Multi-Level Learning

The Advantages of Multi-Level Learning

The Christian English School of Torino will incorporate multi-level instruction principles.  There are many advantages to multi-level instruction which is the preferred educational format since it addresses the individual needs and abilities of each student.  Multi-level instruction is best implemented in smaller learning groups or classes.  In larger single-level classrooms, all of the students are taught the same content which is designed for the “average” student.

Child looking through magnifying glass with older child watching

However, the advanced students are bored and are not challenged to go beyond these minimal objectives.  On the other spectrum there are the students who are more challenged in a particular subject who are unable to keep up.  They eventually getting discouraged and then stop trying to learn.  This increases their problems as they continue to decline in respect to the other students.

Alternatively, multi-level instruction is the process of teaching one primary objective or concept to the class while also allowing for varying outcomes for each individual student or a small group of students.  Teachers will deliver on-grade level standards-based instruction for mathematics and language arts, while responding to any student who may require instruction whether below or beyond the current learner objectives.

Students looking together at map with compass.

Multi-level instruction was originally designed as a means of providing appropriately adjusted instruction for gifted students, but educators quickly discovered that the multi-level instruction processes can and should be followed for every student.

Because of this, multi-age schooling had a resurgence in the 1960s, and it was recently reported that approximately one third of all classes across the world are multigrade classes. 

In 2007, about 28% of schools in the United States were adopting this type of educational practice when the number of pupils was too small.  The incidence of multigrade classes is also high in many European countries, especially in less populated areas.  For instance, in France about 37 percent of primary school pupils are in such classes.  In Finland and in the Netherlands, multigrade classes prevail over single grade ones.[1]

[1] Checchi, D., & De Paola, M (2018). “The effect of multigrade classes on cognitive and non- cognitive skills: Causal evidence exploiting minimum class size rules in Italy”. Economics of Education Review. 67: 235–253.