Student Grouping:
Grouping students can greatly impact the success of a lesson. Grouping students can be in any number to suit the task and it is depending on the students’ behaviour whether the teacher chooses, it is random selection or free choice of their team members. A popular way to divide students is by ability. This is commonly used in reading groups as students are able to learn with peers who are working at a similar level. Group work is an excellent method to promote collaborative and productive communication that can extend and enhance learning (Soller, 2001). An example of this is the Think, Pair, Share activity in which students share their responses, answers or comments with a partner. When used correctly, this is an extremely beneficial task. The following table clearly explains some of the different styles of grouping.
Teacher-Led Groups
Grouping Options
|
Teacher's Role
|
Activities
|
Whole Class/
Small Groups |
Explains procedures
Provides instructional scaffold Facilitates discussion Provides explicit instruction Affirms student diversity |
Outlining day's agenda/schedule
Giving an overview of concepts Sharing student work Presenting strategies Developing background knowledge |
Individual
|
Guides individual development
Encourages individual student interests |
Applying key concepts, strategies and skills
Composing written responses Completing understanding Creating own investigations |
Student-Led Groups
Collaborative
|
Describes students' roles
Describes students' interpersonal skills Encourages student interaction Monitors group effectiveness Guides understanding Affirms student diversity |
Organizing collaborative project
Collaborating on projects Sharing group projects Discussing students' evaluation of group's success Applying key strategies and concepts Discussing different perspectives |
Performance-Based
|
Identifies students' needs
Provides instructional scaffold Provides explicit instruction |
Organising short-term groups
Introducing new concepts Teaching specific concepts, strategies and skills |
Dyad (Pairs)
|
Identifies students' interests or needs
Models instructional strategies Guides understanding |
Assisting partners
Tutoring peers Responding to peer writing Collaborating |
(Source: Valentino, C 2000, Flexible Grouping, Houghton Mifflin Company, viewed 8 October 2015, http://www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/articles/valentino.html)
A chapter on grouping from the book, RTI Success (Whitten, Esteves & Woodrow, 2009), gave some interesting insight into how and why teachers should group students. An example was making a table of the class at the start of the year, using the headings academic strengths, academic needs, accommodation/modifications, multiple intelligences preferences, learning and thinking styles, documented disabilities and special interests. By looking at the whole student, the teacher is able to arrange groups more efficiently and effectively, according to each task or Key Learning Area (KLA). For more information, click on this link:
http://www.freespirit.com/files/other/RTI_Success_Purposeful_Grouping.pdf
http://www.freespirit.com/files/other/RTI_Success_Purposeful_Grouping.pdf
Helpful Links:
Manis, C 2012, Cooperative Learning: Great Grouping Strategies for Your Classroom, Daily Teaching Tools, viewed 8 October 2015
http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/cooperative-learning-grouping.html
Some interesting and creative ways to group students
Eberly Center, n.d., How can I compose groups?, Carnegie Mellon University, viewed 8 October 2015, https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/compose.html
Ideas and considerations for grouping students
http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/cooperative-learning-grouping.html
Some interesting and creative ways to group students
Eberly Center, n.d., How can I compose groups?, Carnegie Mellon University, viewed 8 October 2015, https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/compose.html
Ideas and considerations for grouping students