Looping (education)

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Looping in education is the practice of moving groups of children up from one grade to the next with the same teacher. [1] For example, a teacher who teaches a third grade class and then goes on to teach the same students, the following year, for the fourth grade. This system, which is also called multiyear grouping, [2] lasts from two to five years and, as the class moves on, the teacher loops back to pick another group of children. [3] This practice is particularly prevalent in Europe and Asia. [3]

Contents

This is distinct from the teacher of a multi-age class, who teaches a specific range of school grades together. In this case, although each child remains with the same teacher for multiple years, the group of students being taught changes annually as older children leave the group and are replaced by younger students entering. [4]

Background

It is believed that young learners experience a complex period of development and that it requires consistency, which can be provided by the looping learning framework. [5] Looping allows teachers to address this issue by providing continuity as well as a stable and secure learning environment. [2] It had its origin in Waldorf education, where the traditional goal has been for a primary teacher to remain as the lead teacher of a class for eight consecutive years, though in conjunction with numerous specialized teachers;. [6] Waldorf education spread in the United States in 1928 after it was first introduced in Europe. [7] During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the looping system was implicit in the educational structure, particularly in one-room schools where there was only one teacher available for all students. [8]

Advantages

Teacher looping offers several benefits to education, including behavioral, emotional, and academic.

Disadvantages

Potential disadvantages of looping include:

Related Research Articles

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to education:

Humanistic education is an approach to education based on the work of humanistic psychologists, most notably Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Rogers is regarded as the founder of humanistic psychology and devoted much of his efforts toward applying the results of his psychological research to person-centered teaching where empathy, caring about students, and genuineness on the part of the learning facilitator were found to be the key traits of the most effective teachers. He edited a series of books dealing with humanistic education in his "Studies of the Person Series," which included his book, Freedom to Learn and Learning to Feel - Feeling to Learn - Humanistic Education for the Whole Man, by Harold C. Lyon, Jr. In the 1970s the term "humanistic education" became less popular after conservative groups equated it with "Secular Humanism" and attacked the writings of Harold Lyon as being anti-Christian. That began a successful effort by Aspy, Lyon, Rogers, and others to re-label it "person-centered teaching", replacing the term "humanistic education." In a more general sense the term includes the work of other humanistic pedagogues, such as Rudolf Steiner, and Maria Montessori. All of these approaches seek to engage the "whole person": the intellect, feeling life, social capacities, and artistic and practical skills are all important focuses for growth and development. Important objectives include developing children's self-esteem, their ability to set and achieve appropriate goals, and their development toward full autonomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Language immersion</span> Use of two languages across a variety of educational subjects

Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction are referred to as the L1 and the L2 for each student, with L1 being the student's native language and L2 being the second language to be acquired through immersion programs and techniques. There are different types of language immersion that depend on the age of the students, the classtime spent in L2, the subjects that are taught, and the level of participation by the speakers of L1.

Cooperative learning is an educational approach which aims to organize classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. There is much more to cooperative learning than merely arranging students into groups, and it has been described as "structuring positive interdependence." Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively toward academic goals. Unlike individual learning, which can be competitive in nature, students learning cooperatively can capitalize on one another's resources and skills. Furthermore, the teacher's role changes from giving information to facilitating students' learning. Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds. Ross and Smyth (1995) describe successful cooperative learning tasks as intellectually demanding, creative, open-ended, and involve higher-order thinking tasks. Cooperative learning has also been linked to increased levels of student satisfaction.

This is an index of education articles.

Culturally relevant teaching is instruction that takes into account students' cultural differences. Making education culturally relevant is thought to improve academic achievement, but understandings of the construct have developed over time Key characteristics and principles define the term, and research has allowed for the development and sharing of guidelines and associated teaching practices. Although examples of culturally relevant teaching programs exist, implementing it can be challenging.

