How Much of a Difference Can a Year Make?
Looking at the Social and Academic Dynamics of Multiage Classrooms
Introduction and Guiding Research Questions
For my student teaching experience, I was placed into a school that has only been open for two years. Upon walking into James Van Allen Elementary, I was amazed at how beautiful my surroundings were. Everything was brand new and designed with the students in mind; any student would be lucky to attend this school I thought to myself. I learned right away that all the classes, except Kindergarten, are multilevel. Team 1, marked in yellow, represents the Kindergarten students. Team 2, marked in blue, represents all the 1/2 classrooms. Team 3, marked in purple, is the 3/4 students. Team 4, marked in green, represents the 5/6 classes. Students are easily able to identify what belongs to their team (i.e. which bathrooms, which kickballs to use at recess), because everything is color coded. My own grade school was solely straight grade and I had never been in a mixed-level classroom before. As I walked down the hallway towards the blue pod, I wondered how different teaching in a mixed level class would be than what I had experienced in every other classroom I have ever been in.
The way the classes operate at Van Allen is set up differently than in many other multi-level schools. The first/second grade teachers felt that they could not adapt the school district’s curriculum to work for multiaged students in mathematics, language arts, or social studies. Thus they decided that for these subjects only, the classes would become straight grade. The teachers were divided into four pairs of cooperating teams. During these three subjects the students switch rooms; all of the first grade students from one class go into the cooperating teacher’s room whereas all the second grade students come into the first room. This was confusing at first, but I quickly caught on.
During the short time that I had my homeroom, I saw many different things going on between the students. One of my main concerns regarding academics was how to have material challenging enough for the second graders, yet an appropriate challenge for the first graders. I did not want to make the material too easy and boring for my second graders, but at the same time, I did not want to overwhelm my first graders. However, one of the initial things I saw was the interaction between the two grades. Having been in a mixed class the year before, the second graders knew how the classroom ran and had already developed a sense of responsibility towards the first graders. The second graders seemed to naturally want to be role models for the first graders and were always willing to assist them. When seeing the seating arrangement, I noticed right away that my mentor teacher had placed the students in collaborative groups and matched first graders with second graders. This lead me to wonder how the social and political dynamics would evolve with the students being situated this way.
The social and political dynamics were a little different than the academic ones. For the most part, the second graders stuck with the second graders and the first graders with the first graders when outside the classroom. I did perceive that a hierarchy of sorts was in place, with the second graders being at the top. The second graders felt that being older, they had more power over the first graders; however; it was not only the second graders who seemed to feel this way. I noticed on several occasions that many of the first graders were trying to impress the second graders, in order to be their friends or play with them during recess. One of our first grade boys in particular was sweet and kind mannered when with his same grade classmates, but whenever he was around a certain second grade student, he would become goofy and try to get that student’s attention.
Upon noticing these academic and social dynamics, several questions were raised in my mind.Do multi-age classrooms promote a more positive peer dynamic in that they invite collaboration and mentoring or do they in fact increase social and political tensions because of grade level hierarchies? In regard to academics, do they promote student achievement or hinder it?Multiage classrooms are being seen more and more often, making it possible that I might one day have a split-level classroom. Having never been a student in a split-level classroom, I feel a need to see how such an environment benefits students both socially and academically. To find answers to these questions, I think it is important to look at current research in this area. I will use these questions to guide my research as I attempt to uncover answers, if any, in order to help me determine exactly how I feel about multiage classrooms.
Literature Review
Though it may seem like it, multiage grouping is not a recent phenomenon, but has been around since the days of one-room schoolhouses. Previously it was by means of necessity, however, now it is being brought up again as a beneficial educational method. Research on the topic is slowly accumulating and several different advantages and disadvantages of multiage classrooms have been found.
Academic achievement has been a large focus of multiage grouping. Parents and teachers alike want to make sure that all students are being challenged and that the curriculum is not being watered down in any way. Kinsey (2001) reported that students in combined classes show increased gains in language and mathematics over students in single-age classroom. Kolstad and McFadden (1998) agree with this stating that the younger students’ language development grows at a faster rate because in mixed classrooms, the younger students raise their language skills to mirror that of the older students. Fosco, Schleser, and Andal (2004) concluded that reading scores on standardized test did not differ between students in single-age and multiage classes.
