Arranging Furnishings to Support a Multiage Class

Classroom Layout

Russell Yates

When I team taught in a 2nd/3rd grade multiage classroom, it consisted of two rooms that had a folding wall installed between them. The folding section was about 10 feet wide and allowed us to move freely between the “North Side” and the “South Side” of our classroom. It also allowed us to separate our room into two equal parts for when we needed to have instruction by the “half class.” It gave us even more flexibility in grouping and was a godsend when we had to separate the class for standardized testing.

Flexibility was the key. We constantly had students rearranging themselves in various groups throughout the day (green group, blue group, math groups, reading circles, spelling buddies, etc.). Because of this we found that tables worked the best with students keeping their supplies in their cubbies. We also had various areas that were designed for certain activities. The best examples of this were the whole group meeting area (north side), the reading area (north side), and the computer/reference area (south side).

When I stopped team-teaching, I set up my 3rd/4th/5th room similar to the way it was, to best support the flexibility needed for a variety of groupings. Because everything needed to fit into one room (half the space as before), I had to condense and eliminate some sections (I no longer had a separate reading area or group meeting area for instance). However, I was able to get a little more bookshelf space. Another benefit I was able to get for my students was added computers. As our school’s computers were updated, many teachers no longer wanted their older Macintosh computers. I “adopted” some of them and networked them to an older printer. I had the students use them mainly for word processing and keyboarding practice.

After moving to an independent school in which all classes were multiaged, I found that the same systems and structures I had set up in the previous classroom still worked, I just didn’t need as many tables, cubby spaces, or computers (now changed to wireless laptops) due to the smaller class sizes.

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Map my old multiage classroom

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 Map of the north side of my team-taught multiage classroom

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Map of the south side of my team-taught multiage classroom

Appropriate Ability Grouping in Multiage Classrooms

This article is posted with permission of the author.

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The Use of Ability Grouping in a Multi-age Classroom

by Janet Caudill Banks

Long term ability grouping should be discouraged in any class. Mixed-ability grouping should be encouraged whenever possible. Capitalizing on the wider range of developmental levels in a multi-age class, and grouping accordingly, is one of the major goals of multi-age instruction.

A number of research studies on heterogeneous grouping indicate that mixed-ability grouping is the most effective way to maximize student success. When students are in mixed-ability groups, teachers can make more use of the benefits of cooperative learning and peer tutoring, resulting in positive learning experiences for all children. As students interact with other students of different developmental levels, less able pupils become more excited about learning and make significant gains, as they have the help and encouragement of students from higher levels, as well as the exposure to the knowledge and work of those students. More able students also make significant gains as they assume leadership roles, and clarify their own thinking while explaining material to others.

These same research studies indicate that long-term, static, ability grouping affects children negatively. It does not encourage maximum development and it has been found to discourage less able students.

Grouping children by ability for short periods of time to meet specific instructional needs is appropriate. Children who have the same needs can be grouped for short periods of time for instruction, but when these needs are met the group should be disbanded. Another group can be put together based on another need that more than one individual has. In this way, grouping is flexible, not static. Individualized instruction does not mean teaching the same lesson over and over again to each child. Teachers need to recognize times that more than one child has similar needs, and group accordingly, just long enough to meet those needs.

Less able students, in particular, should never be left in ability groups for a long period of time. They need the spark, the knowledge, the motivation, the help, the encouragement, etc. from the more able students. Being in a low group, and labeled that way, can have a long term effect on self-esteem, as well as being detrimental to learning.

© CATS Publications, 1997