Educators group students based on readiness, interest, learning styles, and design lessons to match their attributes. Sylvia Lewis and Kelly Batts (2005) state, "Depending on the purpose of the lesson, flexible grouping provides students with opportunities to work with others with similar readiness and interest, or with dissimilar students" (p. 28). Flexible grouping can be used in a single classroom, within the the grade level, or across grade levels. Without calling attention to which students are working together, educators group their students based on performance levels and learning preferences.
In agreement with Lewis and Batts, Regina Kapusnick, and Christine Haulsein (2001) state, "Flexible-grouping assignments ensure that all students have the opportunity to work with students that have both similar and different abilities and levels" (p.158). Teachers can implement flexible grouping several different ways. Educators can group students by task, outcome, interest level, background knowledge, or social readiness. Through the use of flexible grouping, educators create instructional groups and prescribe specific activities that respond to the students' learning needs.
Resources
Kapusnick, R. & Hauslein, C. (2001). The silver cup of differentiated instruction [Electronic version]. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 37(4), 156-159.
Lewis, S. & Batts, K. (2005). How to implement differentiated instruction [Electronic version]. National Staff Development Council, 26(4), 26-31.
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