The Shift From Whole Group to Small Group Instruction

I can't recall many classes growing up that weren't primarily whole class instruction.  We sat in rows quietly listening to the teacher, taking notes & soaking it all in.  Sure, there were questions that were thrown out to the whole class to spark discussion, but the teacher was front and center, clearly leading the show.  There were leveled reading groups in elementary school (you know the Blue Birds, Red Robins, etc) where round robin reading dominated.  While the teacher was working with those students, you did lots of coloring and cut/paste worksheets quietly at your seat.  I remember racing my best friend to see who could finish the day's worksheets first.  Fortunately for me, I loved school and learned easily this way.  I loved a good worksheet that I could color and complete entirely on my own.  I loved and still do love a good lecture.  I really do.  I thrived in college because I was able to listen, process, and learn in this way.  I cringed when teachers & professors initiated group projects.

As a teacher, I loved (and still do) teaching whole class.  Dr. Madeline Hunter's lesson model is forever engrained in my brain.  I love the clean, simple model:

1. State the objective
2. Anticipatory Set
3. Input (Modeling or Guided Modeling)
4. Checking for Understanding
5. Guided Practice
6. Independent Practice
7. Closure

I was queen of direct instruction.  I loved being dramatic in my delivery keeping students engaged and finding ways to weave humor into my lessons.  I remember my principal complimenting me on my energy and the way I was able to draw my students into my lessons during observations.  I never was in theater, but I sure do feel like I incorporated my acting skills (which definitely are not all that strong) into my lessons.

But over the years, I realized that although comfortable and fun, using this as my primary means  of instruction wasn't meeting the individual needs of all of my students.  No matter how engaging I made it, these lessons couldn't fully meet the needs of my struggling students or my students that excelled.  (Not to mention the inability for so many of my students to attend/focus during these lessons.)  I realized I was teaching to the middle and began to incorporate more small group instruction.  It's evolved now into a practice that is primarily small group with individual conferencing and way more inquiry-based learning.

A Quick Snapshot of Our Classrooms

The Shift in my Classroom

Reading and writing now follow a workshop model in my classroom. Reading begins with a whole class mini-lesson (this is where I get to still enjoy my dramatic direct teaching lessons:) followed by students completing a literacy checklist where students read (books of their choice), write (topics of their choice), respond to reading (choice again), & end with time in a center that rotates daily (typically technology based like Seesaw, Compass Learning, Kids a-z, etc).  During this time I meet with individual students about specific reading goals and strategies they are working on, strategy/skill groups, and guided reading groups. (Future blog post on the difference between all of these and how I integrate it into my 90 minute block.)  There are times when I don't follow the workshop model and do a short whole class lesson followed by cooperative learning groups using reciprocal teaching.  Or days when I begin an important phonics concept like magic e and need more time to give an anchor experience followed by stations involving the new concept.

My writing workshop (which I have several posts about) is a mini-lesson with anchor text, modeled writing, time for students to write as I hold individual conferences, and time to share.

Math also is small group based where I begin with a brief whole class lesson and then each student meets with me during small group (based on assessment data so these groups change daily) as they rotate through MATH rotations.  They practice their math facts based on individual goals, spend time solving a problem and writing a paragraph to explain how they solved it, time with the teacher (differentiated instruction based on their needs), and during hands-on they are on chrome books on our Go Math site where they solve problems directly related to the lesson.

Science and social studies is often small group inquiry based projects and lessons. For example,  my students are currently working in pairs reading books and researching on Chromebooks about how an Ohio animal (of their choosing) meets its basic needs in its environment.  They are showing their learning in a Google Slides presentation.  I'm more of a facilitator.  Very engaging.  So very different than how I used to teach.

The Shift

Things have changed.  The "old school" model of the teacher as the primary dispenser of knowledge is long gone.  Thankfully, we have learned a lot and have evolved from mostly whole class instruction to offering many different options to meet the needs of all our students.

I love this brief article ExaminingHowStudentsSpendTheirTimeinOurClassroom.edweek.org encouraging us to reflect on how well our philosophy matches up to what we actually do in our classrooms.  If you want to know what we truly value, look at how the children we teach spend their hours in our care.

As I was initially drafting this blog post, our Director of Educational Programs and Innovation sent out an email updating our staff on the analysis our District Leadership Team (DLT) did of nearly 400 classroom walkthroughs done by administrators so far this year.  They determined that a district goal would be for all of us to explore instructional strategies that would be alternatives to whole class instruction.

Although we all know that the old school model that I grew up with isn't effective for all students.  We know we should be differentiating.  But still when we take snapshots of our classroom, it doesn't match up.  Trends of whole group instruction still prevail.  I'm so interested to see how our district sets up supports to help all of us explore other options.  What a critical, substantial goal and journey for all of us to embark on.

Are small groups always better?

I haven't completely abandoned whole class teaching.  For me that would be ridiculous.  Whole class teaching has its place in my classroom.  If all of my instruction was in small groups, I would be doing a disservice to my students.  I consider the learning goal and the needs of my students.  There are many times where whole class is more beneficial than small groups.  For example, when introducing a new concept, I almost always do this in a whole class setting and then break into groups.  It's not all one method.  Balance.  I entitled the blog post this way because I have adandonded whole class teaching as my go to standard.  Most times when you walk into my classroom you will see small group instruction.  This is a great contrast to how I was taught and how I ran my classroom when I first started teaching.

