Multigrade Classrooms

Teaching in a multigrade classroom is a rewarding and challenging experience. Multigrade classrooms demand that teachers focus more on a 'needs based' or 'child centred' approach rather than a 'curriculum centred' one. The advantages of teaching multigrades are numerous but include:

• a focus on the individual needs of each child
• continuity of instruction and class stability
• a focus on developmental learning stages rather than grade levels
• younger students learning from older students

 

10.1 Programming

Planning at all levels is important but particularly for multigrade classrooms and this usually requires time and commitment in terms of programming and daily lesson planning. A program needs to be a practical and effective document for you. A program for a multigrade class must cater for the developmental needs of all students.

A program is a written document indicating forward classroom planning, detailing a sequence of learning experiences designed to produce certain desired outcomes. The format is flexible and allows for individual freedom. Programs evolve and are refined according to:

• the teacher's educational philosophy
• the school's policies and educational philosophy
• consideration of the developmental needs of students
• interpretion of the Board of Studies syllabus and NSW Department of School Education perspective

Teaching Programs May Include:

Statement of Aims:

These may be expressed at a different level eg classroom, school. They suggest long term outcomes which are usually not measurable.

Statement of Outcomes:

Outcomes describe what students will be able to do as an immediate result of a particular teaching program.

Outcomes should be achievable and, in most cases, form the basis for evaluation.

Sequenced Learning experiences:

Be specific and incorporate knowledge, skills, attitudes and values.

Show sequential development and cater for individual needs.

 

sample scope and sequence outline is provided at Section 17.5

Teaching Strategies

When planning teaching strategies, methods and organisation teachers must maintain a balance between teacher directed and child centred activities which cater for all learning styles.

Time Frames:

Indicate the time frame for each unit of work or sequence of activities.

Resources:

List and link resources with content strategies and method.

Registration:

Registration is that part of the program which records work treated. The registration is an official record for which teachers are accountable and therefore work should be clearly dated and variations to the program indicated.

Evaluation:

Regular evaluation of the teaching and learning process is essential to improvement. Anticipated outcomes should be linked to student behavioural indicators as deteminants of the success of the teaching and learning methodologies implemented. The indicators may be qualitative and/or quantitative.

Qualitative data may include changes in the student awareness or understanding of information or proceses, changes in student behaviours or aspirations and increased student participation in activities.

Quantitative data includes any numerical indicators such as changes in test scores, participation rates attainment of qualifications etc.

Every teacher has their own style of programming, Section 17.5 includes a few examples of programming formats for multigrades. It is recommended that you regularly review your program formats and those of your colleagues for comparison and useful ideas.

Contact neighbouring small schools to swap programming ideas, units of work and resources.

10.2 Curriculum Content

It is a good idea to have a Years 3-6 overview of units to be taught, to ensure all curriculum areas are being covered without any repetition of content occurring. Look in your school to see if you already have a Science & Technology/HSIE overview.

A sample program overview is at Section 17.5.

10.3 Timetable

Be prepared and be organised to keep all grades busy and on task. Students need to be trained to be independent learners - this comes through the positive reinforcement structures you put in place. Always emphasise the importance of being able to work independently and responsibly. Structure really is vital in multigrade classrooms. The teacher needs to be able to spend quality time with each grade focusing on their specific learning needs. The children need to be disciplined so they can work in small groups for the majority of the time.

Set up a routine that the children feel comfortable with and stick to it. Chopping and changing is one of the most disruptive things to a student's learning. Have a class timetable displayed in the classroom so all the students know what's happening and what to go on with next.

Section 17.5 contains examples of timetable formats. Collect and insert other examples that work for you.

10.4 Classroom Organisation

Store commonly used things in boxes or tins. Always keep them in the same place. If things are kept tidy and always in the same place then students don't need to ask you where to find resources. An organised environment is comforting to all who work in it. Students' work should also be organised in boxes or tote trays.