There have been mixed reports on which age group of children benefits the most from multiaged classrooms. Milburn (1981) found that young students seemed to benefit the most in reading when in multiage classes (as cited in Fosco, Schleser, & Andal, 2004); whereas; Lincoln (1981) reported that older students in multiage classes performed better on standardized reading tests than students in single-age classes (as cited in Fosco, Schleser, & Andal, 2004).
One of the biggest academic advantages to multiage classes might simply be the age differences between the students. Cooperative learning and peer-tutoring are huge focuses in multiage classes and students learn to depend on their classmates for assistance. This is advantageous for both the older and the younger students. The older students become peer-tutors and spend time “teaching” the younger students. Not only does this help the younger students feel successful, but it also gives the older students an opportunity to practice what they know (Marshak, 1994). It is a common knowledge that in order for one to be able to teach information to another, they must understand the information first and peer-tutoring is a wonderful way for students to practice and cement their knowledge of a particular subject. Katz (1995) found that peer-tutoring is a wonderful way to minimize any anxiety felt by the younger students if they become overwhelmed by the older students. Younger students need to be encouraged to turn to older ones for help and assistance on class work.
When classrooms contain single-age students, teachers often may believe that all the students are capable of learning the same material at the same time; however; even though the students are at similar chronological ages, not all students may be at the same developmental level. Kolstad and McFadden (1998) found that students in multiage classrooms feel less anxiety towards school because the wide age ranges makes it more acceptable to be at different levels of learning. Aina (2001) agreed with this stating that the diversity represented among the students decreases stereotyping from the teacher and other students. She believes that when students feel a need to “keep up” with the rest of the class, it can result in stress and anxiety towards school; however; in multiage settings this range is expected and as a result student anxiety decreases. When students do not feel that they are being measured towards another, their self-esteem builds and they feel more confident in their abilities (Marshak, 1994)
The reason why multiage classrooms seem so successful might not be because of the larger age range, but rather the carefully planning, curriculum modification, and enhanced instruction on the part of the teachers and administrators (Severeide, 1998). In other words, teachers spent much more time adapting the curriculum to the needs of their individual students, resulting in improved academic scores for such students. In addition, revamping the curriculum is a great way to discover any missing areas and for teachers to work together to modify it. Furthermore, the amount of planning a teacher has to do for multilevel classrooms could lead to greater success levels.
The growth made by students in multiage classrooms as compared to students in single-age classrooms is obvious in the area of social development. It cannot be denied that multiage classrooms provide students with more opportunities to interact with each other; therefore; provide availability for social interactions.
Katz (1992) observed one negative of multilevel classes to be that the younger students may become burdens to the older students; however; the teacher should always keep this in mind when pairing students. It is important that the teacher helps the older students realize when it is acceptable to tell younger students to ask someone else or wait until they have the chance to help. The older students need to be able to have their own freedom to learn and work at their own pace also. Additionally, this research found that multiage classrooms provide students with a larger pool of friendships; students who lack social confidence are able to find friends of other ages who are more on their developmental level.
It is often believed that the reason multiage students seem to perform higher is the sense of community that is developed within the classroom. Because students are assigned to the same teacher for at least two consecutive years, the teacher and students have the ability to develop a deep, meaningful relationships. Multiage classrooms are often referred to as “families” because of the profound relationships formed between students, teachers, and parents (Marshak, 1994). When students feel comfortable and safe in the classroom, they are more likely to succeed. Aina (2001) agrees, believing that because the class becomes a family of sorts, students are more acceptable of others’ differences and develop strong skills of working together. Students display more prosocial behaviors, such as sharing and helping others. These are crucial skills that students need to learn to be successful and the multiaged classroom is an ideal place for these behaviors to flourish.
