Hello!

This is a new segment on my blog called “Inquiry Adventures” that will dive into my Inquiry topic/question and its relation to my practicum experience.

Firstly, I think it’s important to talk about WHAT exactly my Inquiry topic is.
My inquiry topic is “How do teachers develop classroom community/unity” in a split/combination classroom?

It’s a pretty big topic because it talks about both split classrooms (also called mixed grade or combination classrooms) and the development of classroom community or unity. It’s almost like a contradiction in itself to be “split” and yet have unity at the same time!

I thought of this question because I do have my practicum in a split class, Kindergarten and Grade 1.
They do a LOT of activities separately during the day, even sometimes going into different classrooms. So that really makes me wonder what effect it might have on their relationship with one another and with other students their age (other Kindergarteners and other Grade 1s).

It’s a question that also dives into the pros and cons of having a split classroom and luckily, there’s a fair amount of research that talks about that. I’ll discuss more on that next time.

It also explores how teacher CAN build classroom unity and community and how it’s an important part of the classroom. I’d even argue that building classroom community IS the most important learning a child can have in a classroom — it allows for inclusiveness, responsibility, understanding, etc. When someone feels like they belong to a community, they feel safe and thus creating that safe environment for students to explore and learn is so important.