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Children at the Center: Implementing the Multiage Classroom
Pricing and Availability
Educators in schools both large and small are finding that mixing older and younger children in a single classroom—a practice that remote schools have used for decades as a necessity rather than as a strategy—can offer both academic and social advantages over grouping students by age. But without careful planning and broad support from faculty and community, switching from graded to multiage classrooms can divide staff and raise parental ire.
“Changing to a multiage classroom reflects a magnitude of change far greater than simply changing to a new textbook or learning a new strategy or program,” notes Bruce Miller, researcher at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. “Implementing multiage instruction and organization represents a major shift in classroom norms.”
In a richly descriptive book, Miller examines multiage programs at four elementary schools. Developed by the Laboratory and the Clearinghouse, the book shares firsthand insights of teachers and administrators who made the change from graded to multiage classrooms. In addition, it draws upon survey responses from participants in a national multiage conference and offers guidelines for a smooth transition to a multiage structure.
In the four schools studied, strategies such as cooperative learning, cross-age tutoring, team teaching, and use of community volunteers became mainstays of instruction. These strategies reduced the traditional reliance on learning approaches like whole-group instruction, seatwork, and independent study.
In this new environment, the teacher’s role changed from presenter and manager to problem-solver and facilitator. Teachers who had worked in isolation began turning to their colleagues for ideas, feedback, and support. And they reported that students’ cooperative behaviors began to generalize to settings outside the classroom, such as the playground and the neighborhood.
Although Miller stresses that there is no single model or recipe for becoming a multiage classroom or school, he identifies a number of incremental steps that can facilitate change and improve the likelihood of success.
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction Sample
Collecting Information from the Field Sample
- A Veteran Teacher's Story
- Surveys and Indepth Interviews
Survey Results: Reasons for Implementing a Multiage Program
- Factors of Successful Multiage Programs
- Implementation Problems
- Recommendations
- Summary
- Implications
Interview Results
- What Could Be So Compelling?
- The Conceptual Foundation:
- Developmentally Appropriate Practice
Lincoln Elementary School
- In the Beginning
- The Relational Foundation: Trust, Respect, and Sharing Power
- The Evolving Program: A Chronology of Change
- The Uncertainty of Change: Mapping Uncharted Territory
- Making the Grade: Challenges in Becoming Multiage
- Enlarging the Rewards of Teaching
Overland Elementary School
- Instructional Organization
- The Emerging Vision
- Ownership: The Key to Problem Solution
- Benefits Have Outweighed Difficulties
Boise-Eliot School
- Easing Transitions: Time, Staff Development, and Deep Understanding
- Indicators of Readiness
- Changing to a Multiage Classroom: Through the Eyes of Teachers
- What Benefits Students, Benefits Teachers
Concrete Elementary School
- 1988-90: Years of Exploration
- 1990-91: A Year of Orientation and Planning
- 1991-92: First-Year Implementation and the Unknown
- 1992-93: Expansion and Refinement
- 1993-94: Refinement and Full-Speed Ahead
- Commitment, Support, and the Dilemma of Change
- We Did It! The Benefits of Seeing It Through
Conclusion
- Compelling Reasons for Implementation
- The Roles and Knowledge of Teachers Participating in Implementation
- Organizational Climate That Facilitates Change
- Parent Involvement and Support
- Leadership, Support, and Transformation
Implications
- Prerequisites for Success: Leadership, Commitment, Support
- Guiding Principles from the Four Schools
- Magnitude of Change
Appendices
- Appendix A: Methodology
- Appendix B: Data Collection Instruments
- Appendix C: Codebook
Bibliography
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