Moreover, Marshak (1994) found that the fact students have the same teacher for more than one year, makes the year flow that much better and achievement rates increase. The following year, half of the students already know the teacher and the teacher likewise. The teacher knows exactly where these students left off the previous year and the students already know the teacher’s expectations and policies within the classroom itself. The teacher then only has to get to know approximately half of the students and can take more time getting acquainted and developing relationships with them. Also, the older students can help the younger students adjust and help reinforce the rules and expectations of the classroom. All together, the students have fewer transitions to make throughout their elementary years, leaving less time spent devoting oneself to learning the expectations of a new teacher and more time spent on academics.
In regard to parent-teacher relationships, Marshak (1994) found them to improve greatly. He noted that coming into the second year, parents and teachers already feel comfortable and are more willing to approach each other or voice concerns. Again, these relationships were already developed and it is easier for them to bring up sensitive issues and feel comfortable with the teacher. Similar to the returning students, parents already know the teacher’s expectations regarding things such as acceptable behaviors and homework.
All of the research agreed that multilevel classrooms are not very likely to succeed if the teachers do not believe in it or if there is not any support from the administration. Multilevel classrooms have different needs than single-age ones and without acknowledgement from the administration, teaching multilevel classrooms can become very stressful. Multilevel classrooms cannot simply be a way to solve a numbers issue; teachers must believe in the idea itself (Marshak, 1994).
Findings
Before I delve into my observations, it is my responsibility to state my own personal biases. As an elementary student, I never experienced having class in a multiaged classroom. I attended school in a small middle-class town, where all classes were taught single grade. Hence, because of my own experiences, I came into my student teaching experience with the perception that multiage classrooms put extra pressure on teachers by requiring them to cover two different curriculums to fit both age groups. Moreover, I had the belief that students in multiage classrooms spent less time actively learning than students in single grade classrooms, because the teacher had to teach two different lessons for each subject and the students were required to work on their own frequently.
What I experienced at my student teaching school was definitely different than what the research regarding multilevel classrooms discusses. Though the school was all multilevel, the classes went to straight grades for math, language arts, and social studies. The only subject that we taught multilevel was science and many of my findings will talk about my observations during our short core science time and any other additional homeroom time we had throughout the day. In addition, many of the social dynamics I observed occurred during my recess duty time.
During science we conducted experiments on bean seeds. First, we talked about the needs of living things and planted our own bean sprouts. When the seeds had grown significantly, we decided that we wanted to see what would happen to the plant if one of its basic needs was taken away. As a class, we picked what need to take away from which plants and labeled them. Then, working in pairs (typically a first and a second grader), the students had to record information and draw pictures of what the plants looked like initially. As I observed the students working, I saw that many of the first grade students drew simple pictures and wrote incomplete sentences. With the second graders, we would always tell them to write “second grade sentences.” Meaning, the sentence has a capital letter, a period, and a complete thought. As I looked at the second grade papers and reminded them of this fact, I saw nice detailed sentences and complete pictures. I then encouraged the older students to support their younger partner in developing a nice data chart also. Once the first graders saw how much work the second graders were doing, they went back and added in more information.
I sensed that this revision was a result of the younger students raising their expectations to meet those of the second graders. The first graders saw their older peers putting in more work and taking their time to do a nice job, so they went back and, with assistance from their older partner, and modified their information to be more detailed. Not only is this interaction beneficial to the younger students, because they become better at writing descriptive sentences and using their observational skills, but it also helps cement the ideas with the second graders as they are explaining the information. Obviously, my expectation of the amount of work required was different for the second and first graders, but by the second graders tutoring the first graders, everyone benefited. This data suggests that through peer collaboration and assistance, the multiaged classroom is positive in the area of academics.
We know that learning to read takes extended time and considerable practice. When having both first and second graders in the same room, the different reading levels of the students can vary greatly. I did not want the first graders to seem discouraged because the second graders were reading longer books that the first graders were not capable of reading yet; for this reason, I encouraged the older students to either read to the younger students or have the younger students read to them. I feel it is necessary for this interaction to occur between the students to help develop the reading process.