Small group instruction isn't always better than whole class instruction. Like I mentioned, there are times where whole class may be preferable.  But the other HUGE aspect to consider is what the other students are doing while the teaching is working with a small group.  Just because it is small groups doesn't mean it is effective.  If the other students are not engaged in meaningful learning tasks while we are meeting with small groups then I'm not sure how effective the small group learning would even be.  Perhaps this is why so many of us have fallen back on more traditional whole group instruction.  Maybe it's hard to truly believe that a small group instructional model can be more beneficial for our students when there are so many factors that are involved to make it work.  I don't know if we aren't convinced or we just don't know how to tackle this change.

Whole class instruction is not something that should be looked down upon.  It clearly still has it's place.  (Perhaps maybe it shouldn't be our dominant mode of instructional grouping though).  Here is an article about ways to make whole group instruction even more effective:  Don't Lecture Me

As we begin to explore small group instruction, we need to consider different interpretations of how we define small group instruction and what it looks like in our classrooms.  This for sure will not be a popular opinion, but I believe it is our responsibility to design our small group instruction so that every student is being taught in a small group every day.  For example, in a 90 minute reading block, I do not think it is okay to meet with only 2 or 3 groups of students if you have 4 groups.  (Again, I get that many will wildly disagree.)  I always try to take on a student's perspective.  I don't want a higher-achieving student to only get 15 minutes of my time (during the whole class mini-lesson) in a 90 minute time period!  I simply cannot justify that.  Even if I have impeccably designed activities for this high-achieving student that are challenging, engaging, and full of learning and growth opportunities, I still owe them my time.  I fully get, support, and believe that fair does not mean equal.  Students that need more supports should get them.  Maybe the higher-achieving student doesn't have the same amount of time, but they still need the time.  I think we have given ourselves permission to not see all of our students every day using the fair isn't equal notion.  However, I feel that we need to be cautious with this idea and ensure that we don't end up neglecting our higher-achieving students in an effort to serve our struggling students.  All students are entitled to get the "right instruction" to make significant progress-even if it's above grade level.  It might not look the same for every student, but every student deserves instruction that meets their needs. Those students that struggle may need more time.  However, if instruction is going to delivered in small groups, ALL students should have access to this method.  My job isn't just to ensure that all of my students are on grade-level.  It is to ensure that I meet the individual needs of each of my students-no matter where they fall in relation to grade level standards.

If you disagree, I urge you to consider the perspective of each student and what their day looks like in your classroom.  I have 4 children of my own and I have one that needs extra support sometimes.  We've gotten pretty good at that now.  We know to give our struggling students interventions, more time, more support.  I also have a child that falls at the other end and learns very easily.  He works hard, is very attentive, and can pick up new concepts very quickly.  This is where I feel like we could maybe do more.  How can we make sure that he grows just as much?  From my perspective, it's very difficult to do in whole group.


This is a great article about a couple of alternatives to whole group instruction:
Are you losing your effectiveness with too many whole group activities?

I have a couple of posts already on small group math/guided math and I probably will do another one soon because I'm always improving it.  I can't begin to tell you what a difference this approach has made.  I feel like I know my students so much better as individual learns.  I am able to provide differentiated instruction so easily and provide immediate feedback.  And I meet with all of my students every day.

If I had to sum up in one word a description and benefit of small group teaching it would be RESPONSIVE.  No matter the subject matter, when I'm working in small groups I'm doing responsive teaching.  I have analyzed assessment data, I have a plan, I have a variety of materials, but I think on my feet.  I don't know exactly how the lesson will go because I respond to each student.  I watch.  I listen.  And I respond.  No matter how experienced you are this simply can't be done as effectively in a whole group situation.

Here are a couple of links about others experience implementing small group math.

Math Workshop

Whole Group Math Instruction-Never Again!

Guided Math

Final Thoughts

It can be hard to let go or lessen the amount of time we spend teaching whole class.  We grew up with it and it's what we've always known.  It isn't easy to design instruction for all of your students to make small groups effective.  It doesn't just happen.  It takes a lot of planning and then time for the students to learn the routines so they know how to work independently.  It can be an adjustment for both students and the teacher to empower students to help each other (rather than turning to the teacher) to solve issues that come up when the teacher is with a small group.  It can be difficult for us to "let go" and accept that it won't be perfection at first (or ever!) as our students learn to do this and build their stanima.  For some of us who like to talk (good thing I have a blog!), we love to be in front of the classroom and it can be an adjustment to take another role.  We like feeling in control.  It certainly is easier to manage a class of 26 students in a whole class setting than all of them working in small groups.  I'm sure you've heard the notion that at the end of the day the teacher shouldn't be more exhausted than the students.  Are you doing all the talking?  Are you doing all the work?  Or do you stand back and give your students time to talk?  To problem solve?  To feel empowered?  Are you responding to their needs?  Sometimes stepping out of our comfort zone and moving away from what we've always done can be a challenge...but also so worth it.  In my experience, the shift from (predominately using) whole group to small group instruction is so worth the challenges I had to face.