Overview:
Classroom teachers who use flexible grouping structures are able to select higher level and higher interest grade level materials, as students become co-teachers and co-learners. Because the teacher as facilitator designs groups based on a variety of factors, such as student reading/ writing/ thinking/ public speaking ability, gender, interest, engagement/ enthusiasm, the groups draw out the strengths of every student and enhance the overall learning potential of all students.
When teachers move from teacher-driven to student-centered classrooms, they shift the responsibility of the curriculum to all learners. Flexible grouping infuses curriculum adaptation, extension, and innovation. Flexible grouping is an opportunity to reconceptualize curriculum materials for 21st century learners due to the powerful models for collaboration and problem-solving inherent in its design. Flexible grouping is a means to increase expectations for all students due to peer interaction and targeted learning. Effects of grouping vary by how it is implemented, as flexible grouping is most effective when teachers target a specific learning event concept, when teachers vary instructional delivery, and when the teacher reflects on and reevaluates the dynamics of the group assignments.
Direct instruction:
Direct instruction at the beginning of a new learning event is imperative within the flexible grouping model. Direct instruction is the jumping off point of a teacher’s backwards planning, as it offers outlines of objectives, cognitive structures necessary for accommodation of new learning, and access to prior knowledge as prerequisites for achievement of objectives. Direct instruction at the beginning of class offers review of previous learning events or previews of new learning events. The direct instruction should contain ideas and information that meet the needs of all learners: “top” students and special needs students.
Terminology as integral to direct instruction:
Direct instruction should introduce terminology that is applicable and important conceptually to the new learning event. Research suggests that students do not make the new terms part of their own inner vocabularies when they solely write down the words, such as in a divided page context. Instead, the teacher should pronounce all new vocabulary words to assist those students with decoding problems. To assist all students to build a base of meanings, the teacher should help the students to create a schematic. The teacher might ask the students to create a graphic organizer of relationships among terms; to visualize the terms and draw them as applicable to real-life situations; to dramatize the words in quick skits. Subsequent class periods of direct instruction may be used to review the terminology, link with reading assignments, or to help the students to pronounce the terms.
Learning events and flexible grouping:
When the students move into learning events in their flexible groups to deconstruct an assigned reading, the teacher should provide guidance toward the learning objective. That guidance might be a set of conceptual reading questions [i.e. Why does the protagonist behave in this manner? What is the viewpoint of the author, and how does this particular worldview filter the information contained in this reading?]. The guidance might be a cognitive map that the students create together. The guidance might be a compilation of information that each student has composed and take on the format of poster or wiki, for instance.
Comprehension strategies might include SQ3R [survey, question, read/ recite/ review], summarizing at key places, designing graphic organizers or cognitive maps, building sequencing charts/ timelines, working through study guides, highlighting key ideas, taking Cornell notes, devising mnemonics, participating in oral discussions, or journaling.
Each group member assumes a role: discussion director, recorder, visualizer, researcher, or other expert roles. The roles are rotated each day. The group is "done" when all members of the group have successfully completed the series of learning process events.
While the students work in their flexible groups, the teacher constantly circulates the room, offering feedback and positive reinforcement. Additionally, the teacher should compile a series of observational notes about the findings of the class. These observational notes will be the foundation for the subsequent whole class activity.
Classroom management:
The teacher must develop routines for the students to follow for flexible grouping to be a success means to enhance learning for all students. The teacher should model the expected process and behaviors of flexible groups prior to implementation. Modeling can be accomplished through direct instruction, dramatization, or simulation. The teacher should move from whole group to flexible group by reminding students of the instructions for that particular learning event before students form their groups and to ‘dipstick,’ or ask one student to clarify for the entire class so the teacher can sure students understand what they are going to do. The teacher should post an outline of the tasks, create a time clock of efficient task completion, and have a "quiet" signal that students have mechanisms for self-monitoring and optimal efficiency.
Whole class renewal:
After the flexible grouping learning event, the teacher should reconvene the whole class and deconstruct the learning events. Rather than having each flexible group share their responses --- which may become repetitious rather than reinforcing --- the teacher should share observations of the significant findings of the class. The observations may be in the format of a bulleted list, a cognitive map, an interactive presentation, or a short film, for example.
While discussing the findings orally, the teacher should offer a visual summary as well: a transparency on an overhead, a graphic organizer on a poster, a webpage with hyperlinks to areas of additional information and ideas, or a blog that the students can visit after class to review. The overarching goal of whole class renewal is to build comprehension.
Post learning event assessment:
The assessment after the learning event should be utilized to determine the extent of each student’s learning during the flexible grouping time. It is ungraded and focuses on inferential applications of critical questions.
Conclusion:
Flexible groupings in the high school classroom require excellent classroom management skills, the ability to multitask, and significant amounts of preparation time. In an era of larger class sizes than ever juxtaposed against standards-based education mandates, flexible grouping allows students and teachers to work together toward common learning goals.
Resources
Irujo, S. “Flexible grouping: Nobody ever said it was easy!” The ELL Outlook. March/ April, 2006. http://www.coursecrafters.com/ELL-Outlook/2006/mar_apr/ELLOutlookITIArticle3.htm
Classroom management:
The teacher must develop routines for the students to follow for flexible grouping to be a success means to enhance learning for all students. The teacher should model the expected process and behaviors of flexible groups prior to implementation. Modeling can be accomplished through direct instruction, dramatization, or simulation. The teacher should move from whole group to flexible group by reminding students of the instructions for that particular learning event before students form their groups and to ‘dipstick,’ or ask one student to clarify for the entire class so the teacher can sure students understand what they are going to do. The teacher should post an outline of the tasks, create a time clock of efficient task completion, and have a "quiet" signal that students have mechanisms for self-monitoring and optimal efficiency.
Whole class renewal:
After the flexible grouping learning event, the teacher should reconvene the whole class and deconstruct the learning events. Rather than having each flexible group share their responses --- which may become repetitious rather than reinforcing --- the teacher should share observations of the significant findings of the class. The observations may be in the format of a bulleted list, a cognitive map, an interactive presentation, or a short film, for example.
While discussing the findings orally, the teacher should offer a visual summary as well: a transparency on an overhead, a graphic organizer on a poster, a webpage with hyperlinks to areas of additional information and ideas, or a blog that the students can visit after class to review. The overarching goal of whole class renewal is to build comprehension.
Post learning event assessment:
The assessment after the learning event should be utilized to determine the extent of each student’s learning during the flexible grouping time. It is ungraded and focuses on inferential applications of critical questions.
Conclusion:
Flexible groupings in the high school classroom require excellent classroom management skills, the ability to multitask, and significant amounts of preparation time. In an era of larger class sizes than ever juxtaposed against standards-based education mandates, flexible grouping allows students and teachers to work together toward common learning goals.
Resources
Irujo, S. “Flexible grouping: Nobody ever said it was easy!” The ELL Outlook. March/ April, 2006. http://www.coursecrafters.com/ELL-Outlook/2006/mar_apr/ELLOutlookITIArticle3.htm
Porcaro, K. “Heterogeneous grouping.” Educational Performance Systems, Inc. Woburn, MA. 1995.
