Small Group Instructional Strategies to Support Blended Learning
Whole-class instruction is an important way to introduce concepts and new lessons to students in order to keep the communal feel for the class as well as to address learning expectations as a whole. However, whole-class instruction should only be a short part of the lesson and should not be the only way to teach students. A sea of blank faces in a whole-class setting prohibits the teacher from understanding what the students really understand. Teachers are also not able to address immediate learning needs of individual learners effectively during whole-class instruction. The experience for the student is a often a passive one where they are given information as opposed to being accountable for actively engaging with content and being a part of the learning process.
Small group instruction, mixed with or following whole-class instruction, is an excellent way to formatively assess students and target student learning needs, providing the opportunity for a personalized learning setting. A variety of small group instruction techniques allows for true differentiation through a flexible grouping format and enhances a blended learning environment where students take ownership of their learning.
Benefits are:
~ students feel more comfortable asking questions in a small group rather than a whole-class setting.
~a blended learning approach is easily accomplished during the flexible schedule set when working in small group stations.
~ groups can be flexible and formed by level, skill, interest, or learning style for true differentiation.
~ teachers can use formative assessment strategies more effectively.
~ a specific focus can be addressed to a target audience for personalized learning opportunities.
~simultaneous activities allow for efficiency when students work in small groups.
~students can take ownership in an active learning setting.
Some different instructional groupings that can be arranged are:
Strategy Groups - Heterogeneous groups that are formed based on specific skills that several students need further introduction, review, or practice of a strategy to support that skill. The teacher leads the strategy groups.
Guided Groups - Homogeneous groups based on level to address targeted scaffolding for a particular topic. The teacher leads the guided groups.
While teachers are leading particular instructional small groups, the rest of the class can take part in independent work or other small groupings, as described below:
Learning Centers - groups that are homogenous or heterogeneous, allowing students to rotate to lesson-based activities that are usually differentiated, addressing different interests, learning styles, or level. The teacher acts a facilitator and can be a center for reteaching or conferencing. Templates can be used for planning.
-How would you use learning centers in your class?
Flipped Classroom - As described in the video link here, students learn the lesson independently, with the teacher as facilitator, typically at home, through a video or infographic. The teacher is free to address specific student needs in guided or strategy small groups. Students can continue with practice in small groups and at their own pace until "mastery learning" is achieved.
-Do you see yourself implementing this in some way? Why or why not?
Stations - Stations differ from centers in that the groups of students who visit the stations can be flexible groups, students do not have to be at stations for the same amount of time, students can choose stations or the teacher can assign, and stations can change based on student needs. This example shows how stations can be used when students identify their own learning goals. The video shows an example of a way that stations are used in middle school math.
-Which of your units do you think would work best with stations? How so?
Cooperative Learning - Groups that are heterogeneous (1 high, 2 middle, 1 low) with students working as a team taking part in individual work as well as team work and discourse to support higher-order thinking skills. The teacher acts a facilitator.
-How do you think your students would benefit from cooperative learning?
Small group instruction, mixed with or following whole-class instruction, is an excellent way to formatively assess students and target student learning needs, providing the opportunity for a personalized learning setting. A variety of small group instruction techniques allows for true differentiation through a flexible grouping format and enhances a blended learning environment where students take ownership of their learning.
Benefits are:
~ students feel more comfortable asking questions in a small group rather than a whole-class setting.
~a blended learning approach is easily accomplished during the flexible schedule set when working in small group stations.
~ groups can be flexible and formed by level, skill, interest, or learning style for true differentiation.
~ teachers can use formative assessment strategies more effectively.
~ a specific focus can be addressed to a target audience for personalized learning opportunities.
~simultaneous activities allow for efficiency when students work in small groups.
~students can take ownership in an active learning setting.
Some different instructional groupings that can be arranged are:
Strategy Groups - Heterogeneous groups that are formed based on specific skills that several students need further introduction, review, or practice of a strategy to support that skill. The teacher leads the strategy groups.
Guided Groups - Homogeneous groups based on level to address targeted scaffolding for a particular topic. The teacher leads the guided groups.
While teachers are leading particular instructional small groups, the rest of the class can take part in independent work or other small groupings, as described below:
Learning Centers - groups that are homogenous or heterogeneous, allowing students to rotate to lesson-based activities that are usually differentiated, addressing different interests, learning styles, or level. The teacher acts a facilitator and can be a center for reteaching or conferencing. Templates can be used for planning.
-How would you use learning centers in your class?
Flipped Classroom - As described in the video link here, students learn the lesson independently, with the teacher as facilitator, typically at home, through a video or infographic. The teacher is free to address specific student needs in guided or strategy small groups. Students can continue with practice in small groups and at their own pace until "mastery learning" is achieved.
-Do you see yourself implementing this in some way? Why or why not?
Stations - Stations differ from centers in that the groups of students who visit the stations can be flexible groups, students do not have to be at stations for the same amount of time, students can choose stations or the teacher can assign, and stations can change based on student needs. This example shows how stations can be used when students identify their own learning goals. The video shows an example of a way that stations are used in middle school math.
-Which of your units do you think would work best with stations? How so?
Cooperative Learning - Groups that are heterogeneous (1 high, 2 middle, 1 low) with students working as a team taking part in individual work as well as team work and discourse to support higher-order thinking skills. The teacher acts a facilitator.
-How do you think your students would benefit from cooperative learning?