Small Group Instruction
What does it look like?
Why is small group instruction important?
Small group instruction gives teachers a natural opportunity to provide targeted, differentiated instruction for small groups of students. It gives the teacher an opportunity to evaluate and assess more closely what each student can do and build strategic plans around those assessments. Students who struggle to ask questions and participate in a whole group setting may thrive in a small group where they feel more comfortable and less overwhelmed.
Meador, Derrick. "Small Group Instruction." ThoughtCo, Jul. 10, 2017, thoughtco.com/an-investment-in-small-group-instruction-will-pay-off-3194743.
Small Groups in Social Studies
Small group instruction is an educational practice where the teacher is engaging his/her students in direct instruction. Students must be actively participating. The teacher is providing specific feedback, coaching, remediation or enrichment that helps kids to develop their capacity to apply their skills, deepen their understanding, and establish or strengthen their connections to what they’re learning.
- I look for small groups so that active learning and student engagement can occur at high levels. (Students must participate. There is no opportunity to zone out like there is in a large group setting.)
- I look to see how the teacher is maximizing his/her time by providing direct instruction to a small group while other are working in their groups.
- I look to see that the tasks for students at the groups are worthwhile and challenge the students appropriately.