of education.
Usually, this requires teachers to determine the educational levels of pupils
 when they first enter schooling, during the school year and at the end of the
school year.
Therefore assessment should be considered a continuous and integral part of
the teaching process.
Teachers have an understanding of what students need to learn and are
expected to learn at various stages. Children are learning all the time and this
learning isn’t dependent upon what other do over a period of time enabling
them to see a student’s development.
The multi-grade classroom allows teachers to assess what a student can do
and then extend them from there.
 Observation:
1. Teachers of Multi-Grade (MG) should have extra preparation time.
2. Teachers assigned to MG should preferable be those who are most willing
to teach.
3. In service and information concerning appropriate groupings, classroom
organization, instructional strategies and curriculum modification should be
provided to principals and teachers.
4. In a MG there is respect for different learning styles. Teachers structure a
positive learning environment where children feel successful, develop positive
self-concepts and are helpful and sensitive to others.
5. The students benefits from having the opportunity to stay with the same
teacher and classmates and experience the same teaching style and routine
over a two –year or more period.
6. In a MG there is time to recognize that child’s social and emotional needs
are as important as academic needs.
7. Another advantage of more than one year in a MG is the relationship
developed between the teacher and the entire family.
8. Students feel they are successful when they are working at their own level
and know that everyone should be able to do the same thing at the same
time.
9. Each child is accepted at his or her own place on the developmental
learning situation. The teacher takes time to assess evaluates and plan next
steps for each child. Separate subjects are replaced by an integrated
curriculum, which engages children in meaningful activities that explore
concepts and topics relevant and meaningful to the lives of the children.
10. In a classroom where all children are learning at different rates and aren’t
the same age, there is a little competition
11. By helping each other, students reinforce their own understanding of
knowledge, skills and attitudes.
12. Conversation is encouraged as the children talk through their work in
progress. These conversations help them understand just what they have
learned.
13. Multi-grade classroom take the focus of meeting the needs of the whole
group of learners instead meet the needs of each individual student.