One day during Self-Selected Reading, I asked Nick, a second grader, to read with Mike, a first grader. Nick reads at a high second grade level and is always reading intermediate chapter books; whereas; Mike reads at an emergent first grade level and thus chooses very simple books. Mike does not receive much reading practice at home and because of this, he struggles to advance in his reading level. Mike often has to read the same set of books multiple times, which on one hand, is great for increasing his fluency; however; he seems to get tired of them after a while and lose interest. I asked Mike to read a few of his books to Nick, because Nick had never read them and wanted to know what they were about. They finished earlier than I expected, so I asked Nick to read some of his book to Mike. I knew that by having Nick read to Mike, he would be modeling how to figure out unknown words and how to read fluently.
As I observed them reading to each other, I could tell that they were both engaged and enjoying themselves. In addition to both being on task and reading, they were discussing the events in the story and smiling. Not only were they both engaged, but they were also improving academically. Nick had to take more time and consideration into his reading because he was in charge of showing Mike how a reader is supposed to sound when reading a story. For example, Nick had to practice pausing at a comma, stopping after a period, and saying an exclamation excitedly. At the same time that he did this, Mike was learning through direct observation exactly how he should sound when reading aloud.This is not necessarily something Mike could have learned in a single-age room. If most of the first grade students are reading at a first grade level, they do not have many of these skills learned and Mike would not have a peer model to push him to succeed. Having older and younger students within the same room provides unexpected opportunities to help students succeed academically.
In regard to the social aspects of multi-level classrooms, it seems to depend on whether the students are in the classroom or outside of it. The students were always mixed during recess time, so there were plenty of opportunities for peer interaction while on the playground. One day while I had recess duty, I observed four students playing together. Izzy, Emily, and Jade were all second graders while Matthew, a first grader, was running around trying to get away from them. Whenever they would catch him, they would start to pick on him; they called him names (usually Mrs. and his last name) and pushed him around a little (although they were not doing anything that would hurt him physically). I separated them a few times, but they always seemed to end up back together. Every time I stopped to talk to them about their behavior, the second graders would tell me that Matthew would not leave them alone even though they did not want to play with him. I asked Matthew why he wanted to play with the girls if they were being mean to him and he told me that “it was just pretend.” Matthew’s comment seemed to be saying to me that he thought the teasing was only for fun and the second graders did not mean any harm. However, I wonder though if he was embarrassed to express his dislike with the behaviors of the older students, because he did not want to be further ridiculed.
It could perhaps be argued that Matthew’s behavior resulted from the fact that he was trying to impress the second graders. He might not have wanted them to think that he was a little kid who could not handle a little teasing. Even though the second graders were outright rude to him, he kept coming back for more. Though the second graders said that they did not want to play with him, I saw them chasing after him just as much as he was going after them. The fact that Matthew does not accept this sort of behavior from his same aged peers leads me to believe that he was more willing to go along with the actions of the second graders because they were at the top of the hierarchy. The second graders knew that because they were older, they had a sort of power over him and that he would be more willing to do what they wanted, even if he knew it was not right. I would refer to this simply as peer pressure; the younger students can often be easily coerced by the older students to do things that they would not normally do in order to merely feel like they belong.
The social and political dynamics within the classroom seemed to change on the rare occasions that we had special events which required us to group the first and second graders differently than what they are used to. For example, one of my first grade students in my homeroom, Devon, was always quiet and reserved. He mainly interacted with his same aged peers and was compliant of everything asked of him. I had another student named Devon in my second grade group. Usually these two students did not interact within the classroom environment because they were in two different homerooms; however; one day we combined the two classes into four groups for a rotation activity and these two were put into the same group. As soon as they began interacting, the first grader seemed to turn into a completely different person. They were supposed to be working together to complete an activity, but they were not getting anything done. The second grader has a tendency to be silly and distracted, but not the first grader; however; the first grader was being the sillier of the two. As I watched him, I noticed that every time he said or did something silly, he would immediately check to see if the second grader was listening or how he responded. I approached the topic with him several times; however; his behavior did not change.
