Multiage at ASM
What is multiage grouping?
Multiage
grouping is a way of organizing our program around students and their
individual learning needs. In ASM’s
multiage program, students of different chronological ages are assigned to the
same classroom. Classes in our Primary
and Intermediate Units are made up of 18-20 children of different developmental
levels and with a range of different abilities.
The children work together and with their teachers to support each other
in their learning. Our program allows
each child to be treated as an individual and to work at his or her own
level. Within the multiage classroom,
our methodology includes a variety of approaches that center on the child, e.g.
constructivist approaches, developmentally appropriate education, multiple
intelligences, and continuous progress.
What is the philosophical
basis for a multiage classroom?
Multiage age classrooms are based on research on child development and
learning, which recognizes that children’s cognitive, physical, social, and
emotional abilities will emerge on a timeline that is unique for each child,
and that these abilities will not always develop in the same order, or at the
same rate. This means that a child’s
development in different areas will not be uniform; it also means that children
of the same chronological age will be in different places developmentally on
different aspects of their growth.
Multiage grouping is therefore often associated with approaches that emphasize the child’s growth with reference to the individual child and to widely agreed upon developmental benchmarks, not in comparing children with one another or ranking them. The focus in learning is high expectations for all, not competition to see who is first.
Multiage classrooms are based on the belief that children benefit from interactions with other children who are at varied stages of development. It is also felt that the mixing of ages provides greater diversity, and more accurately mirrors life in the family and the community. This differs markedly from the traditional notion of sorting and assigning children by age or ability alone.
Multiage grouping is particularly appropriate for an international school like ASM, where children from more than 35 different countries work together. Our culturally diverse students come to us with a variety of different levels of development, different levels of language proficiency, and different expectations for their educational program. We view this diversity as one of the primary resources of our school. The ability to learn from classmates from all over the world is a gift that provides our student with a multiplicity of perspectives which would be difficult to reproduce in most national school systems. Our multiage grouping allows our diverse students to flourish in a classroom learning community which recognizes and appreciates diversity of culture as well as of personal development.
What are the benefits of a
multiage classroom?
Research studies sow that children in multiage classrooms have more
positive attitudes toward school, themselves, and their peers. Many teachers
report that there are fewer classroom management problems in multiage
classrooms; teachers in multiage classrooms learn to manage their classrooms so
that children become self-regulating and help each other to “learn the
rules.” Multiage classrooms are
especially beneficial to children who need more time and/or more ways of
learning. Continuity from year to year is seen as one of the biggest advantages
of multiage classrooms.
Multiage grouping enables children to progress at their own rate, making
continuous progress rather that being limited to grade-level expectations. Multiage groupings work because:
What
patterns of age grouping are there in ASM’s multiage program?
While students of any age can be grouped together in multiage clusters,
ASM’s program groups children of the ages of 3-
Children ideally have the same teacher for two years in the Pre-school
and for three years in the Primary and Intermediate Units. Each year in the Pre-school classes
approximately 1/2 of the class advances to the Primary Unit while 1/2 continues
the following year with the same teacher.
In the Primary and Intermediate Units 1/3 of the class advances to the
next level at the end of the school year while approximately 2/3 of the class
continue to work together as a group the following year. The percentages are approximate because one
of the characteristics of ASM, like most international schools, is that many of
our families are transferred each year either back to their home country or to
other international assignments.
How
is learning in a multiage classroom managed?
Multiage grouping requires teachers to have a wide repertoire of
instructional practices beyond teacher-maintained discipline and whole class
direct instruction using one set of textbooks.
Students in our multiage classrooms share the responsibility for classroom
management. They learn to be responsible for themselves and others both in the
work of the classroom and its maintenance.
Teachers also use multiage grouping as an opportunity for authentic work
using primary sources, experiences outside the classroom, community members as
resources, etc. Learning in ASM’s
multiage classrooms is active, “hands on”, and project-based.
