How can we engage all primary school students in rich mathematical learning, support them to make connections, and develop their mathematical language and reasoning? In this article, we draw on one school's experience in considering an approach to mathematics instruction that could support teachers in addressing this question, specifically…

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…

Internationally, schools with small numbers of children and constrained funding are not able to group the children in classes based on their age. Rather, the children are combined into larger 'mixed-age' classes. Schools and teachers manage this situation in different ways, for example by teaching the class as two or more separate age-based groups…

As one of the world's largest and most diverse countries, Indonesia faces an enormous challenge as it seeks to upgrade the skills and knowledge of its widespread primary teacher workforce. This challenge is even more acute in remote rural areas, where practising teachers require specialized training to work in classrooms with children of different…

The theory upon which this study is based led to four predictions: (1) the small number of pupils in small schools creates opportunities to develop close teacher-pupil relationships and enables teachers to consider pupils' individual needs; (2) small schools can provide opportunities for fruitful co-operation among staff and, consequently, create…

The Small Schools Curriculum Project in Newfoundland aims to develop curricular and pedagogical solutions to the problems identified with multigrade classrooms. Concludes that multigrade classrooms are (1) a prevalent and permanent feature of education in Newfoundland; (2) a unique form of educational organization; and (3) potentially feasible…

A task force composed of educators and members of the business community studied the effects of declining enrollment on the mathematics program in Ontario. The group suggests that the main impact of decline on the mathematics program will be an intensification of the existing problems, which include insufficient student practice in mathematical…

This study is concerned with the organization of education in rural areas and the advantages of a strategy based on multigrade classes, i.e. classes having a single teacher but pupils of several grade levels studying different curricula. This strategy made a substantial contribution to the achievement of universal primary education at reasonable…

A training and teaching tools development project aims to help multigrade classroom teachers in remote areas of Ontario. The project presents multiple instructional strategies, such as collaborative learning, differentiated teaching, and subject integration. Sixty teaching activities, created and tested by teachers, are contained on a CD that will…

A final-year student teacher from the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) describes her student teaching experiences in a one-room school in the isolated town of Birdsville, focusing on the harsh natural environment, the demands of a multiage classroom, and positive attributes of the small school and community involvement. (SV)

A final-year student teacher from the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) describes her student teaching experiences at Gunpowder State School, an isolated one-room school in central Queensland, focusing on techniques for managing the multiage classroom and teacher-community relationships. (SV)

Examines the special characteristics of small rural schools and stresses the importance of programs preparing teachers to teach in rural areas. Describes a program at Bishop University that provides preservice and inservice education for rural educators in Quebec. Includes additional suggestions for meeting the professional development needs of…

Before 1970, no mixed-age groups existed in Swedish nursery schools. By 1991, 43 percent of children enrolled in nursery school were in mixed-age groups of ages 1 to 6 years, and 37 percent were in groups of children ages 3 to 6 years. Mixed-age groups are assumed to have advantages, including positive influences on learning and social…

In 1973, there were 56 one- and two-room elementary schools in Prince Edward Island (Canada). As part of a descriptive survey of these schools, now closed by consolidation, researchers visited each school in 1973 and recorded details of the buildings, facilities, and school organizations. Teachers from 47 schools and their 737 students in grades…

An Australian preservice teacher education course used interactive television to present real-life, rural teaching situations as examples of best practice. These were integrated with problem-based learning scenarios focusing on dilemmas faced by practicing teachers in multigraded rural classrooms. Evaluation revealed positive feedback from both…