Mastery learning is an instructional strategy and educational philosophy, first formally proposed by Benjamin Bloom in 1968. Mastery learning maintains that students must achieve a level of mastery in prerequisite knowledge before moving forward to learn subsequent information. If a student does not achieve mastery on the test, they are given additional support in learning and reviewing the information and then tested again. This cycle continues until the learner accomplishes mastery, and they may then move on to the next stage. In a self-paced online learning environment, students study the material and take assessments. If they make mistakes, the system provides insightful explanations and directs them to revisit the relevant sections. They then answer different questions on the same material, and this cycle repeats until they reach the established mastery threshold. Only then can they move on to subsequent learning modules, assessments, or certifications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Mount Waldorf School</span> Private school in Bryanston, Gauteng, South Africa

Michael Mount Waldorf School is one of 18 registered schools in Southern Africa that practice Waldorf education.

Personalized learning, individualized instruction, personal learning environment and direct instruction all refer to efforts to tailor education to meet the different needs of students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waldorf education</span> Educational philosophy

Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical skills, with a focus on imagination and creativity. Individual teachers have a great deal of autonomy in curriculum content, teaching methods, and governance. Qualitative assessments of student work are integrated into the daily life of the classroom, with standardized testing limited to what is required to enter post-secondary education.

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is a perspective within early childhood education whereby a teacher or child caregiver nurtures a child's social/emotional, physical, and cognitive development. It is also described as a philosophy in child education that is based on child development knowledge where professionals base their instruction and care on research, standards, and recognized theory.

Grade skipping is a form of academic acceleration, often used for academically talented students, that enables the student to skip entirely the curriculum of one or more years of school. Grade skipping allows students to learn at an appropriate level for their cognitive abilities, and is normally seen in schools that group students primarily according to their chronological age, rather than by their individual developmental levels. Grade skipping is usually done when a student is sufficiently advanced in all school subjects, so that they can move forward in all subjects or graduate, rather than in only one or two areas. There are alternatives to grade skipping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Class-size reduction</span>

As an educational reform goal, class size reduction (CSR) aims to increase the number of individualized student-teacher interactions intended to improve student learning. A reform long holding theoretical attraction to many constituencies, some have claimed CSR as the most studied educational reform of the last century. Until recently, interpretations of these studies have often been contentious. Some educational groups like the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association are in favor of reducing class sizes. Others argue that class size reduction has little effect on student achievement. Many are concerned about the costs of reducing class sizes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Differentiated instruction</span> Framework or philosophy for effective teaching

Differentiated instruction and assessment, also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation, is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing all students within their diverse classroom community of learners a range of different avenues for understanding new information in terms of: acquiring content; processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in their ability. Differentiated instruction means using different tools, content, and due process in order to successfully reach all individuals. Differentiated instruction, according to Carol Ann Tomlinson, is the process of "ensuring that what a student learns, how he or she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he or she has learned is a match for that student's readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning." According to Boelens et al. (2018), differentiation can be on two different levels: the administration level and the classroom level. The administration level takes the socioeconomic status and gender of students into consideration. At the classroom level, differentiation revolves around content, processing, product, and effects. On the content level, teachers adapt what they are teaching to meet the needs of students. This can mean making content more challenging or simplified for students based on their levels. The process of learning can be differentiated as well. Teachers may choose to teach individually at a time, assign problems to small groups, partners or the whole group depending on the needs of the students. By differentiating product, teachers decide how students will present what they have learned. This may take the form of videos, graphic organizers, photo presentations, writing, and oral presentations. All these take place in a safe classroom environment where students feel respected and valued—effects.

Multi-age classrooms or composite classes are classrooms with students from more than one grade level. They are created because of a pedagogical choice of a school or school district. They are different from split classes which are formed when there are too many students for one class – but not enough to form two classes of the same grade level. Composite classes are more common in smaller schools; an extreme form is the one-room school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flipped classroom</span> Instructional strategy and a type of blended learning

A flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning. It aims to increase student engagement and learning by having pupils complete readings at home, and work on live problem-solving during class time. This pedagogical style moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom. With a flipped classroom, students watch online lectures, collaborate in online discussions, or carry out research at home, while actively engaging concepts in the classroom with a mentor's guidance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elementary schools in the United States</span> Primary education in the United States

In the United States, elementary schools are the main point of delivery of primary education, for children between the ages of 4–11 and coming between pre-kindergarten and secondary education.

