Module 4 Lesson 2 GROUP WORK AND GROUPING AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

MODULE IV
TEACHING STRATEGIES
FOR MULTIGRADE
TEACHING
LESSON 2
GROUP WORK AND GROUPING AS AN
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY
INTRODUCTION
In any classroom, whether single-grade or multigrade, the teacher is

responsible for trying to meet the various needs of 30, 40, or 50 students. However
in the multigrade classroom, these needs are more varied because of the
combination of grade levels. So grouping children for different activities must be
efficient and effective in order to manage both the number of students and range in
ability.
Students can be grouped in many different ways:
 by interest and student choice
 random assignment to combine ability levels and interests
 according to ability.
OBJECTIVES
At the end of Lesson 2, you should be able to;
 use a variety of combinations and approaches to grouping students in an

effective multigrade classroom
 discuss the importance of grouping children to manage both the number of

students and their age and ability
READ
Working With Whole-Class Mixed-Ability Groups
Children benefit from working in group situations because many different

ages, abilities, competencies and points of view are represented, hence. Interaction
is enriched. Group work also helps develop an attitude of respect for different
individuals as the children internalize the product of working together.
Whole-class mixed ability grouping gives the teacher opportunities to observe

developing relationships among the children and to get a feel for the dynamics
between and among the children as a whole group and among different ages. So it
is also an important investment in improving relations between and among children
across the different grade levels.
Planning for Whole-Class Instruction
In preparing to teach a lesson to a whole multigrade class, careful planning

and preparation is necessary. The teacher can follow four general steps:
1. Choose a concept, theme or skill that is important to all students.
2. Decide on an activity to introduce the concept to the whole class.
3. Develop appropriate activities for each instructional level to follow the

whole-class mixed ability group activity and pay special attention to:
 Subject integration (e.g. writing, reading, science, math, etc.)
 Learning materials and resources students can use
 How to introduce each level to their activities
 How students will be evaluated

Ability Grouping
Next to whole-class grouping, the most common form of grouping is by ability.

The purpose behind ability grouping is to make instruction more efficient and
effective by increasing the similarities among students and making it easy to address
common needs. It is believed that grouping students with similar ability makes it
easier for the teacher to facilitate learning among one group. It has been proven that
the more homogeneous a group, the easier and more effective the instruction. This
belief is so pervasive in schools so more graded materials are available for use with
students of similar ability. At the elementary school these generally include:
 Graded organization: The most widely applied form of ability grouping is by

administrative grade level. At this most basic level, students are assigned to
classes by their age, which is based on the belief that students at a specific
age have highly similar developmental and academic characteristics.
Similarly, in a multigrade class, a teacher may choose to work with children of
specific grade levels in smaller groups especially for subjects where grade
level expectations may be very different.
 Ability-grouped class assignment: Multigrade students are assigned tasks

on the basis of their ability, not necessarily by grade level. It allows for greater
flexibility in responding to students’ individual needs. Students who are
performing much higher than grade level expectations can be challenged by
working with a higher grade level group. Or a student who has difficulty coping
with grade level work can work with lower grade level groups as needed.
SCQ IV–2.1

Module 4 Lesson 2 GROUP WORK AND GROUPING AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

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MODULE IV

In any classroom, whether single-grade or multigrade, the teacher is

Students can be grouped in many different ways:

 by interest and student choice

 random assignment to combine ability levels and interests

At the end of Lesson 2, you should be able to;

 use a variety of combinations and approaches to grouping students in an

 discuss the importance of grouping children to manage both the number of

Working With Whole-Class Mixed-Ability Groups

Children benefit from working in group situations because many different

Whole-class mixed ability grouping gives the teacher opportunities to observe

Planning for Whole-Class Instruction

In preparing to teach a lesson to a whole multigrade class, careful planning

1. Choose a concept, theme or skill that is important to all students.

2. Decide on an activity to introduce the concept to the whole class.

3. Develop appropriate activities for each instructional level to follow the

 Subject integration (e.g. writing, reading, science, math, etc.)

 Learning materials and resources students can use

 How to introduce each level to their activities

 How students will be evaluated

Next to whole-class grouping, the most common form of grouping is by ability.

 Graded organization: The most widely applied form of ability grouping is by

 Ability-grouped class assignment: Multigrade students are assigned tasks

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