MULTIPLE AGES IN A CLASSROOM
The Multi-age Task Force Report was first published in 2012. In the
context of ASB’s transient student and teacher populations and in the
context of education in 2012, the report’s recommendations were put on
hold.
Since that time, the Multi-Age report served as a basis for creating the
Elementary School Day 9 prototype and the Middle School Day 9
Prototype. Learning in multi-age teams was a core element of these
prototypes which developed to become ES Studios and Studio 6
respectively. Since 2012, education around the world has continued to
shift away from a focus on learning content toward a focus on developing
success skills such as communication, collaboration, creativity, self-direction and critical thinking.
This shift has influenced the increasing popularity of educational
approaches such as project-based learning, competency-based learning,
learning through making and learning through apprenticeships. Learning
approaches that help students develop these success skills are moving
from the edges of educational practice into the mainstream.
Learning in Multi-age classrooms may be another such approach. In
recent months we have received increased requests for the 2012 Multi-Age Task Force Report. That’s why we are re-publishing the 2012 Multi-age Task Force report for re-envisioning the future of teaching and
learning.
Report findings have been consolidated at http://bit.ly/multiagereport
and the report is printed in full in this chapter.
