CARAGA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

National Highway Brgy Songkoy Kitcharao-Alegria Boundary, Agusan del Norte

Caraga Region Philippines 8609

SUBJECT: ELECTIVE: TEACHING MULTI-GRADE CLASSES

Multigrade Schools – Organizing for Effective and Efficient Delivery

1. What are multigrade schools?

Multigrade schools combine students of different ages and abilities in one
classroom, under the direction of one teacher. They take a variety of
organizational forms, ranging from a grouping of several formal grade divisions
under the direction of one teacher to a completely non-graded learning
environment. Multigrade schools differ from ‘traditional’ schools where each class
is typically made up of a distinct grade with its own teacher and classroom.

2. Why multigrade schools?

Multigrade schools occupy a unique place in the history of education. The
multigrade school, or one-room school house, was the dominant model of
educational provision in North America until the advent of large scale
industrialization and urbanization. In the past, schools in Great Britain used a
‘monitor system’, in which older, more advanced students helped to supervise
younger students. Single graded classes evolved in the 1800s as a means of
managing students by organizing them into age divisions or grades. The graded
textbook and demand for specialist teachers further solidified graded school
organization. Critics of the graded school system charge that it was developed to
manage large numbers of students rather than to meet their individual needs, and
that it is unrealistic to expect children to be at the same stage of development in
a given grade.

The multigrade school, however, is still an important organizational form in many

areas. They are seen as an efficient means of providing education in thinly
populated rural areas that have budgetary and staff constraints. In many urban
areas, multigrade classes are part of experimental learning and teaching
programs which try to capture the benefits of peer tutoring and independent
inquiry. Finally, in many small towns with declining student intakes, multigrade
schools offer an alternative to school amalgamation, thus helping communities to
maintain the school as an institution that preserves the sense of local identity and
culture.

3. What does it take to make a successful multigrade school?

It takes much more than hardware and administration to make a successful – i.e.
effective and efficient – multigrade school. Appropriate pedagogical training and
materials are both critical for successful multigrade teaching. Education
administrators must develop strategies that affect actual teacher behavior and
skills, and help teachers to change the way they view themselves. The multigrade
teacher’s role is one of a resource person, manager and facilitator of the learning
process.

EMAIL: cit_registrar96@yahoo.com
CELLPHONE #: 09177231006 | 09177238789 | 09177236481 WEBSITE:www.citkitcharao.edu.ph
 CARAGA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
National Highway Brgy Songkoy Kitcharao-Alegria Boundary, Agusan del Norte
Caraga Region Philippines 8609

SUBJECT: ELECTIVE: TEACHING MULTI-GRADE CLASSES

There are four critical areas of change to focus on in order to build successful
multigrade schools:

• teachers need to develop a wide repertoire of teaching techniques and

classroom management practices;
• to do so, they require material and physical inputs, of which programmed
learning materials and textbooks are of greatest importance;
• multigrade teachers require local and regional professional support networks;
• national policies with regard to teacher and administrator training, teacher
recruitment and support, and materials development need to be sensitive to,
and supportive of, the multigrade environment.

4. Costs and risks of multigrade schooling

While multigrade schools may, in optimal circumstances, offer significant
economic and pedagogical benefits, there are also several costs and drawbacks
to consider:

• Student achievement in multigrade schools may be low in comparison to

achievement in single grade schools if multigrade programs are not supported
with the required resources and if teachers are not properly trained.
• Demands on teachers’ time and organizational capabilities are high; they need
special training and materials to perform their jobs effectively.
• Students may receive less individual attention, and must often work
independently.

5. Are there alternatives to multigrade schooling?

Multigrade schools are not the only means of addressing the problem of
expanding access to education in rural areas, maintaining schools in towns with
declining populations, or managing scarce resources. Alternative policies include
biennial or triennial intakes, closing or consolidating small schools, or setting up
networks of satellite and nucleus schools.

EMAIL: cit_registrar96@yahoo.com
CELLPHONE #: 09177231006 | 09177238789 | 09177236481 WEBSITE:www.citkitcharao.edu.ph
 CARAGA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
National Highway Brgy Songkoy Kitcharao-Alegria Boundary, Agusan del Norte
Caraga Region Philippines 8609

SUBJECT: ELECTIVE: TEACHING MULTI-GRADE CLASSES

Module 1 The concept of multigrade teaching: A generic training module

Introduction

The first module in this series introduces you to the concept of multigrade
teaching. You
may be either a teacher who has been engaging in multigrade teaching for a
number of
years or a teacher who was recently recruited to a multigrade school. You might
also be a
monograde teacher who has to address multigrade situations at times.
Nevertheless, this
module will help you to understand the concept of multigrade teaching.

Learning outcomes
With the completion of the Module 1 you will have
➢ understood the meaning of multigrade teaching
➢ recognized the prevalence of multigrade teaching in the world
➢ considered the conditions under which multigrade teaching becomes a
necessity
➢ paid special attention to local prevalence of multigrade teaching
➢ assessed the need for multigrade teaching in Sri Lanka and in your school
➢ considered the significance of improving the quality of multigrade
teaching
Meaning of multigrade teaching

The term ‘multigrade teaching’ generally refers to a teaching situation where a

single
teacher has to take responsibility for teaching pupils across more than one
curriculum
grade within a timetabled period. Schools with multigrade classes are referred
to as
multigrade schools.
In most of the world’s education systems, formal education is expected to be
imparted in
a monograde teaching environment, where one teacher is responsible for a
single
curriculum grade within a timetabled period.
Although this is the general norm, in many countries in the world there are
schools in
which all classes function as multigrade classes. These schools are called “fully
multigrade schools”. In some other schools only some of the classes function as
multigrade classes while others function as monograde classes. These are called
as“partially multigrade schools”.

EMAIL: cit_registrar96@yahoo.com
CELLPHONE #: 09177231006 | 09177238789 | 09177236481 WEBSITE:www.citkitcharao.edu.ph