- Younger & older students learn from each other. Younger students get a preview of upcoming curriculum/skills and older students get a review of previously learned skills/content.
- Students become versatile learners through group and individual instruction.
- Children’s social skills develop more quickly and earlier, as interaction with other age groups is fostered.
- Multi-age interactions promote an advancement in a child’s social skills.
- Students develop self-management skills, including time and behavior management.
- The multi-grade classroom mimics and fosters sound relationships at home and in future adult life. 2
- The same teacher instructs the student for two or more years; meaning that the teacher is given greater time to get to know the student individually, together with their strengths, weaknesses, and learning habits. This increases the quality of education given and received. 2
- The vast majority of studies indicate that students in multi-grade settings perform as well or better than students in single grade settings.1 Studies clearly indicate that social and psychological benefits exist from multi-grade settings. The country of New Zealand which boasts the highest literacy rate in the world still finds multi-grade classroom settings common.
1 Independent 2 Immanuel Mayfield