Teaching is good

1. What are Multi-Grade
Classes?
By Ms. Russell

2. WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW?

3. WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW?
•Where are they found?
•Why do they exist?

4. Which is a multi-grade class
arrangement?

5. - not all students
perform at the
same level
- do not perform
well and repeat
a grade
- enter the
school system at
an early age
- very rural,
remote
communities
- not many
teachers or
students
- one class, one
teacher, different
grade levels

6. SPLIT GRADE CLASSES
VS
MULTIGRADE CLASSES

7. SPLIT GRADE CLASSES
•Double grade classes
•Single class
•May or may not be of different ages
•Learn and work at different levels of
competence

9. MULTIGRADE CLASSES
•Alternative Education
•Combination Classes
•Required to teach more than one
curriculum

11. What are the things we need to know about
our students?

12. Background
Age
Interest
Ability
Background
Motivation
Developmental
Level
STUDENT

13. Where are they found?
•Developing countries
•Also found in other countries
- Peru - Vietnam - India
- Sri Lanka - England - the United States
- Norway - the Caribbean - Columbia
- Samoa

14. Why do multigrades exist?

15. Why do multigrades exist?
• Required not by choice but through force of circumstances
• Reflection of extreme socio-economic constraints
• Small population
• Do not have the adequate resources to hire additional
teachers
• Limited classrooms
• Lack of essential support
• Unable to buy materials or equipment

16. How do you set your
classroom in a multigrade
setup?

19. Geographical Factors Social Factors Cultural Factors
- a small community in a
remote area
- far from larger towns or
villages
- the population is small
- nomadic people
- living near rivers and
mountains
- parents migrating to the
towns
- children should have
access to education
within their own culture
- parents wish to send
children to schools of their
religion
- parents wish to have a
center of learning in their
immediate environment
- community economy
* agriculture
* handicraft
- home-makers
- domestic chores

20. How do small schools
contribute to educating
the community?

21. - increase the levels of functional literacy and
numeracy
- provide the opportunity for each student to
go on to secondary education
- prepare students for a variety of post-primary
choices

22. What are the advantages
of multigrade classes?

23. LEARNERS
- maximum
social
interaction
between peers
- cooperative
learning is
predominant
- will learn to be
independent, self-
directed learners
and can learn to
be more
resourceful
- prepared for real
life-situations
where there is
constant
interaction
between people
of different ages,
varied skills, and
abilities

24. TEACHER
- can make the
most of inter-
age, multi level
situation to
facilitate
learning
process
- can get to know
students more and
carefully assess
their needs and
adopt
appropriate
teaching
strategies
- can innovate
and experiment
with different age
groups and deal
with curriculum
content across
subject areas

25. TEACHER
- shares
responsibility for
facilitating
learning with
pupils, parents,
other community
members
- more opportunities for
activity-centered,
experience-based
approaches rather than
whole group,
lecture/drill/route methods of
teaching

26. COMMUNITY
- efficient means of
providing educational
services to thinly
populated areas and
remote communities
- efficient means
to using limited
educational
resources

27. COMMUNITY
- maintaining small barrio schools help to
build and sustain the identity of the
community and the cultural life of the people
in the community

28. What are the challenges of
multigrade classes?

29. LEARNERS
- requires more discipline,
greater concentration and
more focus in order to benefit
from effective strategies e.g.
peer teaching, group work, self
directed learning
- less reliance on
direct supervision by
the teacher

30. LEARNERS
- requires more initiative
and resourceful to
function effectively in a
multigrade class
- may receive less
individual attention from
a less experienced
teacher or one who is not
well-trained in multigrade
teaching

31. TEACHERS
- The Curriculum
- Planning for delivery
- Attitude
- Isolation due to
geographical location
- Disadvantaged local
environment
- Learners at different
learning levels
- Teacher frustration