Give some consideration to the following things:

What do you do if?	Possible solutions
the phone rings during class time	set up a student phone roster and establish the procedure for taking messages invest in an answering machine
extra photocopies are needed during a lesson	train a student to be the photocopier monitor have the photocopier set up or close to the classroom
there is a fire or bomb scare (See Section 15)	ensure regular fire drills are done and the children have a clear understanding of the procedure
a consultant or unexpected visitor arrives while you are teaching or you are required to be outside of the classroom	invite them into the room and give them a job have a box of extension work or extra activities readily available for the children to continue working on ensure each child has a book on his/her desk to read keep a timetable clearly displayed so all children know the routine have class monitors to lead the class

Rosters

The children love responsibility and every job you can delegate is one less job you have to do. It gives them ownership of their school and lessens your workload.

Examples include:

• Answering the phone
• Classroom organisation
• Library monitors
• Lunches
• Sports shed control
• Clean up duties
• Collecting the mail
• Reading monitors
• Computer monitors

Set up systems so that children are responsible for registering that their homework has come in or that their readers have been changed. Set up wall charts or folders that the children can register on to enable you to check their progress easily.

10.5 Classroom Ideas

 

Reading Schemes

There are a number of reading schemes which encourage pupils to read for pleasure. For example:

DEAR Drop Everything and Read

BEAR Be Enthusiastic about Reading

SSR Silent Sustained Reading

Once a routine is established, the reading programs can be used to reward pupils and also provide a fallback task for unexpected interruptions to class activities.

Library

Borrow a box of books from another school and rotate resources.

Try to buy some new resources for each unit you teach to inspire and motivate.

Remember, SCAN is a valuable source of information, both for teaching ideas and resources. Annual subscription is $65.

Participate in 'On Line' projects e.g. 'Book Raps' on www.set.nsw.edu.au/schoollibraries

Always remember you can 'phone Michelle Ellis on 02 98867 488 for any information or assistance about school libraries.

 

Class Meetings

Set up a structure for class meetings or school parliament. Hold these meetings on a regular basis. The more input you have from the children, the more cohesively the school will operate and the more willing they will be to accept extra responsibility etc.

Parental Involvement

Encourage all parents to be actively involved in the classroom. Roster volunteer parents on for reading, writing and maths activities. Use parent helpers to make sport manageable. Parents/community may also be able to assist with technology, discos and ground maintenance.

Keep parents informed of curriculum changes; hold information nights, inform them of the latest strategies for teaching reading, writing and sounds.

Peer tutoring is a useful strategy to use in a multigrade classroom. It makes the children feel important as there is always someone they can help and someone who can help them. Peer tutors can be used for reading, spelling and maths. Often a younger student can go to their buddy for help to read something rather than interrupting you or the group with which they are working.

10.6 Learning Difficulties and Special Needs

Rural schools in isolated areas often have difficulty obtaining support teachers to assist children with learning difficulties. However they still need to provide resources to cater for the needs of children with a broad range of learning difficulties.

Some ways of providing the additional resources include:

• parents as peer tutors
• intensive reading programs
• peer group support structures
• employment of support eg teacher's aides
• equity programs
• P & C funding programs
• DET integration support programs eg counsellors, ISTB, ISTLD

 

Outcomes

It is expected that children with learning difficulties and special needs will have, at the completion of primary school, achieved broad outcomes that include:

• competence with literacy and numeracy to the level of their identified competency
• living skills necessary for the effective functioning within society
• the ability to feel safe and participate as a valued class and community member

Implementation

The school's management plan will allow:

• specialised programs for students with learning difficulties
• follow up programs for children who have been on specialised programs
• a consistent reading remediation program to promote student success and self esteem

General Considerations

The main focus should be to:

• identify K-2 children at risk and implement an early intervention program
• consider classroom based assessment procedures which allow children with learning difficulties to be targeted for specialised programs
• inform parents of identified students and seek their cooperation and permission prior to implement any strategies or programs for their child.

The assistance, advice and support of the district Assistant Principal (Learning Difficulties) and the school counsellor should be obtained in the development of all strategies related to the child's learning difficulties. Programs should be evaluated regularly to ensure the success and progress of students.

