SIP 1.7: Instructional Grouping

Thirsty for a Strong Instructional Practice?

We want students to engage with course material. Unless we create opportunities for students to interact with content in the course materials, they might only encounter it once.

Take a SIP of this: Instructional Grouping

Benefits and purposes of groupingThis is a picture of four students sitting in a circle talking

  • Encourages student communication and development of academic, discipline-specific language
  • Refines understanding through discussion
  • Benefits students who would be reluctant to speak in front of the whole class
  • Breaks complex tasks into steps
  • Breaks up long periods of “sit and get”
  • Encourages instructors learning about student perspective of course content
  • Builds group cohesiveness
  • Builds student accountability for one another
  • Students can work together on more complex problems that they might struggle with on their own
  • Peer teaching

Key Ideas

  • Provides specific tasks to each group with a tangible output
  • Relies on tasks that are difficult to complete without understanding course content
  • Opportunities to engage in the application of course content to real-life

Questions to ask yourself

  • How does this help me achieve my instructional goal?
  • How will my students benefit?
  • Will grouping support the class dynamics?
  • How does the content of my course lend itself to grouping? In which arrangement?

Still thirsty? Take another SIP of Instructional Grouping

Permanent link to this article: https://sites.msudenver.edu/sips/sip-1-7-instructional-grouping/

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