Multi-grade teaching is a widely accepted phenomenon in both developing and developed countries. In this article I report on a phenomenological inquiry into written feedback practices of teachers in multi-grade classrooms and how they described and interpreted their feedback practices pertaining to learners' writing activities in English First…

Yupana Inca Tawa Pukllay (YITP) is a ludic didactic resource based on semiotic alternation that, using the reading of numbers in the Inca numeral system, improves its equivalent Indo-Arabic reading. Twelve children from first to fourth grade of a bilingual (Spanish-Quechua), multi-grade elementary school in a small rural Peruvian community were…

The purpose of this research project was to understand how Cambourne's theory of social constructivism, particularly his four instructional principles, was applied to the teaching of writing in two rural multigrade Foundation Phase classrooms in the Western Cape. Multigrade schools account for 30% of all primary schools in South Africa, but in…

A one-size-fits-all curriculum cannot address the issues faced by rural multigrade teachers and learners. In South Africa, despite government efforts to relieve adversity, poverty in rural areas is still rife and poor education still fails to lift people out of it (Joubert 2010). Equality is essential in ensuring that all South African children…

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…

Examination of interviews and surveys provides an overview of the problems and needs of rural school teachers in multigrade classrooms. A review of research and teacher reports in the U.S. and other countries compares instructional methods in multigrade and single grade classrooms. Implications for teacher preparation, classroom organization, and…

This report, drawing on data from a teacher survey, summarizes methods for the effective selection of students and teaching strategies for combination classrooms (CC). A CC is defined as having two or more grade levels in one classroom. A total of 256 CC elementary school teachers completed a questionnaire, including participants of a Combination…

Although the single-grade classroom has emerged as the most prevalent administrative arrangement, the existence of the split grade phenomenon continues to be a part of educational tradition in both rural and urban schools, predominantly at the elementary levels. Teachers are then forced to compromise curriculum to teach all levels simultaneously.…

This paper reports a study of curriculum and teaching methods in 10 Old Order Mennonite one-room schools in Pennsylvania. It provides a review of the historical background and cultural characteristics of the Old Order Mennonites. The one-room schools examined in the study are similar in structure and instruction to U.S. public one-room schools of…

In multigrade instruction, children of at least a 2-year grade span and diverse ability levels are grouped in a single classroom and share experiences involving intellectual, academic, and social skills. "The Multigrade Classroom" is a seven-book series that provides an overview of current research on multigrade instruction, identifies…

This document summarizes the deliberations of the Commonwealth Pacific Regional Workshop, which focused on the cost effectiveness of small schools. Advantages of small schools include equity for disadvantaged groups, opportunities for rural development, preservation of cultural traditions, and the potential for educational advantages. One task…

This training guide provides guidelines and sample strategies for using the 1989 publication, "The Multigrade Resource Handbook," in a variety of professional settings ranging from teacher training programs to school and district inservice. This guide has been developed primarily for preservice teacher educators working with prospective…

Six teachers from small and rural schools throughout the Northeast were selected as the 1990-91 Laboratory Fellows by the Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement of the Northeast and Islands. These teachers were chosen for their exceptional strategies for incorporating multilevel grouping in their classrooms, grades 6-12. This publication…

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…

This handbook was written to review current research on multigrade instruction, to identify key issues faced by multigrade classroom teachers, and to offer novice teachers a set of resource guides for improving instructional quality. The first chapter reviews previous research on multigrade instruction. It addresses questions regarding the effect…