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Post about a strategy you engaged with in your small group instruction within a week of reading the article.

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I think Brittany brings up a really great point within the article about group size. This something I also touched upon in my response as well. From a special education standpoint when groups are too big my students tend to pull back often because they're afraid of what their peers might think if they get the question wrong.

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Small groups are what I do all day. I really enjoy small groups because it allows me to target individualized needs more. I also see a different side of students than when they're in a whole-class setting. I find that my students are far more comfortable sharing their ideas and participating in activities that they might be too scared to do in class. For example, I have a handful of kids who are wonderful readers and are my first to want to read a passage out loud but would never read out loud in the whole group setting. Small groups really allow for individual students to shine.
A takeaway from this article that I would like to implement would be the soapbox debates so that I can give my students more variety as to how they can formulate and speak their own opinions on the topics we discuss.
-Payge

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One practice, specifically in math, that I have been really trying to focus on is consistently pulling small groups to my back table after direct math instruction to encourage students to work through a deeper understanding of the mathematical concept. We have been focusing on one task in which the students work together to to discuss and explain their thinking through the task at hand. I have been more cognizant of allowing the students to engage in meaningful discussions, as opposed to too much "teacher talk" within my small group.

One practice from the article that I plan to implement are the strategies for the different types of learners within your small group - "the persistent talker", "quiet people", and "negative attitude". I found this interesting and insightful because as I have implemented my small math groups, I have encountered all three types of learners.
-Robidou

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The 5th grade teachers are working really hard at discovering task based activities to use during our small groups. Our group has been researching rigor and our students ability to generalize the content we teach creating deep understanding of the skill. Our hope is that our work in small groups will allow our students to use the math content we teach to solve real world situations, not just solving problems on a worksheet or test.
-Brit Floyd

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In the article, table 1 presented the idea of group size and dynamics. I thought it was interesting to reflect on how the size of the group directly plays a part in our students focus, sense of safety, and risk taking. This chart obviously points out that the smaller the group, the better the outcome. As a classroom teacher, I am able to meet with groups ranging in size from 3 to 5. The article states that a group of 4 to 10 students 'decreases safety for reticent members', but that the 'strong can still enthuse the weak, size of the group still small enough to avoid splintering, sufficient resources to enable creative support'. This article was a good reminder that small group work can create a positive change in our students academic growth.
Brit Floyd

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I have small groups all day. However, I try to do as much 1:1 within those groups as I can because of the activities and the need of each student. I find that my groups of 2-4 go well and students are able to move forward to make growth. My large group of 8 students, has to be split into 'sub-groups' the majority of the time. This allows me to have more 1:1 interactions than if I kept the group as a whole. It also requires me to go over our 'norms' more often. -Carol

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I have been utilizing small group teaching from the start of my career, even as a team teacher in the general ed. classroom I would set up small groups based on the learners needs and the learning outcomes that are to be achieved. I actually prefer small group as I can easily assess if a student can perform the task. I do love the idea of buzz groups and soap box debates. It would also be beneficial to introduce the different question strategies within my small group to promote higher level thinking. -Borowy

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With the group 6th grade has now, I tend to do more large groups and I push in for help.  For example, I sit with a student and work with them one on one.  You can find me walking around to monitor and assist when needed during "wonders' word work" to independent assignments.  This is an adaptive way to facilitate and teach. I strongly believe in and use the positive and welcoming learning environment for all groupings and teaching. When students complete fluency readings in groups of 2, I tend to walk around yet assist with students that may need help with focus and I am 'managing their learning.'

I would like to have the "Questioning Strategies" printed and near me during instruction.  This will ensure that I am using all types of questioning and deeper thinking throughout the day.
Melissa Marcum

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Donnie, I do the same thing, a lot of telling and talking instead of "asking" open ended questions to check understanding and promote critical thinking.

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1. Something I have implemented and something I can relate to:  Every Friday students have time to work in small groups doing music centers.  After reading this article I realized that the way I "structure small group teaching" aligns to what the article talks about.  I use a mix of activities and timings and the time at each station is less than 10 minutes. I chuckled to myself when I read the quote "If you haven't got problems in your group, then something is wrong" because I can totally relate....it seems that many times I am putting out fires and managing behaviors in small groups.
2. Something I would like to try: Managing group dynamics/setting norms In the future I would like to try to assign a group leader. I would also like to try backing off and letting the groups sort out some of their own problems instead of intervening constantly. Talking to the kids about different learning styles and participation styles beforehand would be helpful (persistent talker, shy/quiet people, negative attitudes) and how to deal with them.

