Conclusion

When I first began to think about the topic of combined classrooms, I neglected to think about the aspect of social development between students and their peers. Not only can CC’s benefit the academic growth of students but they can aid in the development of social abilities of students. From a personal standpoint, I have seen how kindergarten students look up to older students and attempt to emulate them. CC’s create possibilities for students not only in an academic sense, but in a behavioral and emotional one where they can learn from and teach each-other in a more diverse environment than some single-grade classrooms can  provide.

While there are positives to CC’s there are also negatives. Many things that function as positive in a CC can quickly become hampering to student achievement if the right environment is not fostered by the teacher. While a wide range of students has the potential to create a diverse learning environment it may also create an environment that becomes cliquey and uncomfortable for some students.

Here is a video by Russel Lau that discusses the benefits and challenges of CC’s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHZhD1YF9rw

The Bottom Line

As we have seen, there is no definitive answer as to which environment is better for student or teacher success. Both settings have the potential to be beneficial or hampering to both parties. It is up to the teacher maintain their personal workload and to create an environment that is beneficial to the students and them-self regardless of if they teach a single-grade class or a combined class.