Purpose of Strategy:  The purpose of teacher-led small groups is to focus on a common need among students, guided practice, TEKS focused learning.

Classroom Example of Strategy:  Students have just completed their Common Formative Assessment (CFA).  Students are grouped based on TEKS or standard that was missed.  As a group we will discuss the question or questions associated with a specific TEKS.  We will discuss what the question is asking, strategies to eliminate incorrect answers, and how to determine the correct answer with supporting evidence.

Hoffman, J. (2002). Flexible grouping strategies in the multiage classroom. Theory Into Practice, 41(1), 47–52. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4101_8

Purpose of Strategy:  The purpose of working in partners allows for students to share tasks, enables peer to peer conversation and collaboration.  This also allows students to collaborate in a smaller group setting versus jumping into larger groups.

Classroom Example of Strategy:  As students walk into the classroom they are given a bell ringer to work on.  I have set a 7 minute timer to give students time to complete the bell ringer.  After the 7 minutes, the students will discuss their answers with their partner justifying their answers.  Students will be given approximately 5 minutes to have this discussion.  After the 5 minute timer, 1 person from each group will discuss their answer with the class providing textual evidence to support their answer.

Hoffman, J. (2002). Flexible grouping strategies in the multiage classroom. Theory Into Practice, 41(1), 47–52. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4101_8

Purpose of Strategy:  The purpose of this strategy is to ensure that all students maintain active engagement, inform future instruction, and monitor student progress.  This strategy, when implemented correctly, can provide a sense of belonging for every student.

Classroom Example of Strategy:  Prior to the end of class students will complete an exit ticket explaining their understanding of or misconceptions of the lesson from the day.  Depending on the lesson, teachers can use an open ended question which would require students to provide an open ended response.

Nagro, S. A., Hooks, S. D., Fraser, D. W., & Cornelius, K. E. (2016). Whole-Group response strategies to promote student engagement in inclusive classrooms. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 48(5), 243–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059916640749

Purpose of Strategy:  The purpose of this strategy is to provide a way for students to communicate their understanding or any misconceptions about the lesson without drawing attention to themselves or feeling inadequate.

Classroom Example of Strategy:  At the conclusion of the lesson, the teacher will ask the students to rate their understanding of the lesson taught on a scale of “fist or 1 to 5.”  Fist or 1 means that they DO NOT understand what was taught and 5 means that I understand completely and I am ready to share with the class or with a classmate.  This allows the teacher to rate the class without calling any student out. 

Nagro, S. A., Hooks, S. D., Fraser, D. W., & Cornelius, K. E. (2016). Whole-Group response strategies to promote student engagement in inclusive classrooms. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 48(5), 243–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059916640749

Purpose of Strategy:  The purpose of this strategy is to allow students to provide and receive non-threatening feedback from their peers.  This is also an intentional process and stresses the importance of shared dialogue.

Classroom Example of Strategy:  Students will come into the classroom prepared to revise and edit a writing assignment.  Students will be given a guide or rubric to use to focus on a specific topic to refine their peers' writing.  Students will not be actually grading their peers' writing, but will provide feedback to help them improve their writing. 
Diverse Student Group:  The teacher will pre-assign the peer editing groups ahead of time to help prevent anyone feeling left out. 

Osterholt, D. A., & Barratt, K. (2012). Ideas for Practice: A Collaborative Look to the Classroom. Journal of Developmental Education, 36(2), 22–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.20057

Purpose of Strategy:  The purpose of this strategy is to allow students to check in with a peer at a specific time at a designated stage of a research project.  This strategy provides a give-and-take partnership as being the listener, speaker, and evaluator.  This sets the stage for learning the importance of accountability when working with others.

Classroom Example of Strategy:  Students will be assigned a research project where they will be responsible for researching a specific topic.  Students will be assigned a partner to periodically check in throughout the research process using a checklist as a guide to ensure that their partner is on track.  Students will be able to have real and open conversations about each other's progress or lack of progress on the assignment.  

Diverse Student Group:  Students will be randomly assigned to a peer that will become their accountability partner during the research project.

Osterholt, D. A., & Barratt, K. (2012). Ideas for Practice: A Collaborative Look to the Classroom. Journal of Developmental Education, 36(2), 22–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.20057

Purpose of Strategy:  The purpose of this strategy is to have a group of students read the same text but they will be assigned a specific part of the text to become the expert.  This strategy places an emphasis on collaboration and a shared responsibility between the group. 

Classroom Example of Strategy:  Students will be given an informational text to read.  The group of students will be assigned a specific section of the text to read.  The students will take notes or highlight important information as they read.  After about 10-15 minutes of reading, the students will come together and explain the section that they were assigned.  This strategy will allow the students to gain the knowledge from the text without being responsible for reading the entire text.  The students become the expert for their assigned section.

Diverse Student Group:  This strategy allows every student to participate in the activity regardless of their knowledge of the specific topic or their diverse group or academic accommodations.

Baker, W. (2007). Jigsaw strategy. https://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/pdf/alex/jigsaw.pdf

Purpose of Strategy:  The purpose of this strategy is to facilitate meaningful collaboration for both remote and in-class students. 

Classroom Example of Strategy:  Students will be assigned to breakout rooms to work on elements of drama vocabulary.  Students will be given the vocabulary word and will be expected to create the definition of the word and also provide an example of what the word would look like or how it would be used in a drama.  The students will be encouraged to build on the definition of their peers should the definition be incorrect or the example is not correct.

Diverse Student Group:  This strategy allows every student to participate in the activity regardless of their diverse group or academic accommodations as Jamboard is a  live document where they can work together.

Lyding, L. (2021, January 15). 6 ways to jam on jamboard: Using the digital whiteboard in a hybrid classroom. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-ways-jam-jamboard-using-digital-whiteboard-hybrid-classroom