Flexible Grouping:
During my Literacy/Special Ed practicum at Hackett Elementary School, I served as a participant/observer in several classrooms. All teachers not only provided lesson objectives but purposes for each activity that were tied to the objective. Students did bell ringers together before breaking up into small groups or working at predetermined stations. The 7th grade team at Deburgos Middle School aims to use similar concepts. Project Based, collaborative learning by definition works best when a team dynamic is in play. In fact, as we saw with the MESA Saturday Robotics Academy, student achievement was tied directly to how well they functioned as a team to overcome individual weaknesses and maximize their skills. Deburgos' LiveS.T.R.E.A.M. after school likewise will use the lure of Lego Robotics, for example, to teach teamwork, core values, the engineering design process, and presentation skills. Purposeful Grouping as explained in this YouTube video, allows children, ELLs & others, to do just in order to build on the knowledge of others as well as their own. |