Author: Adrian Tennant | Published on 1 December 2023

 

Question: How can careful grouping help learners?

Answer: Grouping learners carefully can give support and help learning. 

Having learners work in groups is a good way to support learning and make a lesson more learner-centred. Learners appreciate the ideas of others when they work in different groups.  

However, if learners always work in the same groups they can:

  • become bored
  • rely on the other learners too much
  • always take on the same role in the group

Sometimes you might want a group with learners of different abilities so the stronger ones can help the others.

Think about your classes. How can you change the way you group learners?

Glossary

Learner-centred: a teaching method where the focus of instruction is on the learners