Improving Student Collaboration with Flexible Grouping (Quick Reference Guide)

Discover the basics of flexible grouping and some easy ways you can implement it in your K–12 classroom. When you can intentionally and fluidly organize students into groups in a variety of ways, you can improve their learning, self-esteem, and interpersonal communication skills. Each page of this quick reference guide is packed with tips, tricks, and diagrams to get you started.

Kristina J. Doubet walks through the fundamentals of flexible grouping, including what it is, how it benefits students, strategies to implement it in your classroom, and what to look out for. Students can work together based on shared interests, time constraints, learning levels, the purpose of the activity, and more, and because the customization is limitless, each strategy has its own benefits and pitfalls.

Flexible grouping is a system you can bring to any classroom and not only tailor to students’ individual learning goals but also use to foster a healthy, collaborative classroom environment that facilitates growth for every student.

8.5" x 11" 3-panel foldout guide (6 pages), laminated for extra durability and 3-hole-punched for binder storage.

Kristina J. Doubet is a professor in the College of Education at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she has received the Distinguished Teacher Award, the Madison Scholar Award, and the Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship for Excellence in Education. As an independent consultant and ASCD Faculty member, Doubet has partnered with hundreds of schools, districts, and organizations around initiatives related to differentiated instruction, curriculum design using the Understanding by Design® framework, performance assessment and project-based learning, formative assessment and feedback, digital learning, and classroom management and grouping.