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Multi-age classroom


Multi-age classrooms or composite classes are classrooms with students from more than one grade level. They are created because of a pedagogical choice of a school or school district. They are different from split classes which are formed when there are too many students for one class - but not enough to form two classes of the same grade level. Composite classes are more common in smaller schools; an extreme form is the one-room school.

Studies of the performance of students in composite classes shows their academic performance is not substantially different from those in single-grade classrooms; instead, outcomes tend to be a function of the teacher's performance.

For a given number of students, composite classes allow greater administrative flexibility in allocating students to classes. This allows gender balancing, matching of student needs to teaching expertise, and balancing class sizes. By allocating children to classes according to specific learning needs, it is possible to arrange classes with narrower ranges of abilities.

Schools composed exclusively of composite classes are increasingly common in Australian primary school education; they are not uncommon in New Zealand.

Composite classes often meet resistance, with parents often believing that their child is disadvantaged by being in one. This perception is often regardless of whether their child would be in the younger or older cohort.

Advocates of multi-age classrooms point to the lack of age stratification in workplaces, families or other social environments as a reason to create a similar environment in the classroom.

Social benefits often cited are:

Educational benefits often cited are:

At any one time, both composite and single-level classes have groups of students at a variety of levels. This is part of the normal delivery of the curriculum. Education expectations are set at curriculum levels which span across two years; for example, see the Victorian Essential Learning Standards. Contemporary teaching and learning materials are developed for multi-age classes. By using them, teachers can introduce core concepts to the whole classroom, and then differentiate instruction for the range of learners in the classroom.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

The students will be of a greater range of size, age and maturity which can have both positive and negative implications particularly in class sporting activities and playground interaction.


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