Flexible Grouping: Leveraging Opportunities to Enrich Collaboration and Provide Respectful Differentiation

Outline

•Mentimeter – Poll participants about the pros and cons of using groupwork
•Discuss results, beginning with pros then moving to cons. Suggest that we can overcome those cons through 3 things: Community, Purpose, and Routine (5 min)
•Community – Present strategies for building a supportive learning environment, especially peer-peer relationships which are so tricky for older learners. (10 min)
•Model some of these (bring some participants up front) and show video examples of others. Time for processing with colleagues provided (4 min)
•Mentimeter poll – Which strategies do you favor? (1 min)
•Purpose – Present “Purposeful Grouping Planner” from book and show several examples, both visual and video. Focus on ways to seamlessly weave academic interventions into the fabric of the classroom. (10 min)
•Time for processing with colleagues provided after each example. (3 min)
•Mentimeter poll – Which strategies do you favor? (1 min)
•Management Routines – Return to Mentimeter poll results from beginning of session. In all likelihood, most “cons” will be about management. Present strategies for leading and managing a collaborative learning environment, building on the peer-peer relationships discussed at the outset. (10 min)
•Model some of these (bring some participants up front) and show video examples of others. Time for processing with colleagues provided (4 min)
•Mentimeter poll – Which strategies do you favor? (1 min)
•Closing and encouragement. (1 min)

Outcomes

•Evaluate promising and problematic grouping structures that impact equitable learning experiences
•Analyze strategies for building a safe and inclusive learning environment
•Explore avenues for employing academic interventions and differentiation in the context of flexible grouping
•Evaluate “fit” of grouping structure and purpose
•Consider organizational and management techniques that facilitate successful group experiences.

Supporting research

https://www.naceweb.org/about-us/press/the-attributes-employers-look-for-on-new-grad-resumes-and-how-to-showcase-them

Rebora, A. (2021). Zaretta Hammond on equity and student engagement. Educational Leadership, 79(4).

Tomlinson, C. A. (2022). So Each May Soar. ASCD.

https://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/

CASEL (2020). CASEL's SEL framework. https://casel.org/casel-sel-framework-11-2020/#top

Doubet, K.J. (2022). The flexibly grouped classroom: How to organize learning for equity and growth. ASCD.