Overview

Session Focus

Using different instructional groupings during math class provides important opportunities for students to learn with and from each other, and for teachers to observe, conduct formative assessments, and differentiate instruction. This session explores ways to utilize different instructional groupings such as whole class, small group, and pair activities, to further student learning.

Flexible vs. Ability Grouping

Creating effective student partnerships and using flexible groupings are practices that can enhance student learning. Partnering or grouping students with similar math needs is a way to target instruction. Issues arise however when groups based on students' perceived math abilities become a fixed, permanent feature of math class with the same students receiving interventions that focus on practicing rote procedures and facts rather than on engaging in rigorous, cognitively demanding mathematics. Ability groupings are often associated with labels such as “low’, “medium” and “high” that can support a deficit view of certain students and impact their access to deep and rigorous mathematics.

Read the position statement from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) about disrupting the of using labels in mathematics.

Ability Grouping in Mathematics

Ability grouping is practiced in many elementary schools and can take a variety of forms. It may involve dividing students into fixed groups based on assessment data from the previous school year or an assessment given at the beginning of the school year. Or sometimes groups are formed based on pre-assessment data about a particular unit or topic and students are grouped accordingly, separating out those students who need additional practice with specific mathematics content prior to engaging with current grade-level content.


"Ability grouping practices often occur with good intentions; we want to understand children's learning needs and then tailor the content, approach, and pace of instruction to their levels of performance. In practice, however, grouping structures provide vastly different mathematical experiences. While a select few in the high-achieving group are afforded reasoning and problem-solving opportunities, those placed in the low-ability group often receive a steady diet of remediation: practice, repetition, and reinforcement of basic facts and procedures."

-Catalyzing Change in Early Childhood and Elementary Mathematics: Initiating Critical Conversations
NCTM 2020

Using Flexible Student Groupings

When creating flexible partnerships or small groups for math activities, there are many factors to consider.

Read 3rd grade teacher Lucy King's reflections on creating partnerships and small groups for math class.

What are the benefits that Ms. King believes she and her students receive by using flexible grouping?

Think about the ways that you currently use different instructional groupings to support math learning. What are some of the different factors you consider when planning small group, pair, and whole class activities? Share your thoughts on the Overview Forum.

Activity 1: Using Different Instructional Groupings to Support and Assess Learning

This activity focuses on planning for productive and engaging math activities in both whole-class and small group settings. In this activity, you will watch a 4th grade teacher make strategic decisions about how to use whole class discussion and small group work to further student learning during a lesson on multiplication. Her use of targeted, open-ended questions during the different segments of the lesson allows her to assess student thinking and promote student learning. This activity is taken from the book, But Why Does It Work? by Susan Jo Russell et al.

Watch the video once through to get a sense of the activity.

What mathematics are students working on in this activity?

Watch the video a second time. As you watch, consider the following questions:

  • How does the combination of whole class and small group instruction help move the mathematics forward?
  • How does the teacher both support and assess student learning through the questions she asks?

You may wish to print and take notes on this template as you consider these questions.

Teacher Questions to Promote and Assess Learning

Effective math teaching uses purposeful questions to assess and advance students’ reasoning and sense making, whether students are working together as a class, in small groups, in pairs, or individually.

When teachers ask questions that encourage explanation and justification, they promote students’ mathematical discourse. As teachers listen to students explain their ideas and reasoning, they can discern what students know and adapt instruction accordingly.

Read this article by Allison Hintz et al about the different kinds of questions teachers can pose to deepen students' math learning and support discourse.

Share a new idea, question or connection that arose for you as you read this article on the Teacher Questions Forum.

Activity 2: Effective Partnerships

This activity focuses on creating effective student partnerships and using flexible grouping to enhance student learning.

Using Whole Class and Partner Work to Further Student Learning

In the following video, 5th grade teacher Lisa Nyugen Batista makes strategic decisions about which ideas to introduce and pursue in the whole group and which to focus on as students work in small groups, guided by the math goals of the lesson.

In this lesson, students are playing "In Between", a fractions game focused on:

  • Ordering fractions and justifying their order through reasoning about fraction equivalents and relationships
  • Comparing fractional parts of a whole

Play one or two rounds of “In Between”. To access the game, click on the link below. Directions are available in the upper righthand corner of the screen. If possible, play at least one round of the game with a partner.

Watch Ms. Batista's 5th grade students engaging in this game. As you watch, consider the following questions:

  • How does the combination of whole class instruction and partner work help move the mathematics forward?
  • How does Ms. Batista use questions to support student discourse?
  • What information does Ms. Batista consider when pairing students?

Activity 3: Promoting Equitable Participation in Small Group and Pair Work

In this activity, you will explore the Teacher Reflection Tool for Small Group and Pair Work. You will learn about how one teacher integrated this tool into her practice and consider how evidence-based teacher reflection can help create a more inclusive and participatory learning environment for all students.

Small group and pair work offers students opportunities to solve problems collaboratively, share ideas, and learn from each other. Gathering and reflecting on data about how students are participating in small group and pair activities can ensure that equitable participation is happening. Read this blog to learn more about an evidence-based Teacher Reflection Tool for Small Group and Pair Work.

Explore the Teacher Reflection Tool for Small Group and Pair Work. As you look through the tool, consider:

  • How are you grouping students? How do your groupings support students in:

    • Making sense of the math and moving forward in their thinking and understanding?
    • Developing a positive math identity and positive status in the classroom?
    • Participating in the work and discourse of a pair or group?

Watch as Caitlin, a 5th grade teacher, shares her experience using the Teacher Reflection Tool for Small Group and Pair Work.

Consider: What did Caitlin learn through using the tool? How might you incorporate the tool into your practice? What questions or new ideas are coming up for you as you look through the tool? Share your thoughts on the Student Grouping Forum.

Forums

  • Return to the Overview Forum. Look through others' responses and take time to thoughtfully respond to at least one response that interests you.
  • Return to the Teacher Questions Forum and read others' responses. Comment on at least one response that is of interest to you.
  • Return to the Student Groupings Forum and read the posts. Comment on at least one post that is of interest to you.

Readings

Tools

Key Takeaways

  • Careful consideration of the mathematical content and students’ social and mathematical strengths and challenges enables teachers to create effective partnerships and small groups for math class.
  • Posing purposeful questions is one effective way that teachers can support student discourse and informally assess student learning during whole class, small group, and pair activities.
  • Flexible grouping allows teachers to create groups in response to the demands of a mathematics task. At times, teachers may choose to group students with similar levels of understanding for more targeted instruction, and at other times, teachers may choose to create groups of students with different strengths and/or challenges. Knowing each student’s needs across the math curriculum is key when creating small groups or pairs for math class.
  • Fixed ability groupings and labels can negatively impact students' access to deep and rigorous mathematics, how students view themselves as math learners and how teachers view a student's capacity to engage in meaningful mathematics.