Title: FLEXIBLE GROUPING
1FLEXIBLE GROUPING
- Bringing the meat and potatoes to DI
2Flexible grouping
- Teachers, bring the meat and potatoes of
Differentiated Instruction to your students.
Engage them in small group activities and
instruction in a systematic and motivational way.
Learn how flexible grouping allows for more
differentiation, when to incorporate flexible
grouping, the advantages and cautions inherent in
such a system, and practical, easy, and fun ways
to design and manage your groups.
3Todays Agenda
- Introductions
- Definition and purpose
- Grouping structures
- Research
- Formative assessment
- Managing flexible groups
- DI strategies that support flex groups
- Closure
4Group Resume
- By alphabet groupings
- Identify and brag about your groups resources
- Should include any information that promotes
subgroup as a whole - Topics can include background, experience,
positions, accomplishments, hobbies, families,
etc.
- TEACHERS R US
- Berks IU
- Objective
- Desire experience creating flexible groups that
increase knowledge - Qualifications
- 12 years teaching
- Masters Degrees
- Some knowledge of DI
- Hobbies include skiing reading
5Knowledge Transfer
6Whole group-set the stage for flexible grouping
- Description
- Rationale
- DI connection
- When to use it
- Advantages
- Cautions
7Flexible Grouping
- Occurs when there is a whole group assessment or
instruction initially and then the students are
divided by their need for either review, - Re-teaching, practice, or enrichment. Such
grouping could be a single lesson or objective, a
set of skills, a unit of study, or a major
concept or theme. Flexible grouping creates
temporary groups for an hour, a day, a week, or a
month or so. It does not create permanent groups.
8Take a look
- Readiness
- Interest
- Learning profile
- Group Arrangements
- (like/unlike/size)
- Teacher choice
- Student choice
- Random
9Planning for GroupingQuestions to Consider
- When does grouping benefit students?
- When does grouping facilitate instruction?
- Which activities lend themselves to group work?
- How do you determine group membership?
10When does grouping benefit students?
- When the task requires input from different types
of learning styles and perspectives. - When the subject matter is new for all students.
- When it allows gifted students to be engaged in
real learning.
11When does grouping facilitate instruction?
- When it
- allows both for quick mastery of information and
ideas - allows for additional exploration by students
needing more time for mastery - allows for both collaborative and independent
work - gives students and teachers a voice in work
arrangements - allows students to work with a wide variety of
peers - encourages teachers to try out students in a
variety of work settings - keeps students from being pegged as advanced or
struggling
12Grouping and the Gifted Student
- The gifted student ranges in his/her strengths
and weaknesses just as do all students - Students are different from each other and
challenged when provided programming at the
appropriate level of instruction - Teachers must look at each student individually
- MCPS content curriculum contain adaptations that
are suitable for the gifted student in the
cluster grouped classroom - Flexible Grouping for the delivery of instruction
is the cornerstone of appropriate differentiation
for the gifted student
13Which activities lend themselves to group work?
