Caramoan Community College

Cadong, Caramoan, Camarines Sur

2nd Semester, S/ Y 2022-2023
( BEED 3-A,B,C, and D Only)
MODULE 1
Name of Student: ______________________________________________________________________
Course Code: Elective Course Title: Teaching Multi-Grade Classes
Instructor: ROWENA P. GORIMBAO , MAED Recommended No. of Hours: 3 Hours

A. Learning Targets:
1 .Describe a multi-grade teaching

2. Compare multi-grade and mono-grade teaching.

B. Warm-up
Think of this!
If soon you will be a multi-grade teacher, How will you address the struggles experienced by the
multi-grade teacher? How will you make your teaching strategies and methodologies be
effective to your learners?

C. Overview
This module discusses all about: A definition of multi-grade teaching, different

terminology and viewpoints of multi-grade teaching as well as the comparison of multi-grade and single

or mono-grade teaching.

D. Lesson Proper

Discussion 1.
Just as there are different terms, there are also differences in the way people

view these situations. To get a sense of what such schools or classes might be like, read

the following example and story.

 Description of a Multi-grade School

The school can only be reached after a long walk, or maybe by getting a lift in

the back of a farmer’s truck. When you get there, you will find a small building, divided

into two or three classrooms. Sometimes well looked after, but often needing some

repairs. There is no electricity and no telephone, and water is drawn from a nearby

river/well. There is no garden and no sports field. Instead, a rough piece of land is used

as a playing ground. The three classrooms cater for a little more than 100 learners who

sit in rows according to their grades. There are two grades in each room, each with one

teacher. The room for the Grade 1 and 2 learners is over-crowded. The groups of

learners in the higher grades are smaller. The walls of the classrooms are quite bare,

except for a few charts. Usually the teacher gives instructions to one grade at a time.

While she does this, other learners must wait, listen or play. The teacher has never been

prepared at college for this situation. After school, the children either play in the

veld/open space, or they have singing practice for a concert to raise some funds for the

school. The community sometimes collects funds and helps to maintain the buildings. All

three teachers are women, and two of them are single. They live near the school and

prepare for their teaching at home, or after school. They feel over-worked, frustrated

and isolated. They do not know how to deal with all the different demands placed on

them by their classes. They would like to have more teaching and learning materials and

resources.

They wish that there were more teachers available for their schools, so that

they can be responsible for just one grade.

What Is Meant by Multi-grade Teaching? ‘Multi’ means plenty, many, or more

than one. The word ‘grade’ means level. Multi-grade, therefore, means many grades.

Multi-grade teaching is a situation in which one teacher has to teach many grades, all at
 the same time. It happens in all schools where there are more grades than teachers.

Some multi-grade teachers may teach two grades, but some teach three or four grades.

In very small schools, teachers may teach six or seven grades at the same time under

one roof.

Do it yourself
Answer the following:

1. Do any of these examples mentioned above sound familiar?

2. Have you had experiences similar to those in the example and story above? Did you

attend multi-grade classes? Did you like the experience?

3. What other thoughts do you have about the stories? Would you want the children of

your community attend a multi-grade class? If they did attend such a class, how would

you help them to learn better in this environment? What advice would you give to

teachers to help these children learn more effectively?

Discussion no.2.

A comparison between Multi-Grade and Mono- Grade Teaching

Characteristics Multi-Grade Mono-Grade

Methods A variety of methods are used to A whole-class approach is used

meet the needs of individual to meet the needs of individual
learners who have different learners with different abilities in
abilities and are in different the same grade
grades.
Organization More time is needed for The teacher is responsible for
organizing and planning only the mandated curriculum
instruction. The teacher is for that particular grade.
responsible for only the
mandated curriculum for that
particular grade.
Relationships Because of the small class size, The school population is larger,
the teacher appears to be part of so it is more difficult to develop
 the family unit. interpersonal relationships.
Tutoring Peer tutoring is employed. Older Usually group leaders assist
learners serve as teachers and others.
role models
Teacher Training Many teachers have no multi- Many are trained with
grade training and lack technical government support.
support.
Number Fewer children are frequently in Normal class size is 40 to 60
multi-grade classes, but there students who are of the same
are different ages in different age and same grade, but have
grades, and students have different abilities. Curriculum
different abilities The curriculum is not designed
for multi-grade classes. The
curriculum
Curriculum The curriculum is not designed The curriculum is geared
for multi-grade classes. towards mono-grade classes
Remuneration There is no special remuneration Special remuneration is possible
for teaching multi-grade classes. through promotion.
Skills Teachers require more skills in Fewer skills are required to
order to handle different grades. handle one grade.
Resources The community is often poor and The government often provides
cannot provide additional educational materials.
educational materials.

Do it yourself!
In your own words, Give at least five (5) advantages and disadvantages of Multi-grade

teaching.

E. Assessment:
Answer the following questions using the knowledge you have acquired throughout this unit Use
your own words.

1. Explain the concept of multi-grade teaching.

2. Compare multi-grade teaching and mono-grade teaching.

3. Describe your personal views on multi-grade teaching.

References

Introduction to Multi-Grade teaching book by Kgomotso Motlotle et al.

 Caramoan Community College
Cadong, Caramoan, Camarines Sur
2nd Semester, S/ Y 2022-2023
( BEED 3-A,B,C, and D Only)

MODULE 2
Name of Student: ______________________________________________________________________
Course Code: Course Title: Teaching Multi-Grade Classes
Instructor: ROWENA P. GORIMBAO, MAED Recommended No. of Hours: 3 Hours

A. Learning Targets
* Identify and describe the factors contributing to the establishments of multi-grade teaching

B. Warm-up
Think of this!
Do you know schools in your community that has multi-grade classes? Have you think what are
those factors that contributed to the establishments of this multi-grade classes?

