In past MSU courses we've talked about the pros and cons of homogeneous groupings of students. Although kids will be able to identify the "smartest" students in their class, regardless of how one groups students, this snapshot example from my class shows just how perceptive students are when you explicitly group students by ability. How students see their peers grouped affects not only affects how they perceive their peers, but also how they view themselves. By Sarah noting that those three girls were the smartest, she was likely internally rating herself in comparison to them. As a teacher, it is incredibly important to frame the grouping of students, whichever way you choose to do so, with a spiel of sorts explaining the purpose of why students are grouped together, so that more value on a certain group. Multiple factors must be considered when deciding which method to use for grouping students, as there is literature to support both homogeneous and heterogeneous groupings. One teacher could use both types of groups at various points throughout the year, or prefer one type based on classroom dynamics, which are unique each year. I feel that both can be beneficial; however, from this incident, I realized just how perceptive students are and that the teacher must be very intentional about facilitating the incorporation of homogeneous groupings in the classroom.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Noticing Week 4-Behrman
Given the hectic atmosphere last week as a result of the strike ending mid-week, along with the weeks of nonstop testing conducted before the strike began, we are still in the process of establishing routines and grouping students. Today was the first day we incorporated Intervention into our morning literacy block. Students are grouped by their ability levels under the assumption that if students are at a certain reading level, they need to develop or advance certain skills (these Intervention groups will also be used during Guided Reading time). My MT was calling students' names and directing them to a desk cluster and called the names of our three strongest readers. I was working with one of our lower students, Sarah*, who after hearing the names of the three strong readers, declared to me, "They're all the smart ones." Her observation was incredibly insightful for a seven year old and it caught me slightly off-guard. I responded by telling Sarah that everyone in our class was smart and that each of us need to learn and work on different things.
In past MSU courses we've talked about the pros and cons of homogeneous groupings of students. Although kids will be able to identify the "smartest" students in their class, regardless of how one groups students, this snapshot example from my class shows just how perceptive students are when you explicitly group students by ability. How students see their peers grouped affects not only affects how they perceive their peers, but also how they view themselves. By Sarah noting that those three girls were the smartest, she was likely internally rating herself in comparison to them. As a teacher, it is incredibly important to frame the grouping of students, whichever way you choose to do so, with a spiel of sorts explaining the purpose of why students are grouped together, so that more value on a certain group. Multiple factors must be considered when deciding which method to use for grouping students, as there is literature to support both homogeneous and heterogeneous groupings. One teacher could use both types of groups at various points throughout the year, or prefer one type based on classroom dynamics, which are unique each year. I feel that both can be beneficial; however, from this incident, I realized just how perceptive students are and that the teacher must be very intentional about facilitating the incorporation of homogeneous groupings in the classroom.
In past MSU courses we've talked about the pros and cons of homogeneous groupings of students. Although kids will be able to identify the "smartest" students in their class, regardless of how one groups students, this snapshot example from my class shows just how perceptive students are when you explicitly group students by ability. How students see their peers grouped affects not only affects how they perceive their peers, but also how they view themselves. By Sarah noting that those three girls were the smartest, she was likely internally rating herself in comparison to them. As a teacher, it is incredibly important to frame the grouping of students, whichever way you choose to do so, with a spiel of sorts explaining the purpose of why students are grouped together, so that more value on a certain group. Multiple factors must be considered when deciding which method to use for grouping students, as there is literature to support both homogeneous and heterogeneous groupings. One teacher could use both types of groups at various points throughout the year, or prefer one type based on classroom dynamics, which are unique each year. I feel that both can be beneficial; however, from this incident, I realized just how perceptive students are and that the teacher must be very intentional about facilitating the incorporation of homogeneous groupings in the classroom.
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