Group Work - Choosing and Selecting Groups

About. The resource comprises one 3 page DfES document (drawn from a larger document - see related resources). It is a practical resource highlighting some choices teachers may make regarding grouping, benefits and limitations of various groupings and when each may be effectively used. This table is used as a tool to reflect on issues and positive outcomes teachers have previously encountered.

Pedagogical content. This resource discusses various options for choosing groupings for group work^(ta) activities, and their benefits and limitations.

Resource details
Title	Choosing and Selecting Groups
Topic	[[Topics/CPD|CPD]]
Teaching approach	[[Teaching Approaches/Group work|Group work]]
Learning Objectives	By the end of the document you should have considered some ways to group pupils for group work(i) and the various benefits and limitations of groupings.
Format / structure	.doc
Subject	[[Resources/Teacher Education|Teacher Education]]
Age of students / grade	[[Resources/Secondary|Secondary]],  [[Resources/Higher|Higher]]
Related ORBIT Wiki Resources	See other DfE(i) resources
Files and resources to view and download	File:Choosing and Selecting Groups.doc

• This resource is part of the DfES resource "Pedagogy and practice: Teaching and learning in secondary schools" (ref: 0423-2004G) which can be downloaded from the National Archives http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110809101133/nsonline.org.uk/node/97131 The whole resource (512 pages) can be downloaded as a pdf File:Pedagogy and Practice DfES.pdf
• The resource booklets, and many 'harvested' documents are available to download, generally in editable formats from the ORBIT resources http://orbit.educ.cam.ac.uk/wiki/Category:DfE
• The videos from the accompanying DVDs are available http://orbit.educ.cam.ac.uk/wiki/DfES_DVD

Choosing and selecting groups

Choice of groups for group work may be predetermined to a certain extent by any setting of classes that has already taken place. Your grouping of pupils might be based on a number of different criteria linked to the outcomes of the activity in which the groups are engaged. You may consider, at different times, factors such as ability, communication skills, social mix, behaviour, gender, SEN, disability and EAL.

Reflection

Think about a class where you have used group work. What influenced your selection of pupils?

Group composition

Task 10 Benefits and limitations of different grouping criteria 15 minutes Look at the grid below. It shows a range of different criteria for grouping, with their benefits and limitations. The right-hand column indicates when these criteria may support your teaching. Highlight the issues you have encountered, and add any extra points from your own experience.
Grouping	Benefits	Limitations	When to use
Friendship	Secure and unthreatening	Prone to consensus	When sharing and confidence building are priorities
Ability	Work can more easily be pitched at the optimum level of challenge	Visible in-class setting	When differentiation can only be achieved by task
Structured mix	Ensures a range of views	Reproduces the power relations in society	When diversity is required
Random selection	• Builds up pupils’ experiences of different partners and views • Accepted by pupils as democratic	Can get awkward mixes and ‘bad group chemistry’	• When pupils complain about who is allowed to sit with whom • When groups have become stale
Single sex	Socially more comfortable for some	Increases the gender divide	In contexts where one sex habitually loses out, e.g. competing to control the computer keyboard