Lesson 1:

Introduction to
Multi- Grade
Teaching, and its
Challenges and
Opportunities
Introduction
Pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution
that the State shall protect and promote the
rights of all citizens to quality education at all
levels and take appropriate steps to make
education accessible to all, it is a declared
policy of the DECS to build a school in school-
less barangays where enrollment and
population growth trends warrant the
establishment of new schools and to organize
What is Multi-Grade
Classes?
• A multigrade class is defined as a class of 2 or more
grades under one teacher in a complete or incomplete
elementary school. (DO 96, s. 1997 Policies and
Guidelines in the Organization and Operation of
Multigrade Classes.

• Multigrade classes also called Multi- Age Group. Multi-

age is a term commonly used today to describe mixed-
age groups.

• The meaning of multi-age is "Use multi-age to mean two

Why Multi-Grade Class
Exists?
1. Multigrade classes were organized as a
matter of necessities for remote barangays
where the number of children enrolled could not
meet the required number to organize a single
grade class and assign the necessary teacher
for each class.
2. Distance of the barrio and the small number
of students for each class.
Roles of Teacher in Multi-Grade
Class
• As a teacher
• As a facilitator
• As a planner
• As an evaluator
• As a material designer
• As an action researcher
• As contact with the community
Organization of Multi-grade
Regional Classes
Directors and Schools Division
Superintendents shall organize Multigrade classes to
provide access to schools for children in far-flung
barangays and to complete incomplete schools. The
minimum enrolment of 8 pupils and the maximum of
35 pupils per class shall be observed.

Whenever possible and when teachers and other

facilities warrant, MG classes composed of more than
School Plant, Facilities, and Furniture of Multi-
grade Classes
Regional Directors and Schools Division
Superintendents give priority to multi-grade classes in:
1. Allocating 3-room school building to MG classes
without standard building or where the existing
building is in need of total rehabilitation. The existing
standards for school buildings shall apply to MG
schools.
2. The classroom layout as well as furniture should
facilitate multi-grade teaching and learning. It should
allow for: grouping/regrouping of school children
according to age, grade level, ability level or interest;
The provision of textbooks and other support
instructional materials as follows:
Minimum Multi-grade Instructional Package (MIP)
for teachers which shall consist of:
1. Minimum Learning Competencies for MG
Classes (MLC-MG),
2. Budget of Work for MG Classes (BW-MG)
3. Lesson Plan for MG Classes (LP- MG), and
4. Multigrade Teachers Handbook (MG-HB)
Minimum Learning Package (MU) for
multigrade pupils consisting of:
1. Textbooks in all learning areas on at least
1:2 textbook-pupil ratio or as much as
possible on a 1:1 ratio.
2. The Multilevel Materials (MIL.Ms) on at least
1 set to 3 pupils ratio.
Allocating Teacher Items or Assigning
Teachers
• In assigning teacher items, priority should be
given to schools with multigrade classes
having an enrolment of more than 35 per
The Multi-grade Curriculum and Program
• Multigrade schools/classes shall offer the New
Elementary Schools Curriculum (NESC) and adopt
any of the suggested class program.

Support, Welfare and Incentive Program for

Multi-Grade Teachers
• To attract and retain effective teachers in
multigrade schools the following measures should
be implemented:
1. Regular monitoring of MG classes to sustain training
gains and to provide them with technical as well as
instructional support.
2. Regular training of MG teachers on multigrade
teaching.
3. Whenever resources/situations permit, at least one
as lodging place of teachers/school administrators
whose residences are considerably far from the school.
(1) classroom should be designated.
4. Granting of the Special Hardship Allowance tor MG
What is the difference between Multi-grade,
Multi-age and Composite groups?
• Composite classes are two or more classes
working in the same room with one teacher,
but usually with separate programs. The
curriculum is still structured and taught
strictly in separate grades.
• Multi-age can be a wide range of ages in
anyone class, varying by quite a number of
years sometimes. In the traditional class, all
students in the class will be working on the
Multigrade teaching is different in two main
ways:
• The curriculum for the grades being combined is
elements from the different year programs are
integrated that is, common combined into one
program for the class.

