TEACHING MULTIGRADE CLASSES for midterm

LESSON 1:
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION?

 To differentiate instruction is to recognize students varying background knowledge, readiness,

language, preferences in learning, interests and to react responsively.
 To maximize each student’s growth and individual success by meeting each where he or she is, and
assisting in the learning process.

FOUR ELEMENTS TO DIFFERENTIATE

∆ 1. CONTENT -- What the student’s need to learn or how the student will get access to the information.
∆ 2. PROCESS -- Activities in which the student engages in order to make sense of or master the content.
∆ 3. PRODUCT -- Culminating projects that ask the student to rehearse, apply, and extend what he or she has
learned in a unit.
∆ 4. LEARNING ENVIRONMENT -- The way the classroom works and feels.
TEACHING MULTIGRADE CLASSES for midterm
 TEACHING MULTIGRADE CLASSES for midterm

LESSON 2:
ROLE OF THE MULTIGRADE
TEACHER

ROLE OF THE MULTIGRADE TEACHER

1. AS A TEACHER- The main function of the MG Teacher is to teach students by imparting knowledge not
just follow a curriculum. Teachers must be able to develop skills and inculcate desirable values and
attitudes among pupils. The teacher is expected to be versatile and utilize different strategies to make
learning meaningful and effective for all students in his or her classroom, no matter what individual
differences may exist among the students.

2. AS A FACILITATOR- The teacher should be able to understand differences between pupils, be able to
motivate them to learn and guide them through their learning materials. The teacher should be able to
do this for all grade levels in the classroom, no matter what curriculum subject is being studied. The
teacher should not only be a provider of knowledge but should be a facilitator of learning both at a
group level and on a one- to – one basis.

3. AS A PLANNER- Planning is a critical function for the MG teacher. Appropriate planning by the teacher
will result in classes which are more productive for the learners and easier for them to follow. Planning
in the MG school classrooms is much more important than in a monograde one. The teaching must be
spent productively for student’s groups in grades of the class and thus accuracy on time spending is
crucial.
For each grade level for which a MG teacher’s are responsible, must determine the answers to the
following questions:
✓Whom do I teach?
✓What must I teach?
✓How do I teach?
✓Why do I teach this?
Once determined the answers to these questions, then must devise an implementation plan in order to
achieve the objectives of the lesson for each grade.

4. AS AN EVALUATOR- Another role which the M.G teacher must carry out is to monitor the progress of
pupil’s learning as to ensure quality of education. Therefore, assessment should be considering a
continuous and integral part of the teaching process. Usually, this requires teachers to determine the
educational levels of pupils when they first enter schooling during the school year and at the end of
each school year.
 TEACHING MULTIGRADE CLASSES for midterm
5. AS MATERIAL DESIGNER- Although, various curriculum materials are usually prepared by national
educational authorities, M.G teachers still need to develop their own additional materials. These
additional materials serve the purpose of meeting actual and concrete needs of M.G teaching within
the local context. Examples of such curriculum materials include the following:
-Designing and making small boards, flash cards to save time in the classroom and to maximize the
time which pupils spend on learning tasks.
-Using local materials to develop instructional materials and to encourage students to make their own.
-Designing workbooks which are suitable for student use within the local context and conditions.

6. AS ACTION RESEARCHER- it is through research that improvements in teaching take place. The M.G
teacher must also be a researcher, that is, a person who asks questions in order to understand better
certain phenomenon. Such Research Questions include:
-What makes instructional materials and aids useful in teaching and learning in the local context?
-How can the enrollment rate be increased and the drop- out rate reduced?
-Why certain students are not learning as well as might be expected?
- What classroom strategies and management enhance learning for different activities?
It is not an expectation that the M.G Teacher become an expert in research methods, but rather is able
to formulate appropriate questions in the classroom setting, seek and obtain the information
necessary to answer these questions and be able to put into action those changes—which caught up in
the term “Action Research”.

7. AS CONTACT WITH THE COMMUNITY- The M.G teacher is the central link between the school and its
community. The nature of many situations where a M.G school exist is such that the cooperation and
assistance of the local community is needed to improve the quality of educational services that the
M.G teaching schools provide. This may include community involvement in such diverse activities as
building and maintaining classrooms, assisting in the preparation of curriculum teaching aids and acting
as a paraprofessional teacher.
 TEACHING MULTIGRADE CLASSES for midterm

LESSON 3:
MANAGING THE MULTIGRADE
CLASSROOM

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT- Is the way teachers organize and exercise control over the various elements of
the classroom environment to make teaching and learning interesting and effective.

- A Multigrade teacher is the key to planning, designing and managing a range of both grade appropriate and
mixed- grade activities for children to help them engaged in learning. Your efficiency and effectiveness rest on
creating a classroom conducive to learning by developing exciting and stimulating activities ranging from group
work to independent study.

ORGANIZING THE MULTI-GRADE CLASSROOM

- -It is very important for a MG classroom that is highly organized and structured. Everyone needs to know where
to find things, how to store things, where to sit for different activities, where to put completed works, etc.
~The MG classroom may look quite different to a traditional classroom. Instead of desk in lines, all facing the
chalkboard, you may see:
 TEACHING MULTIGRADE CLASSES for midterm
 Desks organized into small groupings.
 A space in the center of the room, or perhaps some marked spaces around the room where groups can
sit on the floor and work.
 Workstation or learning centers where individuals and groups may go to complete activities.
 Resources kept on shelves around the outside of the room, boxes which are labeled to help the group
identify what they need.
 Boxes or folders for students work to be kept in.
 Plenty of examples of individual and group work on display.

