Multi-Age Grouping: Enriching the Learning Environment. National Education Association National Education Association of the United States, Washington, D. C., 1968.
Multi-Age Grouping: Enriching the Learning Environment [pdf]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
Heterogeneous mixtures of children occur naturally in play and in many school activities, for example, student council meetings, clubs, and social affairs. These activities demand the variety of ages, talents, interests, and experiences represented by the whole range of students in a school. It is questioned whether academic activities would not also be greatly enhanced by the contributions of, and cooperation among, a heterogeneous group of students learning together. The American school system at present generally organizes students into classes according to age. Because of the abundant research demonstrating the vast differences in ability and rate of development within any one age group, it is argued in this pamphlet that it is perhaps highly artificial to organize classrooms by age alone. The study committee responsible for the content of this pamphlet investigated both the theory and practice of multi-age grouping. In multi-age grouping, children are grouped randomly with no particular consideration of age or ability, although it is recognized that not all areas of study are amenable to such grouping. But for those subjects like art, creative writing, and discussion periods, in which varied levels of maturity, perspective, and experience can contribute more to the learning process, the learning process will be more likely enriched by a greater heterogeneity of pupils. Heterogeneous interaction of age groups contributes to social growth and understanding as well as to academic growth. OCLC: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/301385001

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