• The learning is student centered not grade level

centered, so students have the opportunity to
work at their level of ability, through the different
levels of activities provided by the teacher. The
Opportunities in Teaching Multi-
Grade
1. Learning New Concepts in
Teaching Multigrade classes
• The intensive small group capacity
building for multigrade teachers in
the remote and isolated schools
provided technical and professional
support and assistance for them to
recognize new multigrade teaching
concepts that they have not
encountered yet most especially to
2. Improving Teachers' Competence in
Teaching
• Teaching competencies refer to the skills and
knowledge that enable a teacher to be successful
in the vocation. According to Jackson (1990),
teachers must have expertise in a wide-ranging
array of competencies in an especially complex
environment where hundreds of critical decisions
are required each day in order to maximize
3. Boosting Teachers' Self-Esteem
• The multigrade teachers could teach effectively
and with confidence, if they are given
continuous feedback in their performance,
tailored-fit training and other opportunities for
personal and professional growth and
development.
4. Enhancing the Structure and Organization
in Making Lessons Plans
• Lesson planning is essential in the teaching-
learning process. All teachers should have these
skills of planning a good lesson for their learners
5. Understanding the Dynamics of Lesson
Study
• In the intensive training, the dynamics of
lesson study were introduced for the
multigrade teachers. teachers are
collaborating and learning together to
improve their lessons.

6. Initiating Pro-Active Actions in Helping

7. Shares Responsibility in Facilitating
Learning with the Little Teacher
• In multigrade set-up, teachers should have
learning facilitator/s who would facilitate the
class on what to do while their teacher is in the
other grade level. Sharing of responsibility to the
learners (student learning facilitator/s)
empowered them to become independent and
exercise the 21-century skills to communicate,
collaborate, think critically and become creative
(4Cs).
8. Given Technical Assistance from the
Instructional Supervisors
• The school heads, public schools district
supervisors and education program supervisors
provided technical support and assistance to the
multi-grade teachers especially on the critical
content of the lessons.
9. Empowering Teachers’ to be Resourceful
and Innovative
• Multigrade teachers realized that they become
more resourceful and innovative after being
exposed to the intensive training and
Challenges in Teaching Multi-
Grade
1. The Curriculum
• One challenge faced by those who are implementing
multi-grade teaching is that the materials such as
textbooks are designed to be used in single-grade
schools. Teachers are not always sufficiently to adapt the
materials and curricula to a multi-grade setting.
2. Planning for Delivery
• Mult-igrade teaching requires that a lot of planning be
conducted outside of the regular class time. Teachers, like
everyone else, have a lot of extracurricular activities and
3. Attitude
• Some parents and a few educational personnel
have a negative attitude towards multi-grade
teaching. They believe that for their children to
gain knowledge, skills and attitudes, they should
be in single-grade schools and be lectured to.
4. The Physical Space
• The appearance and the size of some
classrooms present a challenge to multi-grade.
teaching. Some teachers object to multi-grade
teaching because they say that classrooms are
often too small, too crowded and poorly
5. Disadvantaged Local Environment
• Some of the parents in areas where these
schools are located have not received much
schooling themselves.
Learners at Different Learning Levels If you
do not carefully prepare for your lesson, the
following may occur:
• Learners who are not given work to do may
waste time.
• Learners can become noisy and unruly and
disturb others who are trying to work.
• Learners may be quiet, but they can be bored.
6. Teacher Frustration
• Many teachers have not been prepared for the
demands of multigrade teaching. Without
appropriate support or additional training, they
can become overwhelmed, frustrated and
unmotivated. As a multigrade teacher, you must
become aware of these challenges in order to
overcome them.
7. Class size in One-Cassroom
8. Absence of Movable Boards/Flipboard
• All public multigrade classrooms do not have
movable boards, flipboards, magnetic boards and
9. Preparation of lesson plans and
instructional materials
• This is one of the challenges encountered by
multigrade teachers. They spent so much time
in preparing their weekly lesson plan or daily
lesson log (DLL).
10. Requires more time for the teachers to
analyze the progress of individual learners
• Considering that there is a higher number of
learners per classroom, it is tedious for the
multigrade teachers to provide constant
THANK YOU!