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

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Pupil grouping and organisation of classes

How did behaviour management affect teachers’ grouping practices?

Grouping types were often chosen in order to maintain control of behaviour. One teacher found a whole class session helped to focus students so that they could later work in small groups. A science teacher identified individual working as a disciplinary, rather than a learning device. Another chose paired, rather than small group work, if she had a disruptive class. Yet another used smaller, rather than larger groups to retain control whilst encouraging interaction amongst students. She preferred to use groups of four:

“Four is controllable, you can monitor it better and there seems to be plenty of opportunity for each person to participate.” English teacher

As well as considering how grouping affected behaviour, teachers took care with seating plans for particular students:

“I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone in saying that there are always a few students you have strategically placed.” English teacher

Some teachers were more likely to use small group discussion with certain classes. Both English and mathematics teachers stated that they found it easier to use small discussion groups with Year 7 than with Year 10 because the latter were less likely to stick to the task.

“In Year 7 you tend to do more group work than Year 10 because Year 10 are not so interested to do anything – they just want to chat. So it’s more effective if they’re willing to work.” Mathematics teacher

Some teachers were anxious that a few individuals could dominate small group discussion whilst others coasted. The researchers noted that, in some primary schools, pupils were given training in the skills of group discussion so they could take a more effective part in such lessons. No teachers in the study mentioned training students in these skills and the researchers saw this as an important omission.

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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 How did behaviour management affect teachers’ grouping practices? Grouping types were often chosen in order to maintain control of behaviour. One teacher found a whole class session helped to focus students so that they could later work in small groups. A science teacher identified individual working as a disciplinary, rather than a learning device. Another chose paired, rather than small group work, if she had a disruptive class. Yet another used smaller, rather than larger groups to retain control whilst encouraging interaction amongst students. She preferred to use groups of four: “Four is controllable, you can monitor it better and there seems to be plenty of opportunity for each person to participate.” English teacher As well as considering how grouping affected behaviour, teachers took care with seating plans for particular students: “I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone in saying that there are always a few students you have strategically placed.” English teacher Some teachers were more likely to use small group discussion with certain classes. Both English and mathematics teachers stated that they found it easier to use small discussion groups with Year 7 than with Year 10 because the latter were less likely to stick to the task. “In Year 7 you tend to do more group work than Year 10 because Year 10 are not so interested to do anything – they just want to chat. So it’s more effective if they’re willing to work.” Mathematics teacher Some teachers were anxious that a few individuals could dominate small group discussion whilst others coasted. The researchers noted that, in some primary schools, pupils were given training in the skills of group discussion so they could take a more effective part in such lessons. No teachers in the study mentioned training students in these skills and the researchers saw this as an important omission.