Flexible Grouping and A Great Question to Ask Your Students

Excellence in Education: Flexible Grouping   

In overseeing special education, I’m blessed to see many examples of flexible grouping, but this isn’t a strategy that is limited to special education classes.

Most teachers deliver information in a consistent manner that usually involves whole class, small group and individual student opportunities. Recognizing that each student is different, flexible grouping allows teachers to match students and their instructional needs.*

Advantages to flexible grouping:

• Differentiates and individualizes learning
• Motivates students because students are placed in groups where they can be successful and through peer influences
• Addresses social needs
• Promotes student collaboration
• Provides different experiences with different outcomes

Some Flexible Grouping Strategies

Group Pass: The teacher poses a question (this could be factual recall or an open-ended statement) and each student responds by writing an answer down. Students then pass the paper to a peer who checks the answer. The process is then repeated. In using this with factual/recall information type questions, students can be grouped with similar ability students and different questions can be asked to different groups, or students can be grouped in differing ability groups where stronger students help struggling students.

Student vote: A question is posed to the group with different possible answers. In a history class this could be an opinion question with strongly agree-agree-disagree-strongly disagree answers. In a math class a question can be posed with different answers or solving strategies and in another class this might be would you like to learn more / read about topic A, B, C, D. Each student then goes to one of the corresponding four corners. This can be used to group students by interest.

Readiness: Students are grouped by proficiency.

Administrative Notes

Flex tomorrow.

Learning Walks on Wednesday.

Positive Referral Link: http://goo.gl/s0KXRB

Work Order Request Form: http://goo.gl/H7hFwK

Comment Box: http://goo.gl/forms/KAHNoGf5D2

Some upcoming dates:

April 18: Prom

April 30: Honor Breakfast (Top Decile)

May 17: Scholarship Banquet

May 18: Senior Picnic

May 26/27: Now sent in stone: Senior Exams

May 29 @ 6pm: Graduation

Some upcoming edcamps (opt-out credit can be earned):

May 9: Edcamp MetroDC (Potomac, MD)

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Pew Survey Results about Teens, Social Media, and Tech

Tweet of the Week

This has been circulating on Twitter for a while. I think it’s a great idea and worth sharing.

Give your students an opportunity to complete this statement, “I wish my teacher knew…”