10.7 Assessment and Reporting

The publication "Strategies for Assessment and Reporting: Primary Schools", NSW Department of School Education 1997 has been provided to all schools to assist in developing appropriate assessment and reporting strategies for your school. It contains a wide array of school-based examples that should be used as a guide for discussion and the development of school assessment and reporting policies in collaboration with the school community.

For information about this document contact Assessment & Reporting on (02) 98867685.

 

10.7.1 Issues for Small School Principals

As a principal in a small school there are some aspects of assessment and reporting which may require special consideration.

 

Possible Sources of Error in Assessment

A Central Tendency

Teachers in small schools often have a wide range of student abilities across a small number of students. In these circumstances there is a temptation not to assess the students across the whole achievement range (ie as very high or very low) on specific assessment criteria.

B Prejudging

Teachers in small schools know their students very well and may develop expectations of their performance. These expectations become a source of error if they lead to judgements based upon a preconceived perception of the student's ability rather than the student's actual performance.

C Confusing Achievement and Effort

The close teach/student relationship in small schools may lead to a willingness to encourage effort rather than assess the achievement of outcomes.

D Severity/Leniency

Teachers are known to assess work differently. Some teachers give all their students higher or lower assessments than their colleagues.

E Over-assessing

Smaller student numbers may encourage over assessment. "Weighing the piglet every day doesn't necessarily make the piglet grow faster".

Solutions

A Networks

The reliability of teacher judgements is improved when teachers cooperatively develop a shared understanding of what constitutes achievement of an outcome. The small school teacher must make the effort to meet with colleagues on a regular basis to cooperatively develop programs and discuss samples of students' work.

B Statewide Assessment

Careful analysis of Basic Skills Test results over a number of years will provide useful benchmarks for comparison. The small school teacher must be careful to keep these results in context and not draw inappropriate conclusions from them about the achievement of educational outcomes or the value of a particular program.

C Competitions

Academic competitions conducted by professional associations and KLA groups can provide information about the relative capabilities of your students.

REFERENCE "Strategies for Assessment and Reporting: Primary Schools" - NSW Department of Education & Training, 1997

10.7.2 Principles for Assessment and Reporting

When designing reports and using assessments techniques it is useful to consider the following points:

Effective and informative assessment and reporting practice:

• has clear direct links with outcomes
• is integral to teaching and learning
• is balanced, comprehensive and varied
• is valid
• is fair
• engages the learner
• values teacher judgement
• is time efficient and manageable
• recognises individual achievement and progress
• involves a whole school approach
• actively involves parents
• conveys meaningful and useful information

 

Sample Assessment and Reporting Timetable

TERM 1	Stage Parent/Teacher Information Sessions where teachers explain the school year, homework policies, class rules, major excursion initiatives and distribute expected Syllabus Outcomes. Teachers begin to develop pupil Conference Books which include work samples, teacher prepared assessment tasks, stated goals, anecdotal comments, pre-tests and conference notes. These books are to be ongoing throughout the school year and used to support reporting strategies. Standardised Assessment (Literacy) for all students Year 1-6. Results to be made available to students and parents through parent interview as requested.
TERM 2	3 Way Conferences for all students K-6 with follow up written Records of Interview and student goal setting in Week 4 Term 2. Ongoing use of Conference Books
TERM 3	Standardised Assessment (Literacy) for all students Year 1-6. Results to be made available to students and parents through parent interview as requested. Ongoing use of Conference Books. Basic Skills Assessment for Years 3 and 5 with results forwarded home. Interviews as requested.
TERM 4	Written reports based on Syllabus Outcomes presented in Term 1 with interviews upon request by teacher, student or parent in Week 4 Term 3. Recognition of Student Achievements at Presentation Morning to recognise the achievements of all students along with trophies for the recognition of excellence.

10.8 What Assessment Strategies Should Be Used?

Much valuable information will be collected incidentally through observation and interaction. Other assessment information can be collected both formally and informally at regular intervals. Assessment tasks should be clearly related to learning experiences and should take into account the syllabus outcomes they are designed to measure.

