"The most effective grouping strategy is one that is flexible and balance, and that allows for a moderate but not extreme range of skill levels" John Hattie, Visible Learning. The effective size of an instructional strategy should be considered. In Visible Learning by John Hatte explores meta studies on the effect of different instructional strategies. Strategies that have an effective size above .40 have shown through research to be effective teaching practices resulting in the transfer of knowledge.

• Ability grouping = 0.12
• Concentration/persistence/ Engagement = 0.48
• Small Group Learning = 0.49
• Response to Intervention = 1.07
• Not Labeling Students = 0.61

Effective teachers make good use of flexible groupings that shift partnerships throughout the week to foster collaborative and cooperative learning.

• Student arrangement is always planned ahead of class using an appropriate metric (diagnostic, assessment, pre-assessment, formative assessment data).
  • Example would be to rank the students based on a metric. Then split the list in half. The top 2 students in each list are grouped together and so on. This is called alternate ranking. It ensures that there is a range of skills within each group, but not such a broad gap that they will just furnish the answers rather than truly work together
• Student's learning environment might be arranged based on pre-assessments, learning intentions and tasks
• Student's learning environment might be rearranged to meet the need of the day, week, or unit. They might find place cards with their names in places different from where they usually sit.

When designing your flexible groups and rotations. Do not make yourself part of the rotation. Recommend Schedules can be found in Routines. Pull students from their groups for small group instruction. This requires planning and organization. This allows for needs-based instruction, with flexible groups. Student centered teaching, basing instructional actions on students' understanding , and then engaging students in small group learning can be very effective provided the grouping is flexible rather than fixed.

All students need the teacher's attention at some point to push them to the next skill level. Classroom assistants are great help, but they should not be the only people who worth with a particular group. Every teacher should connect with every students every week in some form or another. possibly through small-group work, conferencing or math interviews.

In order to form effective guided math groups, teachers must first gather a variety of math data that gives a complete profile of each child. The Unit Pre-Assessments linked in the FPGs, survey, quizzes and/or mini interviews are great places to start. Data could also be gathered from STAAR or Universal Screener results. After gathering data, students are grouped into categories, A suggestions is: Novice Learners, Apprentice Learners, Practitioners, and Expert Learners. The work with each group is intensively around specific content, strategies, and skills. Students need extensive practice with the content to gain proficiency. Ongoing classroom observations and quizzes provide the teacher with information about student progress.

Flexible Grouping is completely distinctive. The teacher's goal is to engage in depth with groups of students around a particular instructional goal, with intensive practice. Guided math groups are flexible, meaning that they change over time. It is recommended that when taking ability into account, you make sure that these groupings are flexible and balances, and allow for a moderate but not extreme range of skill levels.

Sometimes we find the students who need more time and repetition together, or ones who are already ahead together. This should not be fixed, rigid or permanent. Meeting with a small group of student s for some needs-based, teacher guided instruction is valuable and allows for more robust and responsive differentiation of instruction. But permanently tracking students contributes to a destructive and fixed mindset, enough to counteract any growth mindset activities such as number talks you may have planned. The minor convenience of having similarly achieving students seated at the same table is vastly outweighed by the destructive effects on students' mindsets.

Effective teaching practices make good use of flexible grouping that shift partnerships throughout the week to foster collaborative and cooperative learning. One strategy for grouping is an alternate ranking system. This ensures that there is a range of skill within each group, but not such a broad gap that they will just furnish the answers rather than truly work together. To form the groups line the students up by rank, cut the list in a half and group the top two from the first half with the top two from the second half. Continue this process for the rest of the list. If need be based on personalities or social need make minor adjustments.