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Multi-Aged Looping
What teachers say about multi-aged looping:
- Experienced teachers are constantly renewed.
- Benefits children who need more personal encouragement.
- Decreased competition.
- Leadership opportunities; teachers felt that students were able to take on roles as leaders and followers fluidly, depending upon maturity and confidence.
- Forces developmentally appropriate practices.
- Forces professional growth in getting to know curriculum for two grades.
- Older students calmed by younger students.
- Social issues and problems are diluted with mixed-age groups.
- the students seem to do better.
- pecking order diminished; eases social pressures.
- more dependence on each other for support.
- eases transitions going into junior high/middle school because students know older students in grade ahead.
- more mixed-age play at recess and fewer conflicts.
- Provides less socially advanced students with an advantage.
- Provides opportunity for greater team teaching situations.
- Startup time in the fall is lessened because half of the group are experts and bring other half along quickly; less loss of learning over the summer.
- Better relationships with students/parents because they have two years together.
- Experienced parents from year before help new parents understand and serve as resources.
- Children have shared playtime on the playground, where they play soccer, basketball, and all sorts of games together - physical education classes work well.
- More flexibility in teaching.
- Inventive teachers feel refreshed with the range and challenge of the curriculum.
- Teaching feels fresh because the curriculum is spread over two years.
- More involvement of students to shape parts of the curriculum.
- More individual autonomy of students.
- Know students better; more able to reach individuals.
- Students in roles of teacher allow for stronger consolidation of information learned.
- Enhances the self-image of students.
- Less transitions for students to make (three instead of five within an elementary experience).
- Children don't get labeled in roles forever because roles change as younger students become the older students.
- There is more of a community feeling within the class and within the school.
- Older students are role models for the younger students, both academically and socially.
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