Multigrade Pedagogy and Assessment Angela W Little Delhi, Oct 24-26 2007

1. Multigrade Pedagogy and AssessmentAngela W LittleDelhi, Oct 24-26 2007 www.ioe.ac.uk/multigrade

2. Maheswari’s multigrade school

3. What is multigrade teaching? The teaching of pupils from different curriculum grades within the same timetabled period. Multi-grade is also referred to as: • Multiple class • Composite class • Vertical group • Mixed year class • Family class • Double class • Combined class • Unitary schools (one-teacher schools)

4. Making the invisible visible • India:In 2005-6 76% of all primary (grade 1-5) schools had 3 or less teachers • Peru In 1998 78% of all public primary schools were multigraded • Burkina Faso In 2000 36% of primary schools and 20% of classes were multigraded. 18% of students were in multigraded classes • England In 2000 25% of primary classes were ‘mixed year’. • 192 million (of 647 million enrolled in primary) worldwide in de facto MG classes. A further 104 million children remain out of school

5. Teaching and curriculum strategies AVOIDANCE • Neglect • Deferred entry of one grade – combine with next year’s entry QUASI MONOGRADE • One teacher, multiple spaces/chalkboards • Multi-year curriculum spans. Learners ‘enter’ the span at different points DIFFERENTIATION • Teacher centred: Differentiated curricula: input, task, outcome • Learner centred: Differentiated materials

6. Mobile multigrade school in Sudan

7. Quasi-monograde: Darfur, SudanGrade 1+2 morning, teacher moves between 2 classrooms, Grade 3+4 afternoon, same teacher moves between same 2 classrooms

8. Quasi-monogradeVietnam: one teacher, five grades

9. Quasi-monograde Multi-year curriculum span for Grades 5 and 6(except Maths), Grade 2 separateRhodes, Greece

10. Differentiation: Teacher-centredCommon language lesson, differentiated tasks, differentiated outcomes

11. Differentiation: Learner-centred guided by quality materials Escuela Nueva Self-organised learning 3-way relationship between T, S and M

12. Action research with teachersCurriculum restructuring • Survey of teachers of multi-grade classes (38 schools in Sri Lanka, 23 in Vietnam) • Desk study of the national curriculum by researchers and experts • Sri Lanka, mathematics • Vietnam, health education • Small group of ‘intervention’ teachers (18 in Sri Lanka, 5 in Vietnam) • Teachers develop the curriculum intervention with action researcher guided by desk study of current curriculum • Intervention and Control groups, pre-and post test

13. Curriculum blueprint for maths: Grade 3-5

14. Achievement impact • Learning gains on knowledge tests were greater in the intervention groups than in the control groups

15. Curriculum Development at National level Vietnam • G 1-3 Natural and Social Sciences; G 4-5 Science G4-5 Nepal • G 2-3 Environment, Health, Sanitation and Social Studies • G 4-5 (i) Social Studies (ii) Science, Environment and Health Education Sri Lanka • G 3-4 Maths

16. Assessment for Learning • Examples: Escuela Nueva (Colombia), Rishi Valley (India), Vietnam • Assessment at end of short units/lessons to assess mastery prior to progression • Learners are guided to the assessments by text not by the teacher • Learners take the initiative to present themselves to the teacher for assessment • Learner repeats the unit with remedial support

17. Assessment for: • Selection of individuals: summative • System performance: summative • Learning: formative This type of assessment assists the teacher and the learner in the diagnosis of learning difficulties

18. Multigrade lessons for all • Awareness of extent and of current teaching and learning strategies • Curriculum re-organisation, supported by formative assessment and quality learning materials in quantity • Teacher training

19. Education for All and Multigrade Teaching : Springer, 2006 (ed. A W Little ) www.ioe.ac.uk/multigrade