Transcript Multigrade Pedagogy and Assessment www.ioe.ac.uk/multigrade Angela W Little

Multigrade Pedagogy and
Assessment
Angela W Little
Delhi, Oct 24-26 2007
www.ioe.ac.uk/multigrade
From access to success
Maheswari’s multigrade
school
What is multigrade teaching?
The teaching of pupils from different curriculum grades
within the same timetabled period. Multi-grade is also
referred to as:
– Multiple class
– Composite class
– Vertical group
– Mixed year class
– Family class
– Double class
– Combined class
– Unitary schools (one-teacher schools)
Making the invisible visible
• India:
In 2005-6 76% of all primary (grade 1-5) schools
had 3 or less teachers
• Peru
In 1998 78% of all public primary schools were
multigraded
• Burkina Faso
In 2000 36% of primary schools and 20% of
classes were multigraded. 18% of students
were in multigraded classes
• England
In 2000 25% of primary classes were ‘mixed
year’.
• 192 million (of 647 million enrolled in primary) worldwide in
de facto MG classes. A further 104 million children remain out of
school
Teaching and curriculum
strategies
AVOIDANCE
• Neglect
• Deferred entry of one grade – combine with next year’s entry
QUASI MONOGRADE
• One teacher, multiple spaces/chalkboards
• Multi-year curriculum spans. Learners ‘enter’ the span at
different points
DIFFERENTIATION
• Teacher centred: Differentiated curricula: input, task, outcome
• Learner centred: Differentiated materials
Mobile multigrade school in
Sudan
Quasi-monograde: Darfur, Sudan
Grade 1+2 morning, teacher moves between 2 classrooms,
Grade 3+4 afternoon, same teacher moves between same 2
classrooms
Quasi-monograde
Vietnam: one teacher, five grades
Quasi-monograde Multi-year curriculum
span for Grades 5 and 6
(except Maths), Grade 2 separate
Rhodes, Greece
Differentiation: Teacher-centred
Common language lesson, differentiated
tasks, differentiated outcomes
Differentiation: Learner-centred
guided by quality materials
Escuela Nueva
Self-organised learning
3-way relationship
between T, S and M
Action research with teachers
Curriculum restructuring
• Survey of teachers of multi-grade classes (38 schools in Sri
Lanka, 23 in Vietnam)
• Desk study of the national curriculum by researchers and
experts
•
•
Sri Lanka, mathematics
Vietnam, health education
• Small group of ‘intervention’ teachers (18 in Sri Lanka, 5 in
Vietnam)
• Teachers develop the curriculum intervention with action
researcher guided by desk study of current curriculum
• Intervention and Control groups, pre-and post test
Curriculum blueprint for
maths: Grade 3-5
Theme
Topic
G3
G4
G5
Number
number concept
X
X
X
number patterns
X
X
X
fractions
X
X
X
decimals
X
X
Roman numerals
X
X
Measurement/distance
length and distance
X
X
X
weight
X
X
X
volume and capacity
X
X
X
time
X
X
X
X
X
area
Achievement impact
• Learning gains on knowledge tests were greater in the
intervention groups than in the control groups
Curriculum Development at
National level
Vietnam
• G 1-3 Natural and Social Sciences;
G 4-5 Science G4-5
Nepal
• G 2-3 Environment, Health, Sanitation and Social Studies
• G 4-5 (i) Social Studies (ii) Science, Environment and
Health Education
Sri Lanka
• G 3-4 Maths
Assessment for Learning
•Examples: Escuela Nueva (Colombia), Rishi Valley
(India), Vietnam
•Assessment at end of short units/lessons to assess
mastery prior to progression
•Learners are guided to the assessments by text not
by the teacher
•Learners take the initiative to present themselves to
the teacher for assessment
•Learner repeats the unit with remedial support
Assessment for:
•Selection of individuals:
summative
•System performance:
summative
•Learning:
formative
This type of assessment assists the teacher and the
learner in the diagnosis of learning difficulties
Multigrade lessons for all
• Awareness of extent and of current teaching and
learning strategies
• Curriculum re-organisation, supported by formative
assessment and quality learning materials in
quantity
• Teacher training
Education for All and
Multigrade Teaching :
Springer, 2006
(ed. A W Little )
www.ioe.ac.uk/multigrade