Grouping Strategies for ELLs and all Students David Holzmeyer Franklin Pierce school District

1. Grouping Strategies for ELLs and all StudentsDavid Holzmeyer Franklin Pierce school District WABE 2014

2. OBJECTIVES • Language: • Discuss ways to group students and make those groups work more effectively • Content: • Learn how to effectively group students • Learn strategies for making groups work better

3. What features make an effective small group? • Think and then talk about this question with the people near you for 3 minutes • Online Stopwatch/

4. Marzano says groups must have….. • They must include every member of the group • Each person has a valid job to perform with a known standard of completion • Each member is invested in completing the task or learning goal • Each member is accountable individually and collectively

5. Theoretical Background • Communicative language teaching: groups complete assignments, projects, and presentations. • Cooperative learning encourages group interaction to help each member become more successful (Kagan, 1999; Sachs, Candlin, Rose, & Shum, 2003).

6. Theoretical Background • BUT: It’s not enough to just hope for a positive outcome: • Group conflict, unbalanced work, and poor interpersonal communication may hinder students’ learning (Robbins & Hunsaker, 2012). • When implemented successfully, teamwork can create synergy and encourage interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills (Robbins & Hunsaker, 2012).

7. Skills Training: Group Work? • Students need to be taught how to work in groups – it’s not an automatic skill. • Many students have little / no experience, or negative experiences. • Students need to understand the value of group work. –Metacognition • Teachers need to know how to implement effective teams – quickly!

8. Quick grouping Strategies • *Playing cards (can be random or intentional) • *Pre-made popsicle sticks • *Pre-made pairing cards , famous pairings (see example) synonyms, etc. • *Stand up, take five big steps, and find a partner near you. • *Mingle to the music; when it stops, you’ve found your new partner. • *Clock partners (see example)

9. Famous Pairings

10. Partner of their choosing (far away) Partner you’ve assigned based on behavior Partner you’ve assigned based on ability/skill levels Partner of their choosing (nearby)

11. Competitiveness • Jeopardy • Points given and taken away corresponding to privileges for the group • See which group can come up with the best or most complete answer and give them kudos

12. Small Groups • Limit group size to 4 students or less in order to let all students to participate

13. Time Limits • 5- 15 time minute chunks • Write down on the whiteboard the time when students should be done with a particular task or use an online stopwatch • Instill a sense of urgency in students by giving them less time than they think they need and adjusting accordingly

14. Assigning Roles • Recorder, Reporter, Facilitator, Team Captain • Initiator, Provocateur, Wrapper

15. Presentations • Make every group give a short 3 to 4 minute presentation so if they didn’t work hard they’ll have to endure public ridicule

16. Jig-Saw • Every student does a part of an assignment • For example, if there is an assignment with four questions and a group with four students have each student answer one question and then share answers.

17. High Interest Topics • Immigration Reform • Marijuana Legalization • $$$$$$$$$ • Music

18. Mix It Up! Often • Don’t always stick with the same groups whether your groups are by ability level or not • Students should get used to working with everyone

19. Personalization • Students’ personal thoughts and experiences • This school • This community

20. Information Gap Activities • One group knows things another group doesn’t know and visa versa. • For example, parts of a story, information or a poster on the wall that has to be dictated. • Information________ Activities

21. Problem Solving • Complex problems that require deep thinking or many minds to solve

22. All Students Turn-in a Paper • In order to see that all students participated have all students turn-in whatever their group produced

23. Rubric • Defines what teacher expects from students, provides example/explanation of how to perform the task.

24. Protocols • Help a group function more effectively • For a list of many group protocols and activities go to http://www.nsrfharmony.org/ • which is the website for the National School Reform Faculty

25. ColoredCups Can be used to answer multiple choice questions or to monitor student learning No questions Hesitant/ Unsure Need help right away

26. Graded Items • Team plan for: • communication • working together • resolving possible conflict • Team timeline of major deadlines and goals • Final project and/or presentation • Team evaluation (completed together) • Self evaluation (individual & confidential) • Peer evaluation (individual & confidential)

27. Other Considerations • Personality profiles (self-awareness) • In-class work time • Conflict resolution options & escalation • Your plan for team members who: • have poor attendance • don’t do their share of the work • receive poor peer evaluations • cannot resolve conflict with teammates

28. Useful Grouping ideas • With a person sitting next to you, talk about how you will use grouping strategies in an upcoming lesson. • Be ready to have one person share out.

29. Questions? • David Holzmeyer • dholzmeyer@fpschools.org • DHolzmeyer@pierce.ctc.edu