MUNCIE, Ind. -- The one-room schoolhouse is long gone, but students of various ages are still being taught by a teacher in a single classroom, says a Ball State University educator.

Financial difficulties and fast-growing student populations are forcing many schools to create "multi-age" classrooms, says Jill Miels, an elementary education professor at Ball State University.

"One hundred years ago we didn't have as many educational options or as many students attending schools," Miels said. "Our educational system developed components for various ages, such as grade levels.

"Some schools have gone back, not to the one-room school of old, but in some cases to something that resembles it," she said.

Miels said K-12 schools in the Southeast and West are often forced into creating multi-age classrooms when students just show up for the first day of classes. In some rapidly expanding communities, literally hundreds of new students move into local school districts during the summer. Las Vegas, Nev., is expecting a 10-15 percent annual growth in K-12 school enrollment over the next 10 years.

"In one situation, a school had three classes full of third graders, but still had 15 new kids who arrived the first day without warning," she said. "Then, they had 15 fourth graders who were without a class. The school simply put the two groups together in one room."

Under the arrangement, fourth-grade students learn fourth-grade materials while third-graders are taught from their own curriculum, Miels said.

In such a situation, a creative teacher may select a subject and allow both groups of students to learn at their own levels.

"For example, space travel is something that is broad enough to allow all the students to learn at their own levels," Miels said. "If the students are having fun, learning is much more productive. And, in a multi-age classroom, a great deal of the learning comes from student-to-student interaction."

While the system works well in communities facing overcrowding or teacher shortages, small towns and cities in most of the country prefer more traditional grade-oriented classes, she said.

Multi-age classrooms came into vogue in the 1970s as educators sought options to improve teaching and learning, Miels said.

"Some schools have been using multi-age classrooms and the children and teachers seem to enjoy it," she said. "But, it is not traditional and many parents fight against it at first. You have to find what is appropriate for your community before you try it."