S SAN JOSE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

San Jose, Malilipot, Albay

TEACHING
MULTI-GRADE CLASSES

What is a Multi-Grade Classes?

- A multi – grade classroom refers to a class that has two or more grade
level of children in one classroom.
- Multigrade classes also called A Multi-Age Group. Multi-age is a term
commonly used today to describe mixed-age groups.
- The meaning of multi-age is “Use multi-age to mean two or more grade
levels that have been intentionally blended together to improve learning.
- Multi-age grouping may be implemented for institutional or pedagogical
reasons by the administration of the school, but the outcome is that
students are able to interact across age groups and have long-term
relationships with other students and teachers. In a multi-age middle
school program students from more than grade level learn side by side.
The oldest students eventually move on and are replaced by a new group
of younger students each year.

Why Multigrade Class Exists?

1. Multigrade classes were organized as a matter of necessities for remote
barangays where the number of children enrolled could not meet the
required number to organize a single grade class and assign the
necessary teacher from each class.
2. Distance of the barrio and the small number of students for each class.
3. Shortage of fund teachers and school buildings.

Role of Teachers in Multi-Grade Class

- As a Teacher
- As a Facilitator
- As a Planner
- As an Evaluator
- As a Material Designer
- As an Action Researcher
- As contact with the Community.

Advantages and Challenges of Multigrade Teaching

Advantages for LEARNERS
- Maximum social interaction between peers.
- Cooperative learning is predominant.
- Will learn to be independent, self-directed learners and can learn to be
more resourceful.
- Prepared for real life.
- Can learn to assume leading and supporting role as needed in different
work situations.
- Stigma associated with failure and repetition is removed.
- Girls who are expected to stay home will have more chances to go to
school since schools are located within the community.
- Students can attain higher achievement levels especially in math, science
and language.

Challenges for LEARNERS:

- Requires more discipline, greater concentration and more focus in order
to benefit from effective strategies.
- Less reliance on direct supervision by teacher.
- Requires more initiative and resourceful to function effectively.
- May receive less individual attention from a less experienced teacher.

Advantages for TEACHERS

- Can make the most of inter-age, multilevel situation to facilitate learning
process.
- Can get to know students more and carefully assess their needs and
adopt appropriate teaching strategies.
- Can innovate and experiment with different age groups and deal with
curriculum content across subject areas.
- Shares responsibility for facilitating learning with pupils, parents, other
community members.
- More opportunities for activity-centered, experience-based approaches
rather than whole group, lecture/drill, root method to teaching

Challenges for TEACHERS

- Requires more preparation of curriculum Learning Materials.
- Requires more careful study of learner’s developmental characteristics
across the age levels involved in the class, approaches, and strategies
that are effective and variable within a multigrade class.
 - More investment in organization of the classroom as learning
environment.

Advantages for Community and School System

- Efficient means of providing educational services to thinly populated
areas and remote communities.
- Efficient means of using limited educational resources.
- Maintaining small barrio schools help to build and sustain the identity of
the community and the cultural life of the people in the community.

Challenges for COMMUNITY and SCHOOL SYSTEM

- Student achievement maybe poor in programs do not have the required
resources and teachers are not properly trained.
- Requires investment in training of teachers, supervisors and
administrative personnel to prepare them for the demands of multigrade
teaching and administration of multigrade schools.

Basic Principles
1. Children are unique
2. Children can learn best from experience
3. Children can and do learn well from one another
4. The role of teacher
5. The implementation of the curriculum must consider the varied abilities,
levels and interests within particular group.
6. The evaluation of educational program
7. Inter-aging of the combination of children of different ages is more
respectful of individual needs of learners and reflects real life.