Grouping

Type
SOCIAL

Description
A class, generally of 18-26 students, is divided into smaller groups, typically of 2-6 students each.

Purpose
To create small working groups within the classroom setting. To differentiate instruction.

Range
Grades 3+

Fruitility
Students like being in small groups, especially when they are allowed to choose their own, but //assigned// grouping is accepted by students simply as a matter of course. Assigned grouping helps to build community even if only by interrupting the process of self-selection. Working in small groups fosters peer-teaching and collective problem-solving activities.

Features
**Grouping** is an obvious way to leverage social learning dynamics in a classroom. Groups can have any number of members and any kind of structure; they can be carefully planned or spontaneously generated. I have used **grouping** in my math classes to form seven and eight groups of three. If I have no specific seating (//open seating//), students self-select their groups. Otherwise, if I make groups with specific students in them, I will illustrate that plan on a pin-board //Group Planner// that I've made. A push-pin matches a student's name to one of eight groups (2, 3, 5, and 7 of each playing card suit); those groups are marked at 3-table //pods// with those same playing cards. It's meant to be a way to rapidly assemble and rearrange groups based on formative assessment evidence; I try to have an //expert// or //supervisor// in each group. I encourage students in these groups to solve problems and resolve errors collectively as much as possible.