A variety of tasks should be used. These could include:

• writing conferences
• reading conferences
• group discussions
• role plays
• spoken presentations
• written presentations
• independent writing
• collaborative writing
• cloze analysis
• running records
• miscue analysis
• reading responses
• reading logs
• story maps
• teacher made topic tests
• observation of learning behaviours/kidwatching
• listening to students
• questioning
• anecdotal records of the processes and products of learning
• checklists with descriptive measures
• dated work samples
• self assessments
• peer observations
• parent questionnaires
• parent feedback following reports, interviews etc
• learning journals
• experiment reports
• risk taking skills
• cooperative skills
• child written questions
• standardised measures
• specialist norm referenced tests - school counsellor
• basic skills testing
• English, Maths, Science competitions

 

10.9 Collaborative Assessment

 

The Collaborative Assessment process involves interaction between teacher, child and parents, in a continuous, information-gathering and reporting cycle. Each has a role to play in the assessment of the individual child. In this way, the processes of the child's learning can be determined as well as the stage of achievement reached.

The active participation of the child in process results in an improvement in the child's self-esteem, and consequently his/her achievements.

Teacher Assessment

Information can be gathered from:

• running records
• cloze procedures
• standardised measures
• self assessments
• questionnaires
• teacher-made topic tests
• checklists
• case histories
• anecdotal comments
• child written questions
• story maps
• character profiles
• experiments
• reading logs
• retelling
• kidwatching
• conferences

 

Student Assessment

Children can evaluate themselves in terms of their own progress, achievements, attitudes and abilities. They can also provide useful peer assessment of each other.

Samples of pupil self assessment forms are in Section 17.6

Parent Assessment

Parents know a great deal about their children's development. They can note progress, problems and changes that they may perceive.

Samples of parent assessment forms are in Section 17.6

10.10 Reporting

 

Important Principles:

• Be honest but positive
• Each student will probably be working at a range of stages at any time, depending on the nature of the specific task, their interests, motivation and learning styles.
• Student progress will be gradual and irregular and the teacher's judgement therefore needs to be on the basis of an overall judgement rather than ticking off of specific tasks.
• Progress within the English and Mathematics strands may also differ. A student may be working at Stage 2 in Subtraction and at the same time be at Stage 1 for Time.
• Parents may be concerned if they do not understand the reporting process and their children appear to be at the same level/stage of achievement over 2 or 3 reporting periods.

  Figure 2: Issues to consider when reporting student achievement

  AUDIENCE	PURPOSE	FORMAT	ISSUES TO CONSIDER
  Teachers	provide information about students entering class coming from another school	progress in each strand of the learning area + extra information relating to the individual student	is it possible to have an ongoing record card/profile folder for each student in each learning area?
  Students	indicate progress, strengths, areas which need attention	often informal feedback, written comments, interviews throughout the year	process largely informal
  Parents... wider community	indicate progress student is making communicate key features of the curriculum being studied indicate areas for improvement	written reports interviews informal discussions	need to communicate clearly to parents about levels, what they mean reports to parents need to be jargon free issues of format and work load computer generated, detailed booklets to accompany reports

   

  Figure 3: Features of Effective Reporting

  

  Designing Reports

  Reporting can also be a three way collaborative process with the student, the caregivers and the teachers reporting to each other about student progress.

  Examples of reporting formats are provided in "Strategies for Assessment & Reporting: Primary Schools" and other samples can be found in Section 17.7

  NOTE: It is important that the report format used meets the current requirements of the department.

  REFERENCES: "Strategies for Assessment & Reporting: Primary Schools"- NSW DEAT 1997 K-6 Assessment and Reporting - DSE Kindergarten Workbook - DSE K-6 Assessment in Mathematics - DSE "Assessment through Kidwatching" - Julie Nourse, Dubbo District Office 1997 "Starting with Assessment - Mathematics" - DEAT 2000

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