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION

DISPLAY AREAS
- -Decide which parts of the classroom are appropriate for display of the students works, charts, etc. Make the
best of the space available. It is not idea to block the light by covering the windows with posters and paintings.
Display Boards, soft boards painted white are very useful.

MAKING GOOD USE OF DISPLAY BOARDS

DISPLAY BOARD SHOULD BE:
1. Interesting, colorful and
2. Eye catching
3. It should be a Teaching Aid
4. Use to give information reinforce lesson taught.
OTHER WAYS TO DISPLAY MATERIALS
-Students written work, drawings, or paintings can be hang or strings above their head. This can be a good way
of displaying a large print story for the whole class to read together.
ROOM TO MOVE
-In the M.G classroom, grouping students in different ways will require different seating arrangements. In the
traditional classroom all desks are lined up facing the blackboard and the teacher works from the front of the room. In a
M.G classroom, it is difficult to have a set up like this. This should be considered the following:
 You will need a floor space where the whole class can gather for activities led by teacher.
 Desks can be grouped together, (2 or 3) facing each other for group work. The students are facing each
other to encourage them to talk together and work cooperatively.
 Divide your classroom up into areas, (E.G) whole class area, Library corner, learning centers, small group
work and individual work areas.
 The use of partition can help divide the room into different sections.
 Be prepared to change your room arrangement when necessary.
STORAGE
-Try to make the best available use of cupboards and shelves by placing them where they will suit your needs.
Students need easy access to books and materials. Facilities for storage will vary. Many classrooms will be short of space
and won’t have purpose built storage units.
---TIPS THAT CAN USE:
 Store similar things together
 Collect similar sized containers (ice cream containers, plastic boxes, cartons)
 Label clearly all storage areas
 Check storage areas regularly and throw out things you don’t need
 TEACHING MULTIGRADE CLASSES for midterm
 Useful storage
 Personal space (storage for students’ things)
 Cleaning (Cleaning out regularly).

LESSON 4:
TEACHING APPROACHES AND
STRATEGIES IN MG SET- UP

TEACHING APPROACHES- A set of principles, beliefs, or ideas about the nature of learning which is translated into
the classroom.
A. EXPOSITORY APPROACH- The method that is most commonly used, in which the teacher talks and pupil listen.
The learners’ role in expository teaching is usually passive unless when responding to the teachers cues and
questions.
Expository approach is used to explain, describe or demonstrate a practical skill, deliver information and clarify
concepts. INVESTIGATIVE APPROACH- To investigate means to find out more about something. In this method,
the pupils are given opportunity to find out more about a certain concept with the direction by the teacher. The
pupils learn by doing. They can learn to observe, analyze and apply knowledge to solve problems. Some
examples include projects, creative writing, field trips and experiments.

SUMMARY TABLE OF TEACHING APPROACHES

Approach Teacher’s role Learners Role Example of Teaching

-has more autonomy
Expository -select lesson based on
learner’s ability
Approach -Teacher is the Pilot
Strategies
-passive
-listen and tries to -demonstrations in
construct knowledge
based on what is
classroom
-lectures
presented by the teacher
and books
-group discussions

-less directed control of -learners have more -projects

Investigate the Learning process
-use questions to prove
Approach the learners’ interests
-guides learners through
discovery -based learning
control of the learning
process
-experiments
-field trips
-learners investigate by
asking questions and
-observations
-research projects
discovering the answers

TEACHING STRATEGIES – a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal.
 TEACHING MULTIGRADE CLASSES for midterm
A. Whole Class Teaching- this is where the teacher works with the whole class. In a M.G Class, this can be used to:
Introduce a lesson, generate a discussion, Practice learning, and Summarize Lesson.
- Whole class teaching may be difficult in classes that are large, have different grade levels in the same class, and
with pupils at different pace.
Example: work / flash cards for lower grades with pictures and focus on higher grades

B. Group Work- working in groups and discussing things together is very important for children, especially those
that are quiet and those that find school work difficult. They can be reassured and helped by other pupils.
Example: Group work spaces (How you position them into groups, size, available resources, number of students
and level of noise)
-Things to be connected:
 What is the task to be done? (clarity of instruction and objectives)
 Does each member have an assigned task?
 Who should be in each group? (How many groups, members, ability level)
 Time to finish task.
 How will you monitor the process?

C. Working in Pairs- this is when the teacher directs two pupils to work together on a specific task. Pair works can
be done with the same grades or with different grades depending on the level of ability and the task to be
accomplished.
D. Independent Study- this is where the pupils work alone and direct their own learning.
Example: writing a story and state what to expect, illustrate ideas and concepts based on a certain topic,
assignments, self- instructional worksheets.
E. Peer Learning Environment- peer learning can be organized in groups or in pairs. Capable pupils from higher
grades- and sometimes peers of the same grade – can work with a group from the lower or same grade.