For your convenience some of the instructional strategies have been explained in this
unit so that you can use them effectively, efficiently, appropriately and successfully
and utilize them in multigrade situations. Following are some of the instructional
strategies that you can adopt in multigrade situations.
1 Direct Teaching
In a multi-grade teaching situation, time for direct teaching is of great significance.
In this situation it may not be impossible for you to devote full-time to a single
grade. In this context, direct teaching can be adopted by you to present an overview/
summary of the lesson/topic, while starting a new topic/lesson, to explain difficult
concepts and different activities, to arouse learners’ curiosity, to explain the role of
monitors and peers, to assign self-study exercises, for reinforcement, evaluation and
remedial measures, etc.
At the same time you should also make sure that the direct teaching is followed and
proceeded by monitorial assistance, peer group work and self-study by pupils.
2 Monitorial Assistance
Very frequently you may be taking assistance from monitors to facilitate and share
your teaching work while you are engaged with some other grades/levels or in some
academic/non-academic work. You might have realized the significance of monitors
who have a dynamic role to play in multigrade context.
You should be quite careful in selecting monitors. Different monitors should be
selected for different subjects/activities. The monitors selected should be generally of
the same grade rather than of the senior grade. You can seek monitorial assistance
to facilitate miscellaneous activities – to organize peer group and individual learning
activities, to demonstrate the materials. You may also take the help of monitors to
conduct drills, to supervise self-study and to monitor the assigned activities and to
maintain discipline of the classes.
While selecting monitors the following points need to be considered:
- Ability to understand the topic.
- Readiness for concept clarification, and to carry out different activities.
- Ability to manage the group learning, and peer tutoring.
- Qualities of understanding, sympathy, co-operation leadership, etc.
3 Peer Tutoring: Students as Resources
Peer tutoring involves students teaching students. The typical peer tutoring consists
of a more capable student assisting less capable ones. Peer tutoring can be both one-to-one and one-to-several pupils i.e. small group. In a multigrade set-up peer tutors
assist in reducing the workload of the teachers and also facilitate the individual
learning. This strategy can be used successfully in developing the essence of co-operation amongst learners. It can be extended to:
— explaining school routines.
— giving drill exercise to reinforce the concept.
— demonstrating for effective learning.
— activating the learner’s participation.
Peer tutoring is of several types. In a multigrade context cross age peer tutoring is
quite useful where older students help the younger ones. The students who are good
in a particular subject are selected as peer tutors to assist other pupils of his/her group of the same class or of other classes. Sometimes a peer tutor may be appointed
by a teacher or by the pupils. The peer tutors require some orientation by you to
provide positive feedback to other students and to assist the smaller children in a
democratic approach.
Your role in this context is quite different. For example while teaching class V
students, you can engage other classes IV and III to accomplish a task on mathematics,
or Language with the help of peer tutors of the same class or of higher classes. You
need to constantly keep a watch and monitor the progress of work.
Peer tutoring provides an opportunity for self-evaluation to students, to act as a tutor
and develop a sense of responsibility and accountability among students.
4 Peer Group Work
The multigrade classroom can be organized by you in cohesive peer group i.e. grouping
bright, average and weak students together. The pupils in a peer group of the same
grade or of different grades teach one another and the more able among them in a
particular subject/activity act as teachers for those who are less able in that subject/
activity. The peer group leader should be the member of peer group an leadership
should be assigned on rotation. The peer group work helps to provide immediate
feedback and individual attention to the learner. It also helps the learner to progress
at their own pace and seek immediate guidance, whenever, required.
5 Self Study
You can realize the difficulty, a teacher of a multigrade situation has to face, to keep
pupils of different grade(s), level(s) engaged all the time. Textbook alone cannot
serve this purpose. You can solve this problem by arranging a variety of carefully
graded self-learning materials, in order to engage the learners meaningfully and cater
to their progressive levels. Different pupils may be given different activities to perform.
Some learn counting while some others are engaged in tracing pictures by using
stencil and papers. Arranging pictures on a board to make a pattern or a short story
can be another activity.
Revision for comprehension drill in language skills, use of assignment cards, etc. are
some of the self-study activities. Some exercises can be given from the content as
individual work assignment. The older children or children of higher levels would
require more of self-learning activities. The younger children or children of lower
levels would require more of concrete materials and a range of activities which will
help them in learning through ‘doing and experiencing’. Continuous supervisions is
needed to keep pupils busy in self study activities.
6 Whole Class Teaching
To engage pupils in different subjects / activities in multigrade teaching is sometimes
a difficult task. In this context, you can combine all the grades together and teach
certain subjects like:
! Physical and health education
! Music
! Moral studies
! Art education
! Presentation of general information to all pupils
! Value education etc.
7 Small Group Work
You can take the advantage of the multigrade classroom (where the size of each grade is small) by organizing small group activities for pupils. The organization of
small group work provides a potential learning environment to pupils and also helps
you to keep a focus and provide assistance to all pupils on a one to one basis.
The grouping of pupils should be flexible and based on the nature of instructional
activity. You can group the pupils in both vertical (grouping pupils of different grades)
and horizontal (grouping pupils of some grades) combination. The former grouping
is useful for peer tutoring, mixed ability group work, etc. and latter for self-study/use
of workbook, etc. In fact, it is the activity that determines the type of group organization.
The reasons and purpose for group work should be explained to the children.
If small group work is accepted as a classroom organization strategy, your role will
definitely change. Accordingly, you must follow a few guidelines for organizing
small group work as a facilitator.
! Group size should be of 4 to 5 students.
! Specific seating arrangement may be done as per the group work.
! Make a group for a week or a fortnight.
! Rotation of group leaders is essential to optimize pupil participation.
! Explain the context of group work.
! Monitor the progress of each group and assist them wherever necessary.
8 Field Trips (out of classroom activities)
You may sometimes organize field trips for children of multigrade classes to help
them to understand their environment. These would help you in initiating new activities.
In field trip activities, pupils are to be guided as to how to observe, explore, understand
and react to the environment. You may initiate activities with pupils to: (i) observe
and record facts and phenomena; at field level, at class level (ii) compare notes;
(iii) examine opinions; (iv) infer rules, relationship and laws; and (v) draw
generalization. Further, knowledge gained by the pupils may be systematized through
discussion and involving students of all classes.
9 Extended Teaching Periods
Assigning routine homework and correcting them may cause some problems for you.
But these children of multigrade classes can stay back for about an hour after the
schooling time to do the homework. Sometimes pupils of senior classes may help the
children of lower classes, to accomplish their home task. At the same time you may
provide guidance to monitors and peer group teachers for the next day work.
10 Community Support
In a multigrade situation, involvement of community members can be a powerful
support and resolve few constraints. You can involve some retired persons, social
workers, and educated parents in the teaching work to supplement your efforts. Local
expertise in craftsmanship could also be utilized.