Co-teaching or team teaching is the division of labor between educators to plan, organize, instruct and make assessments on the same group of students, generally in the a common classroom, and often with a strong focus on those teaching as a team complementing one another's particular skills or other strengths. This approach can be seen in several ways. Teacher candidates who are learning to become teachers are asked to co-teach with experienced associate teachers, whereby the classroom responsibilities are shared, and the teacher candidate can learn from the associate teacher. Regular classroom teachers and special education teachers can be paired in co-teaching relationships to benefit inclusion of students with special needs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Learning environment</span> Term in education

The term learning environment can refer to an educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to "classroom", but it typically refers to the context of educational philosophy or knowledge experienced by the student and may also encompass a variety of learning cultures—its presiding ethos and characteristics, how individuals interact, governing structures, and philosophy. In a societal sense, learning environment may refer to the culture of the population it serves and of their location. Learning environments are highly diverse in use, learning styles, organization, and educational institution. The culture and context of a place or organization includes such factors as a way of thinking, behaving, or working, also known as organizational culture. For a learning environment such as an educational institution, it also includes such factors as operational characteristics of the instructors, instructional group, or institution; the philosophy or knowledge experienced by the student and may also encompass a variety of learning cultures—its presiding ethos and characteristics, how individuals interact, governing structures, and philosophy in learning styles and pedagogies used; and the societal culture of where the learning is occurring. Although physical environments do not determine educational activities, there is evidence of a relationship between school settings and the activities that take place there.

Inclusive Classroom is a term used within American pedagogy to describe a classroom in which all students, irrespective of their abilities or skills, are welcomed holistically. It is built on the notion that being in a non-segregated classroom will better prepare special-needs students for later life. In the United States, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 guaranteed civil rights to disabled people, though inclusion of disabled students progressed slowly until the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, after which almost half of US students with disabilities were soon in general classrooms.

References

  1. "Looping". Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  2. 1 2 Pugach, Marleen C. (2009). Because Teaching Matters: An Introduction to the Profession. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 299. ISBN   978-0-470-40820-9.
  3. 1 2 Crosser, Sandra (2004). What Do We Know About Early Childhood Education?: Research Based Practice. New York: Thomson Delmar Learning. pp.  80. ISBN   1401850618.
  4. Mulcahy, Dennis. "Multiage And Multi-Grade: Similarities And Differences" . Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  5. Mertens, Steven B.; Caskey, Micki M.; Flowers, Nancy (2016). The Encyclopedia of Middle Grades Education (2nd ed.). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc. p. 244. ISBN   9781681235707.
  6. Heiner Ullrich, Rudolf Steiner, Prospects: the quarterly review of comparative education, v. XXIV, no. 3/4, pp. 555-572. UNESCO 1994.
  7. Couchenour, Donna; Chrisman, J. Kent (2016-03-15). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education. SAGE Publications. ISBN   9781506353180.
  8. Kridel, Craig (2010-02-16). Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications. pp.  548. ISBN   978-1-4129-5883-7.
  9. Nitecki, Elena (2017-05-11). "Looping and Attachment in Early Childhood Education: How Applications of Epigenetics Demand a Change". Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. 17 (2): 85–100. doi:10.14434/josotl.v17i2.20840. ISSN   1527-9316.
  10. Hegde, Archana V.; Cassidy, Deborah J. (October 2004). "Teacher and Parent Perspectives on Looping". Early Childhood Education Journal. 32 (2): 133–138. doi:10.1007/s10643-004-1080-x. ISSN   1082-3301.
  11. McCown, Claire; Sherman, Scott (March 2002). "Looping for Better Performance in the Middle Grades". Middle School Journal. 33 (4): 17–21. doi:10.1080/00940771.2002.11494679. ISSN   0094-0771.
  12. Nevin, Ann I.; Cramer, Elizabeth; Voigt, Jorine; Salazar, Liliana (November 2008). "Instructional Modifications, Adaptations, and Accommodations of Coteachers Who Loop: A Descriptive Case Study". Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children. 31 (4): 283–297. doi:10.1177/0888406408330648. ISSN   0888-4064.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Oppenheimer, Todd (1999). "Schooling the imagination". The Atlantic Monthly. 284 (3): 71–83. ISSN   0160-6514.