Why Multiage Classrooms?

                                         

This blog is also the Q&A. Enjoy!  Shabbat shalom, Rhonda

Q: Why Multiage Classrooms?

A: In response to extensive parental input regarding social and academic opportunities, and to secure the school’s economic viability, the Hebrew Academy board of trustees sought a new educational model that would support strongly differentiated instruction while allowing for larger and more diverse social groupings.  After extensive research nationally, the board became very interested in the writing of Multiage Learning proponents, and investigated this model deeply.  Once choosing it, they then sought a new head of school (me, ultimately) whose educational vision matched that of the school’s and who had the experience to lead teachers, parents, and students through the transition. 

Four Learning Advantages in Multiage Classrooms

1.       Differentiated Instruction—Teachers in multiage classrooms focus on the learning goals of each student rather than on a single set of goals for all students (e.g. “Fifth grade Language Arts”).  By combining ages, we dissolve the persistent though wrong-minded thought that everyone in the room ought to be at the same developmental place. This frees teachers to find the next instructional point for each student, regardless of age or the grade they would have been in. For instance, we have some 5 year olds and some six year olds reading at a “second grade level” while other five and six year olds are reading at kindergarten and first grade levels. One sixth grade student may be reading the Talmud’s Aramaic with beginner’s understanding while a seventh grader (who might be superb at Math) continues to master a Mishnaic statement in Hebrew. Differentiation addresses the reality that every person learns differently and at a different pace. By acknowledging that reality and using it as one’s teaching (and parenting) premise, we adults can foster rather than hinder growth for each child.  “I can’t,” becomes, “I haven’t yet.”  And “I can,” becomes, “I can now do X and next up is Y.”   “I can’t” stops the train; so does “I can.”   In each of these frames of mind there is nowhere else to go.  In the former case, the child can never achieve it; in the latter case, the child already has achieved it, so that’s that.  By deeply individualizing (differentiating) instruction for these children, they are motivated rather than stopped; they want to progress from where they are now to a new place just over the horizon.

2.       Individual Attention and Assessment—The heart of instruction in a multiage classroom is the individual student, so each student is regularly listened to, thought about, encouraged, and directed according to his or her specific needs as identified regularly by the teachers over the course or two or three years.  While much of the work is done in groups, these groups are formed based on the teacher’s ongoing assessment of each member’s instructional (and sometimes social) needs.  Individual attention and assessment address the reality that children flourish when attended to deeply by caring adults. After a baseline is set in the fall, teachers revisit each student’s progress several times each week.  While whole group instruction sets a theme, a big idea, or a direction, individual and small group meetings, conferences, and assignments move the individuals along their own continuum of growth.

3.       Pursuit of Individual Interests—In multiage classrooms, part of each day’s learning takes place at centers and through projects.  These centers and projects are orchestrated by the teachers and often relate to the unit theme or big ideas, but they are chosen by each student.  Do I feel like writing? Listening to music? Doing a computer search? Solving a puzzle? Playing a math game?  Do I want to work alone right now or with my friends?  Teachers note what each student is drawn to, and in subtle ways encourage students to stretch themselves and, at times, take small social and intellectual risks.  Student choice addresses the reality that everyone’s set of passions and talents is unique, and that life fulfillment comes when it shapes one’s  work, learning, communal, and social choices.

4.       Opportunity for New Friendships—Each year in a multiage classroom, a student is part of the youngest, the middle or the oldest group in the class.  As each grade group “graduates out” from a class and another group “graduates in,” the social dynamics change.  Last year’s novice may become this year’s old hand.  Last year’s confident eldest may have to work through shyness again.  Personal growth is presumed normal. The social reinvention children undergo periodically, that is so very difficult when one travels with a static set of peers, is encouraged in this combination of stability and change.  In our slightly larger classes there are more options; over the years those options grow, not only in number but also in quality.  Opportunities for new friendships address the reality that as children develop, they crave the stimulation of different relationships.