Walk into almost any elementary classroom and you will see evidence of small group work in the math block. A debate currently exists between educators on how to group students for small group instruction. Some teachers place students into “high, medium, and low” groups based on overall level, others based on skill within a standard, and some have mixed-ability groups. Before we dive into grouping students, can we please agree on one thing: get rid of labeling kids “high, medium, or low” students. If we continue to label students as such, we may unintentionally place limits on what students can achieve in the classroom. Even worse, students of color or low-socioeconomic status are often those in the “low” groups. These are the students who therefore often receive instruction continually below grade level. How can we expect students to master standards if they’re not exposed to them? Unfortunately our well-intended approaches are widening the achievement gap further. All students have the ability to succeed in math at all levels. We need to have a growth mindset approach to our students if we want them to adopt one themselves.
One argument for homogeneous groupings is that students will receive instruction right at the level they are at. Students will not be “wasting time” learning content they’ve already mastered or trying to learn something far beyond their current knowledge. In a way, this makes sense. Our time with students is limited each day. Small group instruction may only be thirty minutes of the day and therefore one group of students will receive maybe ten minutes of direct support. We need to make our best use of that time.
NCTM states that equity and access in mathematics be a top priority in all classrooms. What may occur when students are grouped based by level each day is those students wrongly labeled as “low” may continually receive below grade level content. While it is every teacher’s best intent when grouping students this way, we are short changing students. Students at any level of mastery must be exposed to rigorous curriculum.
I hear you, I hear you. If students are two or three grade levels below the grade you teach, won’t grouping them with students on grade level or even above grade level cause them to slip farther behind? It may, if the approach to this is done incorrectly. For example, if you have a heterogeneous grouping and give all fourth grade students the problem 67 x 18 it is likely some will be able to do this without help, others will struggle to setup the problem, and some will need help with basic facts. What you don’t want to then happen is that you give the student who could solve a “harder” problem and sit and help the other students through the problem. Although you’ve heterogeneously grouped students, you’ve homogeneously grouped them inside that group…not what we’re after.
Instead, require all students to make sense of other’s thinking. Require the student who got the correct answer to explain his thinking to the rest of the students and then ask others to repeat the reasoning. You can also give students the opportunity to ask clarifying questions on particular steps. Then, have students who need support attempt portions of the problem. For example, a student well below grade level may be required to setup the problem and explain her approach. She can then afterward look at the student’s work who did the problem fully and see what next steps would have taken place. Not only are you meeting the student where they are at in their learning but you are exposing them to the on-grade level content they are expected to master.
Consistently grouping students by level in math is students miss out on the great reasoning and thinking of others. Teachers can facilitate discourse to allow students of any level to work collaboratively with any student. We need to adopt the philosophy that students cannot yet do the whole problem, but can do portions of it. How do you group students in small group math? Are all your students exposed to rigorous content and hearing the reasoning of students are various levels? If not, ask yourself if this is an equitable classroom?
