For my post today, I decided to take a look at another journal article. But this time, it is more in relation towards split classrooms and how teachers can successfully work with them.

The article that I will talk about is: “Experiences in Multiage Art Education: Suggestions for Art Teachers Working with Split Classes” by Jeffrey Broome, Karen Heid, Jan Johnston and Dan Serig (2015). Firstly, I’d have to comment that this is by far the newest article I came across in terms of date which talks about split classrooms, which is great.

The article begins by explaining what split classrooms are and what multigrade classrooms are. The authors in this article talk about the two differently, even though some articles that I have read in the past seem to use the term interchangeably. Split classrooms, as was mentioned, typically “involves a number of economic considerations related to such factors as school budgets, the number of students in each grade, and the availability of teachers and space to instruct students in grade level groupings.” So the main teacher would still deliver the grade level appropriate material to each grade level in the class (for example: Kindergarten and Grade 1 have different “Tasks” during language arts time). They typically only have class together during “special area subjects” such as art, music and physical education. — This is definitely something I have seen in my practicum class!

Multiage classrooms however, “feature the purposeful placement of students from a variety of ages and two or more grade levels, with the intention of creating cooperative communities of learners.” This in my head, sounds like our  “buddy classrooms” — where the big buddies learn from their little buddies and the little buddies learn from their big buddies. “Multiage instruction is often thematic in nature, utilizing concepts that connect to students’ interests and a variety of subject areas in an interdisciplinary manner (Bredhauer et al., 2006). Students often work cooperatively in pairs or groups, and the intention is to accentuate a collaborative, rather than competitive, atmosphere (Elkind, 1993).”

It continues to give “stories” about teacher experiences using multiage strategies in split classrooms. These stories are from art teachers, mainly because in the United States, they have the most experience with combination classrooms. As mentioned in the article, “Multiage education has been studied more rigorously and with more definitively positive results than split class groupings.” What this means is the perception of a multiage classroom yields better results than the thinking that you’re simply teaching two different classrooms.

“Students become teachers and teachers become learners. This breaking down of the hierarchical power relationship between student and teacher creates a studio /lab setting focused on discovery”

Basically, the story examples were just further showing how the quote that I took from the article above, is TRUE. The students themselves form a community of learning that is far greater than the learning that goes on in split classrooms.

It talks about using a THEME rather than a SKILL in introducing a lesson, in that way, every student can “enter” the topic at their own developmental level. With the help of scaffolding from their fellow peers, they can then increase their development.

All the stories also talk about child-centred approaches to learning and to teach based on what the students want to learn. I think that this is a great approach no matter what type of classroom you have, may it be a straight grade class or a combination class like mentioned in this article.

In the conclusions, “Instead of seeing the situation as two or more separate classes in one room, we suggest viewing the split class as one group of students learning together under your care.”. That is the recommendation that was given for teachers that want to know more as to how to manage a split classroom. They talk about the power of collaboration and team work as a way to further the develop of the students as well as thematic learning as approach to skill-based learning.

• Broome, J. L., Heid, K., Johnston, J., & Serig, D. (2015). Experiences in multiage art education: Suggestions for art teachers working with split class combinations. Art Education,68(2), 30.