They visited six sites in Kentucky and four in Missouri, which had types of combined learning. They met with district curriculum coordinators to discuss math, language, reading, science, and social studies integrations. They looked at test results, reviewed child retention rates, and checked the literature for the most effective instruction for teaching primary literacy. They held several meetings with parents to explain the program and its philosophy and to elicit support. The teachers and principal wrote a Missouri State Incentive Grant, which was offered to encourage the development of exemplary programs for the state, and the program was funded for one year.
Research states that young children are cognitively unready to learn in an abstract manner.
Research on brain functioning has shown that information taught in a meaningful context is more easily learned than unconnected facts. This knowledge encouraged a change in our teaching methods. Cooperation has been fostered in mixed-age groups by the different expectations children have of those older and younger than themselves. The younger children are perceived as needing assistance, the older children as sources of help and leadership. Our cooperative and pro-social behaviors have increased, while discipline problems have decreased.