Recommended Reading
The following resources can help teachers develop an ideology and pedagogy that is compatible with multiage education. It is critical to form a strong set of foundational principles to guide teachers in decision making in their practice. If you have discovered a resource that you feel should be included in this list, please email me.
Empowering the Child, Nurturing the Hungry Mind
Raymond H. Hartjen PhD 1994 rhartjen@hamptons.com
Alternative Education Press, Ltd. NY, US 11937
http://www.educationfutures.org/Empowering.htm
This is an inspiring, easy-to-read book that advocates for self-initiated learning. It is highly recommended for educators and parents who are interested in nurturing, learner-centered education.
The Multi-grade Classroom: Myth and Reality
Edited by Margaret Gayfer; extracted from the CEA research study by
Joel Gajadharsingh PhD, 1991
The Canadian Education Association Toronto, ON M5S 1V5
ISBN: 0-920315-48-8
http://www.cea-ace.ca/home.cfm
(Select 1. Publications 2. Other Publications 3. Occasional Papers
To order, select order publication $8 Cdn)
Gajadharsingh’s research compares the learning of students in multi-grade classes to their peers in single graded classrooms across Canada in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Key findings include: Do children get as good an education in a multi-grade classroom as they do in a single grade one? The answer is “yes”. “The message is clear: educators need to take multi-grades as seriously as they do single-grades. This means giving priority to a pedagogical approach, to the structure and organization of such classrooms, to the creation of different curricula and support material, and the possibility of a reduced load for teachers of multi-grade classes.”
One Kid at a Time
Eliot Levine 2002
Teachers College Columbia University New York, NY 10027 US
ISBN: 0-8077-4153-1 http://www.bigpicture.org/publications/onekidatatimecollegeguide.pdf
This book describes a model of what multiage education could look like at the high school level. The Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (the Met) in Providence, Rhode Island US is a publicly funded high school that has had remarkable success with students. “Students stay with the same teacher for four years, and parents help plan and assess their child’s learning. There are no classes, tests, or grades, but high achievement is expected for all students- regardless of their background.”
The Schools Our Children Deserve
Alfie Kohn 1999 Houghton Mifflin Co, Boston
ISBN: 0-618-08345-6
http://www.alfiekohn.org/books/tsocd.htm
Kohn’s book is a persuasive invitation to rethink our most basic assumptions about schooling. “Drawing on a remarkable body of research, he helps parents and others interested in education understand the need to move beyond a “bunch o’ facts” model of teaching.”
Multiage in a Nutshell
Compiled and edited by Nita C Lester, Linda Constable 2006
Multiage Association of Queensland, Australia
http://www.australianassociationofmultiageeducation.org/?page=recommended_reading
This collection of articles are helpful to beginning multiage teachers and principals. Many of the articles are from journals Free to Learn and Journal of Multiage Education, Australia. The articles offer practical suggestions for multiage classroom organization, management, assessment, curriculum delivery, as well as highlighting research and beliefs that guide multiage practice.
On-line reading for teachers
Multiage and Multi-Grade: Similarities and Differences
Dennis M Mulcahy, PhD
Multiage Foundations
Russell Yates
Why Does Multiage Make Sense? Compelling Arguments for Educational Change (PDF)
Wendy C Kasten. Primary Voices K-6, Volume 6, No 2. April 1998.
Copyright 1998 by the National Council of Teachers of English. Posted with permission.
Summary of Research about Benefits of Multiage Pavan’s research
compiled by H Mattern and R Yates
Multiage Grouping and Academic Achievement (PDF)
Susan J Kinsey
Children’s Social Behavior Relation to Participation in Mixed-age or Same-age Classrooms
Diane McClellan, PhD and Susan J Kinsey
Comparison of The Academic Achievement of Primary Students in Multiage and Traditional Classrooms (PDF)
Mary Frances Harmon
Dissertation for requirements to complete a Doctor of Education
East Tennessee State University. December 2001
The (Progressive) Schools Our Children Deserve
Alfie Kohn, 2004
Children at The Center Implementing the Multiage Classroom (PDF)
Bruce A Miller
The Nongraded Continuum (PDF)
Terry Ball, Australia
Multi-age Groups. Why Do We Need Them? (PDF)
Terry Ball and Bruce Jones. PRIME FOCUS Nov 1995.
Posted with permission from authors
On-line reading for parents
What Is a Multiage Class?
Dr Sandra Stone
Multiage Foundations
Russell Yates
Why Does Multiage Make Sense? Compelling Arguments for Educational Change (PDF)
Wendy C Kasten. Primary Voices K-6, Volume 6, No 2. April 1998.
Copyright 1998 by the National Council of Teachers of English. Posted with permission.
Summary of Research about Benefits of Multiage Pavan’s research
compiled by H Mattern and R Yates
The Benefits of Mixed-Age Grouping
Lilian G Katz
A School in Heaven for Kids
Shannon Priem
What to Look for in a Classroom
Alfie Kohn, 1996
Mixed Blessings
Trish Snyder
(from Today’s Parent, Oct 2005)
Meredith’s Old Doll (PDF)
Marion Leier, 1999
Multiage Learning Environments have Many Benefits (PDF)
Marion Leier, 2007
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