There is continuous monitoring and assessment of learning both by
teachers and students. Because the
classroom is organized around the children, teachers look at where an individual
child is in his or her development to determine what is appropriate to come
next. Teachers often keep clipboards and
checklists handy to note their observations of the children; children learn to
assess their own work and to work with the teacher to set individual learning
goals.
Children are frequently regrouped for various activities. This prevents
younger children from becoming too dependent on older students, and prevents
older students from becoming too domineering.
This also allows the teacher to stay alert to the interests of children
or the needs that they may have.
Multiage classrooms continually seek to assess the relationship between
teaching and learning. It is a learner-centered environment rather than a
teacher-centered one.
What
does the curriculum look like?
The curriculum for our multiage classrooms is based on learning
activities and materials that are appropriate to the physical, emotional,
social, and intellectual age-span in the class.
Multiage classes recognize the individual personality, learning style,
and family background of each student in the way learning experiences are
designed. Teacher work together to prepare a learning environment characterized
by:
Who
are the teachers and what is their role?
ASM multiage teachers have an intimate knowledge of child development
and have had experience teaching different grade levels. All of our teachers have had specific
in-service training in teaching multiage groups. Our association with the
National Association of Multiage Education provides us with on-going in-service
education designed to assist our teachers in honing their skills and adding to
their repertoire of multiage strategies.
Multiage teachers must be able to monitor and adjust instruction. They also need to have a high tolerance for
noise and activity. Multiage classrooms
are busy and productive places, with several groups working simultaneously. The
teacher role is focused on facilitation and coordination of the classroom
activities.
Are
multiage classrooms best taught by teacher teams?
A team or collaborative approach between colleagues increases the
variety of learning and teaching opportunities.
In addition, teams more accurately diagnose any learning difficulties
and develop the appropriate instructional response. ASM multiage teachers meet as a team at least
once per week to collaborate, share ideas and concerns, and solve problems.
What
kinds of resources are needed?
Multiage classrooms are ideally larger than regular classrooms, and
require adequate space for groups to move around and regroup for learning
activities. At ASM we limit enrollment
in our multiage classes in order to provide adequate space for the variety of
learning activities that characterize the multiage groups. We have recently enlarged two of our multiage
classrooms to provide additional space for learning and we continue to search
for new ways to create space for learning activities. Because of the wide range of skills and
abilities, multiage classrooms require a large supply of materials. ASM is committed to providing the best of
educational materials for our multiage classes and has made the necessary
investment to make sure that each classroom has the needed supplies and
materials. Pre-school and Primary
classes are also provided with teaching Interns or classroom assistants who
work as co-instructors along with the classroom teacher and make more
individualized instruction possible.
Intern assistance also allows time for the classroom teacher to visit
and observe other multiage classrooms as part of our ongoing teacher education
program and collaborative approach towards professional development.
What
kinds of instructional strategies work best in a multiage classroom?
Cooperative learning is a common strategy employed in ASM’s multiage classrooms. Teachers plan together theme-based or interdisciplinary units. A wide range of learning modalities are utilized. In our multiage classrooms children learn literacy skills by reading trade books and chapter books and by learning to write using a “process approach”, i.e. incorporating multiple steps including brainstorming, multiple drafts and both peer and teacher input prior to producing a final product. In Math we emphasize problem solving and relating math to other subject areas as well as to life beyond the classroom. Work in phonics, spelling, and math computation are included.
How
can parents and the community get involved with ASM’s multiage classrooms?
Parents and community members are invited to be resources to our
multiage classes. Parent volunteers work to prepare materials and assist the
classroom teachers in many different ways.
Parents are invited to participate in parent education workshops on a
regular basis. These workshops provide
information about many aspects of our program and keep the lines of communication
open to allow opportunities for information and input.
Where
can I find more information about multiage classrooms?
Selected
Goodlad, John I., and Anderson, Robert, The Nongraded Elementary School.
Revised Edition. Teachers College Press,
Hunter, Madeline, How to Change to a Nongraded School; Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development,
Rathbone, Charles, Anne Bingtham,
Stone, Sandra J., Creating the Multiage Classroom. Good Year Books,
Adapted from
Multiage Grouping, The Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement of the
Northeast and