Comparison of instructional practices utilized by Pennsylvania second-grade teachers in multiage, multigrade, and single-grade settings.

@mastersthesis{walker2001,
  title = {Comparison of instructional practices utilized by Pennsylvania second-grade teachers in multiage, multigrade, and single-grade settings.},
  author = {Walker, Beverley},
  year = {2001},
  abstract = {For more than a century, educators have debated, questioned, and studied the effectiveness of the traditional graded structure as compared to other alternative organizational configurations. Research findings comparing the achievement, attitudes, and social development of students have been conflicting. Studies comparing achievement of students in various groupings did not typically look at the instructional practices of teachers in the classrooms being studied.;This study gathered information from second-grade teachers of single-grade, multigrade, and multiage classrooms in Pennsylvania to determine how extensively multigrade and multiage configurations are used in Pennsylvania primary classrooms. The study investigated whether there were differences in the types of instructional practices used and differences in the degree to which teachers implemented developmentally appropriate instructional practices in their classes.;A random sample of over 1500 teachers received a survey, developed by the researcher. Six hundred ninety-six teachers (44.4\%) responded. The respondents completed a survey which consisted of 24 statements describing developmentally appropriate instructional practices. Respondents indicated the frequency with which they utilized each instructional practice in their classrooms on a four-point scale. They also noted the type of classroom configuration, single grade, multigrade, or multiage, whether they had been assigned to or had volunteered for their current position, their preference of classroom organizational structure, and their total years of teaching experience.;Approximately 90\% of the respondents reported that they teach in a traditional graded structure. There were several individual instructional practices significant at the p > .01 level. Single-grade teachers were more likely to use whole group instruction for math. Multiage teachers were more likely to use small groups for math instruction, to allow students to move at their own pace, and to group students based on learning styles. Overall, however, this study indicates that classroom organizational structure does not, of itself, significantly influence instructional practices.},
  language = {English},
}