Facilitating differentiated instruction in a multi-grade setting: the case of a small school

Abstract

Education literature often reports about the challenge-prone nature of both multigrade teaching (MGT) and differentiated instruction (DI). This article explored the factors that expedited implementation of DI in a small rural school which practised MGT. Participants of this case study were the principal and three elementary teachers of the selected school. Using semi-structured interview, classroom observation, and document analysis, the possibilities and challenges for DI implementation were examined, analysed, and described. The findings revealed four major factors that facilitated successful implementation of DI. These are teachers' positive perception, teachers' knowledge, support and advocacy of school management, and the choice of instructional setup employed. The findings also indicated lack of time and teachers' high workload as challenges to teachers' efforts for DI implementation. The findings imply that favourable conditions within schools can facilitate DI in a multigrade setting, even in the presence of certain challenges.

The Implementation of Personalised Learning to Teach English in Malaysian Low-Enrolment Schools

“…These schools often struggle to provide quality English language instruction and meet the diverse needs of students . The small student population results in larger multi-graded class sizes, limited opportunities for individualised instruction, and a lack of diverse language learning experiences [5,8,9]. Consequently, students may face difficulties in developing English language proficiency and achieving academic success.…”

“…This will allow teachers and students to fully exploit the resources in order to respond to the specific needs and interests of each student [5,36]. Limited resources can act as a spur for creativity and innovation in education, leading to more individualised and student-centred approaches to learning [5,9]. Students could learn to cooperate among themselves, with teachers' assistance, to create their projects and foster a culture of cooperation and invention, resulting in a more effective learning environment for all students.…”

Modelli di leadership e alliances in “small European schools”. Un’analisi interpretativa su base internazionale

“…Ciò è avvenuto nonostante comunità e amministrazioni locali considerino il mantenimento di queste realtà scolastiche essenziale per il benessere dei territori (Lyson, 2005) e per la loro stabilità (Cross, 1996). Ampia letteratura ha approfondito caratteristiche e applicazioni dell'apprendimento differenziato nella pluriclasse come pedagogia orientata al perseguimento della qualità educativa (Brown, 2010;Shareefa, Moosa, Matzin, Abdulla & Jawawi, 2021), in contrasto a credenze e immaginari condivisi da docenti, studenti e famiglie che, soprattutto in Italia, sono fortemente ancorati a un'organizzazione del curricolo basata su una correlazione rigida tra età anagrafica e traguardi di apprendimento (Mangione & Garzia, 2021). Un filone significativo è dedicato alla valorizzazione del tema del territorio come elemento propulsivo per il rafforzamento del senso di appartenenza alla comunità e di radicamento ai luoghi, in contrasto ai fenomeni diffusi di spopolamento e di povertà educativa (Smith & Sobel, 2010;Orr, 2011).…”