The Benefits of Mixed Age Group Classrooms

One of the things that makes Montessori unique is the environment that is created for the students and part of this environment is mixed age groups. Some may look at having so many different ability levels in one space as a disadvantage, but in reality there are many benefits to having mixed age groups, especially in mathematics. Here are just a few benefits.

Materials become the true teacher. 
When we have mixed age and ability levels in the same room, the teacher can’t be everywhere at once to help the students. That’s where the materials come in! The materials are the tools that really teach the child about relationships and patterns, and eventually lead them to the formulas.

Students can learn from each other. 
Often a student who is older or who is more experienced can help a younger or struggling student. This is great because children really know how to communicate with each other at a level that is different than adults. Furthermore, in order to explain a concept one must really know it. This means that when students help each other, they are not only getting review on the concept, but they are also deepening and solidifying their understanding through their explanation.

Groupings are not rigid.
Sometimes a younger student is ready for a more advanced lesson, or an older student needs a lesson on a simpler topic than their peers. With multiple ages in a single classroom, students can always get the right lessons at the right level at the right time. Students are not stuck in one group that at times may be too fast and other times may be too slow. A student may love and excel at geometry, but struggle with division but be good at multiplication. There is no higher or lower group they are stuck in—there is just math happening all the time.

They are exposed to a greater variety of ideas.
I’ve often been in the classroom giving a lesson to a small group of students of one age group, but the lesson is overheard by other students. This exposure to new ideas sometimes piques their interest immediately. Other times, it just exposes them to ideas or topics that will be upcoming for them later; so this gives them something to anticipate later on down the road of their own mathematical journey.

Older students help to set the expectations.
When new students arrive in the classroom, there is an expectation as to what the work habits and norms will be. When there are already older students present, they set the tone for the new students and welcome them to the class culture through their example and work. And just being older gives them more credibility as they are looked up to naturally by the younger students!

Michael Waski is the director of The Math Institute at Great Work Inc. Michael has been a lecturer for the AMI/NAMTA Orientation for Adolescent Studies since 2009; he has presented adolescent math workshops at the AMI Refresher Course from 2006 to 2019. In 2016, he presented “The Needs of a Montessori High School” at the AGM in Amsterdam. He is also a four-time guest lecturer for MTIPS on “Upper-El Math Workshops.”​