B. Overview
This module discusses about the factors contributing to the establishments of the

multi-- grade teaching

D. Lesson Proper
Discussion 1.

Factors contributing to the establishment of multi-grade teaching

Lead in. Sample case studies to read on before the discussion

Case Study 1.
 This school is situated on a farm, where a mobile clinic comes
monthly. It is about 120 km from the main road where the nearest
education office and shops are located. It has a total of 43 learners in
Grades 1 to 6 and two teachers. Ms Ndondzo is the principal and teaches
Grades 4, 5 and 6. She is a qualified teacher with 10 years of teaching
experience. Ms Sobayi is teaching Grades 1, 2 and 3 and has between 10
and 12 years of teaching experience. She is new at the school. She
transferred to the school this year at the end of the first term. The school is
fenced in and has no water, electricity, telephone or toilets. There is a
school garden with some produce but no playing or sports fields. There is
one room of 88 m2 with cracked walls, a leaking roof and no window
panels. The two teachers share this room for their teaching. Sometimes,
when the weather is favourable, one teacher teaches outside under the
trees.

Case study no. 2

There are two teachers teaching in Kagisong Primary School. The school is about

20 km away from the nearest village. One teacher teaches Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4.

The other teacher teaches Grades 5, 6 and 7 as a combined class. The teachers expressed

concern over the tardiness of the learners, the lack of resources and the excessive

workload. The school has requested a third teacher from the Ministry of Education, but the

request has gone unheeded. The community is very poor and cannot manage to hire the

required third teacher on its own. Also, there are no literate people in the village to help as

teaching aides.

Case study no .3
The school serves four small villages and the nearest school is 19 km away. The school

has three teachers, two of whom are trained teachers and have specialized in multigrade

teaching. The teachers state that their multi-grade training comprised two weeks of practice

12 years ago, which, though valuable, was inadequate? They feel a need for more in-

service training in multi-grade teaching and feel that the concept of multi-grade teaching
 should be introduced to all teachers as part of the normal pre-service training. The school-

community relationship is very strong. The Parent-Teacher Association maintains the

classroom block and is raising money for another classroom.

Discussion no.1

Geographical Factors -Some areas are geographically isolated by rivers, sand

dunes or thick forest. As a result, few people live in these areas. Examples are the

mountainous villages of Lesotho. The children in these areas deserve education just like

any other children. Therefore, under such conditions, multigrade teaching becomes the

only available choice for these communities. Let us return to the discussion between Pat

and Kully about Venda Village, where there are only 30 school children. There are many

communities like Venda Village in our region. Some of these communities move from

place to place in search of a means of survival. For example, they move to places where

they can find food for themselves and their animals. Sometimes these small

communities are far away from large schools. Many of the students in such communities

are too young to travel to larger schools. In addition, their populations are too small to

support mono-grade schools. Under these circumstances, multi-grade teaching is an

alternative. It makes it possible to provide basic education to sparsely populated

communities.

Political Factors- The majority of small multi-grade schools are in remote and

isolated areas and sometimes close to the country boundaries. Though there might be a

school close by across the border, the learners are not allowed to cross the border. Also,

villages under different chiefs or associated with different tribes, no matter how small,

may not have a close relationship with each other. They may not have the same political

affiliation. As part of the local development effort, these leaders will push to have

schools in their areas regardless of the size of the population.

 Cultural Factors -Think about what happens if the children of one community

must attend a school in another community. Parents may not want their children to

attend a school in an area that has a different culture. They may fear that their children

will be influenced, and they will lose some of their community’s values and traditions.

This is frequently the case in communities that are near towns and cities. Parents may

also fear that their children may be attracted to the town and leave home. Therefore,

they would prefer to have a small school in their own village and maintain their

traditions and values.

Socio-Economic Factors- It is difficult to hire a teacher for each grade level

when the enrolment is lower than the government-stipulated teacher/pupil ratio. As Pat

pointed out in the introduction to Unit 2, it is not cost-effective to hire 7 teachers to

teach 30 children. Few countries, if any, can afford to pay a teacher to teach three or

four students. Ministries of Education in most countries have set a ratio of the number

of learners to a teacher. For some countries, it might be 30 or 50 learners per teacher.

Find out what the ratio of learners per teacher is in your country. Another factor to

consider is the lack of both human and material resources. Some countries have limited

resources, especially in remote rural schools. They do not have the resources to hire the

number of teachers needed for the system. Some rural schools do not have the basic

amenities such as accommodation for teachers, an adequate number of classrooms and

teaching-learning materials. As a result, many teachers do not want to work in the

remote rural schools. This means that these schools frequently experience a shortage of

teachers.

Do it yourself
Activity no.1
 Earlier, you were provided with three case studies reflecting three different multi-grade

teaching situations in three different countries. Reread the case studies. Then answer the

questions below. While answering the questions, refer to the text as needed.

1. What are the similarities among these case studies in the manner in which multi-grade

teaching is practiced?

2. What are the differences in how multi-grade teaching is practiced in these countries?

3. Discuss why you think multi-grade teaching would most likely be the only type of schooling

available in these communities.

Activity 2.

Find out!

State the factors contributing to the existence of some of the multi-grade schools in your area.

D. Assessment:

Do this!

Find a multi-grade school in your area. Conduct an online interview to a school head or teachers

and ask what are the factors that led to the establishments of the multi-grade class/classes in their area.

Make it as case study.

References

Introduction to Multi-Grade teaching book by Kgomotso Motlotle et al.