14Group Work - Old and New
Traditional
Cooperative Groups
- Task is usually a project
- Some students do more work and take most
responsibility - Some students are ignored by others in group
- Some students feel success, others feel
frustration - Each student cares most about what he/she learns
and what grade he/she receives
- Task may be a project, brainstorming, problem
solving - Shared work and responsibility
- Participation of all students is encouraged
- Each students ideas and work are valued
- Students care about group learning
15Activities for Heterogeneous Grouping
- Open ended activities with use of strategies such
as critical thinking,, development of concepts
and generalizations - Multidisciplinary themes
- When presenting new content
- Examples Hands on Science experiments, and
current events activities
16Appropriate Activities for Heterogeneous Grouping
- Critical Thinking
- Concept and Generalization
- Whole Language Experiences
- Multi-disciplinary Units
- Open ended discussions
- Examples Hands-on science experiments and
Current event discussions
17Appropriate Activities for Homogeneous Grouping
- Drill and Practice
- Math computation
- Studying for recall type test
- Answering comprehension questions about a novel
18Turn and talk
- Proximity partner
- Turn to partner to review lecture guide
19Spotlight Share
- One member of pair called on to answer
- Major point
- Misconception
- Concern
20Group Membership
- Can be determined by
- Readiness
- Interest
- Reading Level
- Skill Level
- Background Knowledge
- Social Skills
21Grouping Method
- TAPS
- Teacher Assigned
- Student Selected
- Random
22Creative ideas for forming groups
Popsicle sticks with names last one picked chooses group Clock partners
Stickers on card, find matching sticker
Birthdays in seasons
Puzzle pieces
Team hiring and resumes
23Other resources for forming groups
- Use contribution reminder cards
- Pass out colored chips and put in center after
each contribution - Rank students by ability and put in array of 3
across - Group reflection form use a rubric
24And the research says
- Text-based seminar
- Read the article
25Text-based Seminar
- All read pp. 1 2, 26-29
- Divide the article into 4 parts (Models 1-4)
- Each member reads a section
- After reading, discuss this framing question
How can flexible grouping increase achievement in
my class? - Protocol Each person in group refers to one
quote from the text and explains how this quote
supports their response to the framing question. - Other members take turns in responding to group
members quotes.
26Take a look
- Watch the video
- Trio learning
27Rotating trio exchange
- Sit in groups of 3
- Assign each a 0, 1, or 2
- Discuss the following question
- How does heterogeneous grouping support
higher level thinking of all members? - Rotation 1s move clockwise, 2s move
counterclockwise, 0s stay put
28Continue the triad discussion
- What first steps will you take to employ flexible
grouping? - What barriers might hinder the implementation of
flexible grouping and what can you do to remove
those barriers? - How can a teacher ensure the appropriate level of
challenge for each student?
29PRE-ASSESSMENT
- The purpose of pre-assessment is to determine
what students know about a topic before it is
taught. Pre-assessment will help the teacher
determine flexible grouping patterns and should
be used regularly.
30Equity
31Pre-assessment Strategies
- Teacher prepared pre-test
- KWL Charts /Graphic Organizers
- Writing Prompts/Samples
- Guess Box
- Student demonstrations and discussions
- Student products and work samples
- Show of hands/EPR Every Pupil Response
- Standardized Test Data
- Teacher observation/Checklist
32Formative assessment
- Assessment for learning is any assessment for
which the first priority in its design and
practice is to serve the purpose of promoting
pupils learning. It thus differs from assessment
designed primarily to serve the purposes of
accountability, or of ranking, or of certifying
competence. An assessment activity can help
learning if it provides information to be used as
feedback, by teachers, and by their pupils, in
assessing themselves and each other, to modify
the teaching and learning activities in which
they are engaged. - Such assessment becomes formative assessment
when the evidence is actually used to adapt the
teaching work to meet learning needs. -
- Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall Wiliam, 2002
33Types of formative assessment
- Long-cycle
- Span across units, terms
- Length four weeks to one year
- Impact Student monitoring curriculum alignment
- Medium-cycle
- Span within and between teaching units
- Length one to four weeks
- Impact Improved, student-involved, assessment
teacher cognition about learning - Short-cycle
- Span within and between lessons
- Length
- day-by-day 24 to 48 hours
- minute-by-minute 5 seconds to 2 hours
- Impact classroom practice student engagement
34Aspects of formative assessment
Where the learner is going Where the learner is How to get there
Teacher Clarify and share learning intentions Engineering effective discussions, tasks and activities that elicit evidence of learning Providing feedback that moves learners forward
Peer Understand and share learning intentions Activating students as learning resources for one another Activating students as learning resources for one another
Learner Understand learning intentions Activating students as ownersof their own learning Activating students as ownersof their own learning
35Examples of formative assessment
- Learning intentions
- sharing exemplars
- Eliciting evidence
- mini white-boards
- Providing feedback
- find it and fix it
- Students as owners of their learning
- colored cups
- Students as learning resources
- pre-flight checklist
36Activity
- Regroup by job alike groups
- Identify formative assessment strategies useful
in your class
37Management of Groups
- Goal of the Activity
- Total number of Pupils in Class
- Number of Groups
- Number of Students in a Group
- Roles within the Group
- Teacher Role
38Management strategies
- Chart of management ideas
396 Hat Thinking
- In groups of 6
- Read the article from one of 6 roles
- Discuss using references that support your own
role
40Exit cards
- What stands out as new knowledge for you?
