EGED 131-Teaching Multigrade Handout #8

TEACHING STRATEGIES
Teachers use many strategies in their day-to-day teaching. Sometimes they are fully aware
of the strategies they are employing, sometimes not.

Teachers need to know a variety of teaching strategies so that they can use them to address
particular subjects and situations. Some strategies will work well with some students;
others will not.

This unit will expose you to a range of teaching strategies that you can use with your
multigrade class.

What Are Teaching Strategies?

Teaching is a process of guiding and enabling an individual to learn new ideas and skills
and to develop new values and attitudes. The main goal of teachers is to help students learn.
Learners are different; therefore, they learn in different ways. That is why teachers should
use a variety of methods to cater to different learners. These methods are referred to as
teaching strategies.
Types of Teaching Strategies
Teaching strategies play an important role in an effective multigrade class. The
following are some of the teaching strategies that could be implemented by a
multigrade teacher.

Teaching Strategies

Four of the teaching strategies explained below are group work, peer teaching, drama and
project approach.

Group Work
In this approach, a teacher organises learners to work in smaller groups according to
their abilities, interests and ages. See Figure 1.

But how should groups be formed? When should you use them? What are the
different ways to use them?

Groups are formed in a variety of ways, depending on the type of lesson you want to teach.
Below are examples of how learners can be grouped.

• Mixed ability groups: Slower and fast learners are placed in one
group.
 • Same ability groups: All learners progress at more or less the same
pace.

• Social groups: Learners with the same or mixed backgrounds are

grouped together.

• Gender groups: The boys and girls are separated.

• Interest groups: All learners show interest in the same activity or

topic.
• Peer groups: Friends who like to work together are placed in the
same group.

• Random groups: Learners are chosen in no particular order.

• Pair grouping: Two learners work together.

Group work is a good way to organise your class. It is learner- centred and can be used all
the time. It allows learners to sit together in an organised manner as shown b.

Give learners the opportunity to name their own groups. This elicits pride and a sense
of ownership.

Since you can arrange groups in a variety of ways, you can make up groups that suit
your needs and those of your learners. Change your groups from time to time. Do not
use the same grouping all the time. Give your learners the opportunity to interact with
other learners.

When you set up your classroom for group work, you may place the tables in small
groups as illustrated in Figure 1, or you can arrange the tables so that all students
sit facing the teacher as in Figure 2.
In order to avoid idleness or boredom, the teacher must prepare as many
appropriate activities as possible. You can also assign duties to various group
members. Certain skills can be enhanced through group activities. For example:
• Group leader - could develop leadership skills.
• Scribe - could develop writing skills.
• Timekeeper - could become more aware of and develop
a respect for time.

The above responsibilities should be rotated amongst the learners so that all of
them get an opportunity to do different chores and to develop new skills.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Group Work

Group work has both advantages and disadvantages for students.

Advantages
• Learners can share skills and work cooperatively.
• Resources can be rotated among a number of groups.
• Learners can develop self-confidence and
independent learning skills.
• Group work can increase participation and involvement.
• Group work allows for individual differences so the
learner learns more effectively.
 • The teacher can attend to learners who need
more attention.

Disadvantages
• Some learners ridicule others in a group because of
their disabilities.
• Some learners tend to dominate the group.
• Shy learners may be ignored or be disadvantaged.

Observe groups carefully so that you can recognize and remediate these types of
problems as quickly as possible.

Peer Teaching
This is an approach in which students serve as teachers or coaches to other students
in the same or different grade levels.

The older or more advanced children can often teach other students. Peer teaching is
frequently effective because learners use their own language patterns during their
interactions. Peer teaching also develops the peer leader’s self-confidence. The peer
leader should understand his or her roles clearly. The peer leader should be well
organised and prepared. Peer teaching can also be used to develop practical skills
related to farm work, road safety, sports and first aid. Peer teaching is useful in
managing situations because the peer teacher can assist by working with individual
students in groups while the teacher is with another class. The following guidelines
will help you to ensure that peer teaching works effectively.

The teacher should:

• prepare peer leaders in advance by explaining their roles and
their tasks clearly,
• help peer leaders to gather materials needed for the activities
to be conducted, and
• evaluate the peer leaders. Note what actually took place and
what needs to be done next.

The peer leader should:

• understand the task,
• develop positive skills for dealing with others, and
• report to the teacher the successes or weaknesses of peers.

Drama
This is an approach that requires learners to act out stories or themes referring to a
specific topic. Dramas help learners to acquire concepts, skills, attitudes and values.

On their own, learners cannot articulate a situation in order to translate it into a

play or drama. You will therefore be required to ensure that your learners
understand the concepts, attitudes and skills that may be required to dramatise
effectively.

Various aspects of dramas may help students develop the skills and attitudes
outlined in the table below.
 Concepts Skills Attitudes

Main story ideas Listening Taking turns

Sequence of Speaking Respecting and

story and accommodating
articulating the opinions of
language others
clearly

Character traits Gestures Sharing

Social issues Being patient and Being able to

tolerant work in a
group
situation

Source: Commonwealth Secretariat, Caribbean Community Secretariat and Commonwealth of

Learning. (1998: 60). Multigrade Teaching Programme. Module 4: Teaching Strategies for
Multigrade Education. London: Commonwealth Secretariat.

Project Approach
This method allows learners to devise ways and means for exploring a subject in
depth. It involves investigating or solving a problem individually or in groups.

The starting point of a project can be triggered by a problem, the syllabus, the
learner or an incident. There are many more starting points you could use in your
multigrade class.
Read the following case study carefully and consider how you would guide your
learners in starting up a project of their choice.

Need for a Library Shelf

You have been moved into a new classroom. Your learners’

reading books are all over the place. You’ve asked your
learners what could be done to resolve this problem.
They’ve suggested that they will help build a bookshelf and
organise a library corner. Ask your learners to plan and
organise a reading corner for the classroom.

The following steps might be helpful in planning for the project.

Planning Stage
• Let the learners brainstorm the topic to generate ideas.
 • Prioritise the ideas. In this case, organise them into a
chronological sequence. What must be completed before each
step can take place?
• Ensure that the project is very clear to all your learners.

Preparations
• Identify the tools, equipment and resources that will be
required.
• Group the learners according to specific tasks they
will be required to perform in the project.
• Assign a group leader.

Performance
• Once everyone is ready to work on the task, let
them start.
• When the need arises, you should act as a
coordinator or expert.

Evaluation
• Once the project is completed, hold a session with
all your learners. Ask them to identify the successes
that were achieved or the problems that arose.
• Always reward successes and encourage learners
whose performance might have been weak.

As indicated earlier, projects arise out of identified needs. It is rewarding hen the
learners identify their own projects and you help to facilitate the realisation of the
projects. Learners have potential. Nurture this potential.

Factors to Consider When Selecting Teaching Strategies

Before you select an appropriate teaching strategy, you should always take the
following factors into consideration:
• the number of learners in each grade
• the different abilities of the learners
• the cultural backgrounds and languages of your learners
• the ages of the learners
• socio-economic factors that may affect your learners,
the community and yourself
• available resources, including teaching aids,
personnel (teachers and community) and learning
space
• the season of the year