The Benefits and Challenges of the Multi-age Classroom By Sandy Seipel Presented: Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals State Conference, March 2017

Overview and History One room school house Direct & indirect instruction 1860s- cities created single grade classrooms to accommodate large numbers of children due to immigration into the country 1900s-Industrial Age, policy makers wanted efficient “factory assembly line” method to public education Mid 1900s, innovators developed child centered cross-grade grouping emphasizing individual progress

Multiage Philosophy Multiage classrooms have children of different ages, abilities, and grade levels. These children are intentionally combined in a classroom. At the end of the school year, the older children advance to the next grade and a new group of lower grade students are added. The children are able to spend two years with the same teacher. When multiage classrooms are created for philosophical rather than monetary reasons that can be successful. Pedagogical shift From teacher centered to student centered From curriculum driven to student driven From we all do together to choice and collaboration

Research

System of Education Universities prepare teachers for single grade classrooms Federal and state testing is based on single grade classrooms Grade levels, grade level curriculum, high stakes testing based on grade levels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJnnRsGf2PI

Multi-age Classrooms: Benefits Mixed ages with varying abilities Social and emotional skills Logue (2006) found that in early childhood multiage groupings less disobedience was noted in multiage than single grade; greater language development occurred. Frosco et al (2004) states that higher cognitive development occurs at a faster rate in multiage than single grade Community of learners, role models, peer mentors Relationships and strong sense of continuity Interventions and gifted education become part of the individualized program

Multiage Classrooms: Challenges Implementation is difficult Parent understanding Teacher preparation Teacher understanding of mixed age grouping, differentiated instruction, individualized planning Extensive training in multiage grouping is needed State grade level standards Fitting multiage classrooms into traditional programs

“…multiage education opens up learning for every child, providing an enriched learning environment within a family of mixed-age learners…” Sandra Stone, Director of the National Multiage Institute and Chairman of the College of Education at Northern Arizona University

Resources http://www.multiage-education.com/multiagelinks/index.html https://www.innovativeschoolsnetwork.com/resources/pages/multiage https://multiagejourney.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/multi-agelearninghandbook- docx.pdf

References

Final Thoughts and Questions