Hazlet Schools Use Mobile Technology to Pilot Multi-grade Classroom

A multi-grade classroom may make you think of a 19th century one-room school house, but with new technology allowing students to participate in individualized learning opportunities, multi-grade classrooms are no longer an outdated concept. When Hazlet Township Public School District in Monmouth County, New Jersey, wanted to incorporate technology into its classrooms to allow for students to learn and progress at their own rate, it decided to create a multi-grade classroom consisting of third and fourth graders, with technology-driven instruction leading the way.

“We have all of this great technology, but it’s really about the learning,” says Greg Farley, supervisor of the 21st Century Learning & Innovation, Hazlet Township Public Schools. “We have to leverage this technology to enhance student learning. We really want a blended environment, we want the most challenging environment, and we want the optimal learning environment for our students.”

We really want a blended environment, we want the most challenging environment, and we want the optimal learning environment for our students.
—Greg Farley, supervisor of the 21st Century Learning & Innovation, Hazlet Township Public Schools

In order for the multi-grade classroom to successfully inspire individualized learning, the correct technology needs to be implemented in the classroom. Hazlet Schools has decided to give each student in the multi-grade classroom a Chromebook that they can use both in school and at home.

By implementing 1:1 technology, Hazlet students will be able to review lessons and assignments in the comfort of their own homes, allowing them to complete assignments they may not have initially understood or not had time to finish in the classroom.

The multi-grade classrooms will consist of no more than 15 students, with the teacher becoming less of an instructor and more of a facilitator of learning.

“The multi-classroom forces the teacher to be more of the facilitator and learning coach as opposed to the sage on the stage due to the different nature of the ethos of the class. The majority of the learning time will be more of a supportive role for the teacher. That allows us to truly differentiate and have the instruction occur to student at an individual pace and with individual learning rates,” says Dr. Bernard Bragen, superintendent of Hazlet Township Public Schools.