From access to success Multigrade Pedagogy and Assessment Angela W Little Delhi, Oct

Maheswari’s multigrade school

What is multigrade teaching? The teaching of pupils from different curriculum grades within the same timetabled period. Multi-grade is also referred to as: –Multiple class –Composite class –Vertical group –Mixed year class –Family class –Double class –Combined class –Unitary schools (one-teacher schools)

Making the invisible visible India: In % of all primary (grade 1-5) schools had 3 or less teachers Peru In % of all public primary schools were multigraded Burkina FasoIn % of primary schools and 20% of classes were multigraded. 18% of students were in multigraded classes England In % of primary classes were ‘mixed year’. 192 million (of 647 million enrolled in primary) worldwide in de facto MG classes. A further 104 million children remain out of school

Teaching and curriculum strategies AVOIDANCE Neglect Deferred entry of one grade – combine with next year’s entry QUASI MONOGRADE One teacher, multiple spaces/chalkboards Multi-year curriculum spans. Learners ‘enter’ the span at different points DIFFERENTIATION Teacher centred: Differentiated curricula: input, task, outcome Learner centred: Differentiated materials

Mobile multigrade school in Sudan

Quasi-monograde: Darfur, Sudan Grade 1+2 morning, teacher moves between 2 classrooms, Grade 3+4 afternoon, same teacher moves between same 2 classrooms

Quasi-monograde Vietnam: one teacher, five grades

Quasi-monograde Multi-year curriculum span for Grades 5 and 6 (except Maths), Grade 2 separate Rhodes, Greece

Differentiation: Teacher-centred Common language lesson, differentiated tasks, differentiated outcomes

Differentiation: Learner-centred guided by quality materials Escuela Nueva Self-organised learning 3-way relationship between T, S and M

Action research with teachers Curriculum restructuring Survey of teachers of multi-grade classes (38 schools in Sri Lanka, 23 in Vietnam) Desk study of the national curriculum by researchers and experts Sri Lanka, mathematics Vietnam, health education Small group of ‘intervention’ teachers (18 in Sri Lanka, 5 in Vietnam) Teachers develop the curriculum intervention with action researcher guided by desk study of current curriculum Intervention and Control groups, pre-and post test

Curriculum blueprint for maths: Grade 3-5 ThemeTopicG3G4G5 Numbernumber conceptXXX number patternsXXX fractionsXXX decimalsXX Roman numeralsXX Measurement/distancelength and distanceXXX weightXXX volume and capacityXXX timeXXX areaXX

Achievement impact Learning gains on knowledge tests were greater in the intervention groups than in the control groups

Curriculum Development at National level Vietnam G 1-3 Natural and Social Sciences; G 4-5 Science G4-5 Nepal G 2-3 Environment, Health, Sanitation and Social Studies G 4-5 (i) Social Studies (ii) Science, Environment and Health Education Sri Lanka G 3-4 Maths

Assessment for Learning Examples: Escuela Nueva (Colombia), Rishi Valley (India), Vietnam Assessment at end of short units/lessons to assess mastery prior to progression Learners are guided to the assessments by text not by the teacher Learners take the initiative to present themselves to the teacher for assessment Learner repeats the unit with remedial support

Assessment for: Selection of individuals: summative System performance: summative Learning: formative This type of assessment assists the teacher and the learner in the diagnosis of learning difficulties

Multigrade lessons for all Awareness of extent and of current teaching and learning strategies Curriculum re-organisation, supported by formative assessment and quality learning materials in quantity Teacher training

Education for All and Multigrade Teaching : Springer, 2006 ( ed. A W Little )