How do secondary school teachers choose within-class student grouping strategies?

This digest found in

Pupil grouping and organisation of classes

Authors

Kutnick, Peter et al, ERC, University of Brighton

Publisher

Educational Research, Vol. 47, No. 1, 2005 pp.1-24.
[Original title: Teachers’ understandings of the relationship between within-class (pupil) grouping and learning in secondary schools]

Introduction

Introduction

Structured group work is a very effective method of promoting learning amongst students of all ages, according to recent research evidence. Yet little is known about the ways in which secondary school teachers structure groups within their classes. The authors of this study noted that research into within-class grouping in English secondary schools is relatively rare compared with studies of such grouping in primary schools. They were interested in how and to what extent secondary school teachers planned their within-class grouping to facilitate particular types of learning task.

The researchers found that:

grouping strategies varied through the phases of the lesson and that lesson phase was the factor linked most strongly to choice of grouping type;
there were links between the learning purpose and the group size chosen;
teachers of mathematics, English and science differed in the types of student groups they typically chose to use in their classroom practice and their reasons for this;
whole class teaching enabled teachers to maintain a great deal of control over the cognitive content of the lesson;
the size of groups was often chosen to maintain control over the behaviour of the students; and
practical factors such as length of lesson, classroom space, manoeuvrability of furniture and the availability of practical equipment sometimes dictated group size.

Keywords:
United Kingdom; England; Secondary schools; Pupil grouping; English; Numeracy; Mathematics; Science; Whole class teaching

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction How did grouping strategies vary during lessons? Why did teachers use whole class groups at lesson starts and ends? How did teachers choose between individual or small group work? What was the effect of whole class grouping on lesson content? How did behaviour management affect teachers’ grouping practices? How did practical factors influence teachers’ choice of grouping strategy? How did the researchers collect their data? Implications Send us your feedback Collated digests To find out more about collated digests click here Get Word Reader How do secondary school teachers choose within-class student grouping strategies? This digest found in Pupil grouping and organisation of classes Send to a friend Word doc 80KB Printer friendly Collate for later Authors Kutnick, Peter et al, ERC, University of Brighton Publisher Educational Research, Vol. 47, No. 1, 2005 pp.1-24. [Original title: Teachers’ understandings of the relationship between within-class (pupil) grouping and learning in secondary schools] Introduction Introduction Structured group work is a very effective method of promoting learning amongst students of all ages, according to recent research evidence. Yet little is known about the ways in which secondary school teachers structure groups within their classes. The authors of this study noted that research into within-class grouping in English secondary schools is relatively rare compared with studies of such grouping in primary schools. They were interested in how and to what extent secondary school teachers planned their within-class grouping to facilitate particular types of learning task. The researchers found that: grouping strategies varied through the phases of the lesson and that lesson phase was the factor linked most strongly to choice of grouping type; there were links between the learning purpose and the group size chosen; teachers of mathematics, English and science differed in the types of student groups they typically chose to use in their classroom practice and their reasons for this; whole class teaching enabled teachers to maintain a great deal of control over the cognitive content of the lesson; the size of groups was often chosen to maintain control over the behaviour of the students; and practical factors such as length of lesson, classroom space, manoeuvrability of furniture and the availability of practical equipment sometimes dictated group size. Keywords: United Kingdom; England; Secondary schools; Pupil grouping; English; Numeracy; Mathematics; Science; Whole class teaching