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Cognition and Language Learning

3. Cognitive-Friendly Grouping

Grouping students is a cognitive-friendly way to accommodate differences, promote engagement, and reinforce learning and retention by varying the way information is taken in (Gagne, E. D., Yekovich, C. W. & Yekovich, E. R. 1993; Ormrod, 1998) When grouping students, use formative assessment data to monitor progress. (Tomlinson, 2003; 2007). Formative assessment data used to differentiate instruction which can include the following:

  • Anecdotal data gathered from reflective and collaborative activities, where students are communicating with one another while performing tasks, and completing activities. Teachers can use lists and charts to record this information on.
  • Summaries and self-reflections where students articulate understanding, make sense of what they have read, make personal life connections through their own experiences, and communicate metacognitively about what they read through writing. Teachers look for content-specific language, and connections to and among concepts taught.
  • Graphic organizers and strategy guides where students organize information, make connections among concepts and relationships by organizing their ideas into organizational templates. Reviewing these templates helps teachers understand the thinking process students' apply to arrive at answers and make sense of information with. It also communicates the thinking behind a final product, and to what extent that thinking was critical and analytical.
  • Visual Representations of Information with students using visuals and pictures to connect ideas and remember information with.  Noting visual information that students use to articulate understanding tells teachers what their learning style preferences are, and to what extent pictorial representations work into their overall ability to retain and make sense of information. 
  • Exit cards or exit sticky notes are useful formative assessment vehicles that articulate culminating understanding in follow-up to a lesson, or as preparation for review and background knowledge.

Small and Flexible Groups

Teachers can organize and facilitate groups based on student readiness in response to diverse learning needs through scaffolding applied best in small groups. Students would therefore be placed with materials that are at their own level of functioning, offering support to help them achieve a learning standard or master a specific skill. Students who perform at or above grade level might also need small and flexible grouping in order to allow them opportunities to challenge or expand on activities. Decisions for small groups are typically made in the following instances:

  • When some students need additional instruction or time on task
  • Students need additional support, help or scaffolding
  • Higher performing students need prep time or need extension activities for independent learning
  • Students have specific interests or need to make selections for assignments to result in group placement
  • Learning style inventories indicate specific learning preferences for challenging tasks. Small grouping allows for students to be placed within activities that accommodate learning styles and thus allow for enhanced learning and success.

Marzano's Informal, Formal, and Base Groups

Marzano (2001) recommends that cooperative learning groups be used as a base for instruction. Base groups can be organized by grouping patterns that include the following:

Informal groups: pair-share, turn-and-talk groups that last a few minutes and are used to scaffold, reflect within a lesson about a lesson. These groups focus student attention while allowing them to more deeply process information through focused peer discussion.

Formal groups are longer term groups that allow students time to thoroughly process information, complete assignments and performance tasks. These are planned in advance to achieve positive interdependence among students, collaborative processing of information, reinforcement of social skills, and group accountability. Formal groups can include:

  • assignment completion
  • project planning
  • project completion
  • peer conferences
  • student peer coaching

Base groups are the longest term groups that allow students time to follow through on throughout the school year with the same peers. They can be used to accomplish routine tasks, provide on-going support, progress monitor, and complete collaborative long-term activities. Activities in base groups can include:

  • routine tasks
  • planned activities
  • running of errands
  • five minute meetings to greet and meet, check in, or sign up for various activities, review homework, help with classroom chores.

Other Grouping Possibilities

Group Management

Here are a few rules-of-thumb for responsible, effective group management:

  • Keep the groups small
  • Work or participate within the groups as you circulate them
  • Take plenty of anecdotal notes and glean other formative data when circulating
  • Remain flexible about how you place students, moving them as needed or shifting groups around depending on the group goals (project, assignment, or socially driven)
  • Rotate or jigsaw groups to keep them lively

More considerations for grouping:

Develop peer leaders for each group and rotate this role so that all, or most, have an opportunity to experience peer leadership:

  • Develop problem solvers in a similar way, jigsawing this opportunity for all students.
  • As needed group by boys and girls
  • Consider grouping for energy levels, integrating high energy students with lower energy for a healthy mix of group synergy.
  • Consider background experience and other languages spoken when making placement decisions.
  • Consider cognitive abilities, but do not base groups solely using cognitive criteria.
  • Consider creative and artistic talents when placing students in groups
  • Keep varied levels of expectations for task completion
  • Create environments where all learners experienced some type of success
  • Use and make available reading and resource materials (primary and secondary source documents for example) at multiple reading levels
  • Create literacy centers with varied tasks designated to match students’ readiness, interest and learning style preferences
  • Use small groups to re-teach those in need of re-teaching

Small groups were found to be as successful as one-on-one conferences (Greenwood, et al., 2003 in: Tobin & McInnes, 2008), particularly when instruction was focused on addressing phonics, decoding, and fluency in reading. When placing students in early reading groups consider the following:

  • Flexible grouping
  • Ongoing assessment and progress monitoring
  • Multiple text availability at various reading levels
  • Intensive one-to-one instruction in word-study with repeated readings to build fluency
  • Group guided reading practice with a focus on student engagement
  • In-class coaching and modeling of differentiated strategies for teachers

References:

Marzano, R. J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Radencich, M. C., L. J. McKay, and J. R. Paratore, "Keeping Flexible Groups Flexible," 27-29.*