Grouping for Differentiated Instruction: A Decision

Flexible Grouping

How a teacher groups students can provide flexible and helpful possibilities for differentiating content, process, or product. Traditionally, most people in their past school experiences have memories of only one way of being grouped: homogeneous static groups.

Flexible grouping changes to meet the needs and goals of both student and teacher. Decisions for grouping can include many possibilities that fit student learning needs and the curriculum goals, including having homogeneous groups or whole group instruction as long as that grouping isn't the constant choice of instruction.

When teachers are aware of and execute other grouping possibilities, the opportunities for matching the learner's needs with the learning experiences can increase.