The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has created an open-access classroom observation tool based on research conducted for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (DFAT) Teacher Development Multi-Year Study Series, which studied teaching practices in Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Lao PDR (see…

Describes integrated approach to teaching the arts which can be utilized in single or multi-grade classrooms in rural settings by teachers who may not have a background in any art form. Addresses problems of time, preparation, and resources that hinder curriculum development by rural educators. (NEC)

In 1984, Jefferson County Public Schools (Kentucky) intitiated a preschool program emphasizing before- and after-school care, multi-age grouping, a developmental curriculum, actively involved parents, and integration of special needs children. Other than district support with space, administration, and bookkeeping services, this successful program…

Credited with creating a sense of community within a junior high is this project bringing together sixth, seventh, eighth graders for a schoolwide study of the 1940s. Teams composed of staff and students from all grades were assigned subtopics that were explored and shared through a variety of activities. (MJL)

Small, sometimes multi-cultural, rural schools need specialized preservice teacher education programs to prepare teachers. After outlining the classroom, school, and sociocultural characteristics affecting a teacher's success and survival in a rural community, this paper discusses the apparent lack of rural content in teacher preparation programs…

Describes problems associated with teaching a multigraded social studies class. Relates an apocryphal story about how one teacher used innovative practices in a multigraded class but aroused administrative ire. Questions whether scores on achievement tests are more important than critical-thinking and decision-making skills. (CFR)

This paper includes a discussion of the problem of multilevel Latin classes, a description of various techniques and perspectives the teacher might use in dealing with these classes, and copies of materials and exercises that have proved useful in multilevel classes. Because the reasons for the existence of such classes are varied, it is suggested…

Discusses development and implementation of a writing workshop that combined prekindergarteners' language development with first graders' writing experiences. (BB)

This description of a curricular adaptation decision-making process focuses on tenets of reflective practice as teachers design instruction for students in heterogeneous classrooms. A case example illustrates how an elementary teaching team transformed lessons to accommodate a wide range of learners in a multiage first- and second-grade classroom.…

In this collection, nine master teachers with extensive experience in small, rural Alaska schools describe classroom management techniques that have proven effective in their multigraded classrooms. Over half the document consists of one paper, the last in the volume, entitled "More like a School Family than Just a Teacher and His or Her…

A multiyear, multiage experience, combined with what is known about collaborative learning, learning styles, and multiple intelligences, grouping practices, and the success of inclusion in such a setting, promises to give all children a real opportunity for success in the classroom. Many schools have implemented multiage programs successfully, but…

Notes the increasing availability of prekindergarten programs for four-year-olds and describes a program that groups four- and five-year-olds together. Covers the program's instructional goals; reasons for using multi-aged grouping, cooperative teaching, and structured planning time; curriculum; interaction with parents; and dependence on the…

An innovative, flexible scheduling technique for advanced levels of a foreign language program is described. The technique, predicated on individualized pacing and continuous progress, is generalizable to all elective programs, and offers a workable solution to satisfy the enrollment "numbers game" and to lend breadth and depth to the curricula of…

School restructuring movements have gained a great deal of national attention. This guidebook addresses the multi-age classroom movement, in which a mixed-age group of children stays with a given teacher for a number of years. The work provides a complete design for the mixed-age primary classroom, from philosophy and rationale to sample lesson…