Teachers' Grouping Practices in Fifth-Grade Science Classrooms

Abstract

Although small-group learning is an essential part of instruction in nearly all of today's elementary schools, little is known about how teachers group students. In the study reported here, observations of 30 fifth-grade teachers in a large urban school district revealed that the composition of groups for hands-on science instruction varied greatly, both among teachers and within classrooms. Generally, teachers tended to form heterogeneous groups in relation to the composition of their classrooms, whereas students tended to form homogeneous groups with respect to gender and ethnicity and to a lesser extent achievement. However, classroom composition (i.e., percentage minority or low achievers) severely constrained some teachers' grouping options, and these teachers often formed groups in ways that contradicted recommended practices. Teachers' stated grouping practices on the basis of student achievement did not always correspond to classroom observations. Further factors that teachers did not explicitly mention, such as ethnicity, were the basis of the composition of many groups. Implications of these findings for practice and further research are discussed.