- What questions do you still have?
- Other comments?
41Assessment
Name tag mix-up
42Complex Instruction
- Complex Instruction evolved from over 20 years of
research by Elizabeth Cohen, Rachel Lotan, and
their colleagues at the Stanford School of
Education. The goal of this instruction is to
provide academic access and success for all
students in heterogeneous classrooms. - Research has documented significant achievement
gains in classrooms using such curricula. - Complex Instruction (CI) has three major
components.
43Multiple ability curricula
- Development of higher-order thinking skills
through group work activities organized around a
central concept. - The tasks are open-ended, requiring students to
work interdependently to solve problems. - The tasks require a wide array of intellectual
abilities so that students from diverse
backgrounds and different levels of academic
proficiency can make meaningful contributions to
the group task.
44Instructional strategies
- Teacher trains the students to use cooperative
norms and specific roles to manage their own
groups . - Teacher is free to observe groups carefully
- Provide specific feedback
45Treat status problems
- The more that students talk and work together,
the more they learn. - Students who are social isolates or students who
are seen as lacking academic skills often fail to
participate and thus learn less than they would
if they were more active in the groups. - Teachers use status treatments to broaden
students' perceptions of what it means to be
smart, and to convince students that they each
have important intellectual contributions to make
to the multiple-ability task.
46Processing
- Individual and Group accountability activities
which reflect the success of - The student
- The group
- The objective for the teacher planned activity
- Practice designing flexible grouping structure
for given set of classroom data lesson
47Station activity
- Investigate DI structures that support flexible
grouping - Anchor activities
- Tiered lessons
- Stations/Centers
- Rotate every 20 minutes
48PMI Chart
Plus () Minus (-) Interesting
Station
Tiered lessons
Anchors
49Assessment
- In the acronym TAPS, which word(s) do(es) not
allow for differentiation? - T/F Flexible grouping implies putting students
into ability groups. - Name at least 2 DI strategies that support
flexible grouping. - What are 2 problems for historically based
arguments for heterogeneous classrooms?
50Assessment responses
- T total group
- F - many reasons for grouping arrangements
- Compacting, Complex instruction
- Struggling learners must be met where they are.
- Advanced learners often given more work, asked
to be peer teachers, or left alone as they are
already up to par.
51Summarize
- In job-alike groups
- Create 30 second commercial
- Reasons to support or oppose flexible grouping
52Keeping flexible
- Exercise the strategy
- Switch your groups regularly
- Have fun!
53Thank you!
- Please complete the evaluation
- Contact me with any questions
- barbara.launi_at_rtsd.org
54Flexible Grouping for the delivery of instruction
is the cornerstone of appropriate differentiation
for the gifted student as well as all students.
The use of Flexible Grouping assures Success for
Every Student.
55Readiness group tasks
- Cooperative grouping strategies
- Group members roles
- Learning styles inventory
- http//www.metamath.com/multiple/multiple_choice_q
uestions.html
56Modality preference groups
Visual Auditory Hands-on
Find cooperative group strategies from handouts and on-line resources. Make a chart. Put the group roles from the resources on the chart. Participate in lecture-format and complete chart of strategies. Finish the chart with group roles. Make index cards of cooperative group strategies with purpose on back. Make a charades game of group roles.
57Agenda
- Microlab How do we honor all learners in
variable grouping? - Read all about it!
- Share
- Evaluation
58Todays Agenda, continued
- Sit in groups (by modality preference)
- Learning styles activity on management of
flexible groups - Brainstorm ideas for grouping by readiness,
interest, random - Whole group share dot vote