Student Grouping

When grouping students in the classroom, there are some factors I would need to consider. I would take each student’s performance/grades in the class and their skill set, into consideration. Over the course of the unit, depending on the learning outcomes of that lesson/unit, I will most likely alternate between homogeneous and heterogeneous grouping. If my goal in the lesson was to help the struggling students in that unit, I would form heterogeneous groups. If the purpose of the group learning activity is to encourage medium ability groups to learn at high levels then homogeneous grouping would be better. Students’ reading and writing skills would also be taken into consideration and categorized along with their science skills in the class in order to determine if they fall under the weaker, middle-range, or excelling students of the subject. Some potential problems could arise no matter which type of grouping you plan on utilizing. In choosing the homogeneous groups, the students will come to realization that they were placed into the “weaker” or “stronger” groups and tensions could potentially rise as a result. Also, the students in the lower skill level groups might see the task of the group more burdensome and overwhelming. In picking heterogeneous group, the weaker students of the group might not participate as much and “coat-tail” off of the stronger students of the group, without learning much.