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Never heard of the norming, storming, and performing but we do this in art when kids do group projects together! It happens pretty naturally and I intervene as needed. I never thought about the closure part to wrap up a group project so that is something to think about incorporating next time. 

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Never heard of the norming, storming, and performing but we do this in art when kids do group projects together! It happens pretty naturally and I intervene as needed. I never thought about the closure part to wrap up a group project so that is something to think about incorporating next time. 

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Jackie

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I am a talker, no surprises there.  I relate to the child who always has an answer, who always has their hand in the air.  One of the things I have been challenged to do as a teacher is to "ask" instead of "tell" which allows for more open ended dialogue. Sometimes I need to let the students take more lead in the discussions, particularly in small group settings.

Another thing I need to remember is closing the lesson. It is sometimes easy to forget that the students need to be reminded of what they learned.

Donnie

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I feel like I really need to make an intentional effort to take those few minutes to have the small groups set expectations and also discuss non-expectations. By doing this, it will refresh the memories of the students every time we engage in small group (partner work), which does happen quite often in PE class. I also believe that this will help since I only see the students once a week and a quick job down memory lane will be helpful, I'm sure, with smart acceptable choices within their groups.

Craig

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Yesterday I really focused on explaining and setting Expectations once the students got into their partners to work on their soccer skills. We discussed EXPECTATIONS and also Non Expectations. This allowed the students to hear what would be appropriate and what would NOT be appropriate. I felt like taking those 2 intentional minutes to clarify the expectations and clearly explain, did really help with acceptable behavior during the drill.

Craig

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Connect to your own post on one practice that you have implemented and one practice you would like to try. Be sure to respond to 1-2 of your peers with questions, comments, or interest.

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A few thoughts that came to my mind centered around the "STORMING" technique and "CLOSURE" technique. I have never heard of this technique called STORMING. I like the idea of definitely having this technique within small groups and teaching the kids how to talk through situations because they will arise. This was a good reminder to me to make sure that students understand that talking and STORMING through a concept is vital within small groups, even in PE class. In addition, I know every good lesson has CLOSURE and I always have it in my lesson plan. However, to be very honest, sometimes I do skip this step just because I do have a time frame that can't be adjusted. This was a good reminder for me to make sure that I always give a few minutes at the end of the activity to wrap it all up and review concepts or skills that were taught. This goes for the whole class or small groups. Lastly, I thought it was interesting how the article discusses that PARTNERS are considered a Small Group. I have always thought of a small group of being 3 or more and never really thought of it as being partners. Once I read that, I realized that I actually do more small groups than I thought in PE because of the concept of partners.

Outlining Expectations within the Small Group beforehand is something that I would like to try to do a better job on in PE. Once again, I feel like I don't want to take too much time on me talking, but taking a minute or 2 to go through what's expected and NOT expected within the small groups would be beneficial for the students. I do this within the large group session and I feel like I do it sometimes within the small group, but really making a point to ALWAYS teach and in many cases reteach the expectations, instead of just assuming that kids remember them from the prior week or weeks.

Craig

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Questions that get kids thinking in new ways.

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Questions that get kids thinking in new ways.

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My goal is to try some of these questions to get students to use their math vocabulary and learn to articulate their learning.

I like the following ideas from the article:
Evidence

How do you know that? What evidence is

there to support that position?

Clarification

Can you put that another way? Can you

give me an example? Can you explain that

term?

Explanation

Why might that be the case? How would we

know that? Who might be responsible?

Linking and Extending

Is there any connection between what you

have just said and what Y said earlier? How

does this idea support or challenge what we

explored earlier in the session?

Hypothetical

What might happen if? What would be the

potential benefits of X?

Cause and effect

How is this response related to manage-

ment? What is or isn’t drug X suitable in

this condition? What would happen if we

increased or decreased X?

Summary and Synthesis

What remains unsolved or uncertain? What

else do we need to know or do to under-

stand this better or be better prepared?

Small Group Strategy I Tried Last Week:
Last week I brought back about 10 students in each class to review for the chapter test with me in a small group. I had a lot of positive feedback from students about how much it helped them feel prepared.
--Kristy

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What are your next steps or next strategy or organizational piece you would like to try with the students you have now in order to prepare for systematic use next year?

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Fifth grade teachers have been pushing our teaching abilities by conducting 'Task groups' as explained on page 656.  A task group consists of 'breakout activities to consolidate or develop ideas.'
-Brit Floyd