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Small Group Instruction: In Your Classroom!

By: Angela Schaefer & Julie MacKay

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Small Group Instruction What & Why?

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What is small group instruction?

  • Small groups of students can be brought together for a brief learning experience.

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  • Problem based learning that is carefully scaffolded and guided by the teacher

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  • 10-15 minutes in length

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Why should I spend the time doing small group instruction?

Small group instruction in classrooms have a few main advantages….

  1. Meeting individual needs - gaps and extensions
  2. Immediate Feedback
  3. Re-teach/pre-teach
  4. Build confidence
  5. Observations/conversations - assessment/evaluation data?

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How to organize small group instruction in your classroom

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Physical set up of room

  • Small group - have them face the wall/board and teacher face the class
    • This focuses the small group on the teacher and what they are doing and allows the teacher to see the whole class while they are working
  • Another option: multiple workspaces - could have various topics in each group and then when they rotate to the teacher, there is something specific the teacher is teaching/reviewing

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What does the small group do with the teacher?

  • Specific concepts or skill (identified by teacher - assessment or observation)
  • Planned conversation/activity to deepen understanding - algebra tiles, analyze a circuit diagram
  • Practice something the students want to practice (self-selected)
  • Learn a new concept/practice a skill

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Julie small group task

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Julie small group task

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What is the rest of the class doing?

  • Self-Checking work
  • INDEPENDENT LEARNING OR REVIEW
  • Self-directed learning - topics
  • Record progress
  • Games/explorations (“right answer” not needed)
  • Portfolios/projects
  • Assessment

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What is everyone else doing?

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Some More Food For Thought…

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Formal Assessment

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There are lots of resources available!

Supporting student learning through small group instruction through: Math focus WRDSB

Strategies for improving small group instruction: Edutopia

Small group instruction: How to make it effective: CORE

WRDSB de streaming: Small group instruction