What is Multi-age Instruction?
All of our classrooms are set up to offer a multi-age teaching environment for teaching academics. Multi-age teaching, which allows for children of different age levels to be in the same classroom, is different from a “combined classroom.” A multi-age classroom with 5,6,7,and 8 year olds, for example, allows all ages to work together on similar learning projects, but to advance academically at their own level. This is very different from a classroom in which a first grade lesson is taught to first graders and a second grade lesson is taught to second graders. The advantages of multi-age teaching are many. A multi-age classroom is a true community of learners where everyone is respected for where he or she is on the learning continuum. All children have the unique opportunity to be leaders and to teach other students, thus reinforcing their own learning at the same time that they may be learning from other students. Teachers in multi-age classrooms are more aware of each student’s needs