The first grader’s behavior might suggest that he was trying to impress the second grader; the first grader went out of his way to try and impress the second grader and gain his favor. He knew that the second grader liked to be silly, so he tried to be silly also. It seems that the first grader might have thought that since they had the same name, they should be friends. One reason that the behavior continued might have been that the second grader was feeding right into it; he would usually react just like the first grader wanted. Though peer collaboration is a wonderful way for the younger and older students to interact, one must be careful how students are grouped in order to see positive improvements both academically and socially.
What I witnessed within the classroom was often quite different than what I saw outside it. Much research has been conducted on peer pressure and how younger students can be intimidated by older ones. If this issue is not addressed within the classroom itself, it is likely that the younger students will go along with it because they want to be liked and accepted. Furthermore, there is much less supervision on the playground and the students have a greater chance of getting away with unacceptable behavior. The social and political dynamics observed on the playground were often different than what I saw in the classroom. In the classroom setting, the students seemed to have wonderful relationships with each other. Students were constantly working together to complete tasks and the older students were often found helping the younger ones. Any inappropriate behaviors were addressed and taken care of quickly.
In this particular school, though this might not always be the case, I saw great development in the area of academics. Younger students were able to witness things not typically seen in a first grade classroom and these situations motivated them to push themselves to work harder. In addition, the classroom setup allowed the second graders to practice their knowledge much more frequently by tutoring the younger ones.
Implications for Future Practice
The most important thing teachers can do for their students is to develop a sense of community in the classroom. The students need to feel comfortable talking to both their teacher and their peers. When this environment exists, it is less likely that misbehaviors will occur as frequently; the students develop a greater sense of respect and caring towards the individual differences of their peers. One way to help develop this feeling of community is to hold classroom meetings. In a multiage setting, I would see such meetings as essential. Not only would the students be able to share their thoughts and concerns, but it would also serve as a perfect opportunity for the teacher to bring up situations she has noticed occurring between the students. Take for example, the differences between the social and political dynamics inside and outside the classroom. The teacher could use this meeting time to discuss how the second graders have a responsibility to the first graders to serve as role models and positive citizens. Students do not often learn things by experience alone; however; some guided instruction can help them greatly.
It is apparent that the students understand how to work together and help each other within the classroom; they simply need more guidance on how to incorporate these behaviors into unsupervised situations. Multiage classrooms provide a wonderful setting for the students to discuss peer pressure and learn how to deal with it, before it becomes an even bigger problem in the higher grades. Though the multiage classroom can invoke an unwanted hierarchy between the students, I feel that as long as the teacher acknowledges that this behavior occurs and has a plan to work on it with the students, the students can also improve socially and interact with peers of different age levels.
Though there are concerns regarding the social aspects of multi-level classrooms, the increase in academic ability leads me to wonder why one would not have such a classroom. The students can learn and improve so much simply by being around older and younger children. An older child who is academically behind his same aged peers can have the opportunity to work with a younger student who is more at his/her level. This way, the older student will still have a peer to work with and not feel as overwhelmed because the peer is at the same age as she/he.
Peer collaboration is a wonderful advantage of having older and younger students in the same classroom. When working with older students, younger students are able to participate more than they could if they were by themselves. Younger students are much more likely to push themselves to succeed, because they see what the second graders are doing and want to do the same things. To be honest, I came into this classroom expecting to see much less academic growth; however; being in a multilevel classroom has shown me that when students work together, they often far exceed any expectations.
What does this all mean for the teacher who has to teach in a multiage classroom? Be aware! Know the difficulties that face you and use them to your advantage. Promote discussion between students and encourage the older students to take a younger student “under their wing.” If the older students feel that they have a responsibility over the younger ones, they are much less likely to allow the younger students to be dominated and pushed around. Use peer tutoring as frequently as available; having older students teach younger ones is a wonderful way to reinforce concepts in the older students’ minds and it frees the teacher to provide more one-on-one support for struggling students. In addition, peer tutoring encourages and allows the social aspect to develop in a positive manner and shows the students that it is acceptable to have older or younger friends. |
