Small Group Instruction that Works: 3 teacher-tested tips for working with struggling learners
The following are teacher-tested tips to use during teacher-facilitated small group instruction. Using these techniques will help you to effectively meet the needs of your struggling learners, those students who will benefit the most from your additional guidance and support. Struggling students often experience anxiety and low self-confidence in school, so do all you can to provide them with tools for success and boost their confidence in their own abilities. Whether it is a learning disability, language barrier, or lack of motivation that is causing your students to struggle, these tips will help you and your students develop habits that lead to success.
Tip #1: Break it down
Learning a new skill can be difficult for students when they are expected to make big leaps in understanding on their own. As teachers, if we don’t break down a new skill into small enough parts, our students cannot connect all the dots to see the big picture. This is especially true for students with language barriers or learning disabilities, who have a difficult time making the necessary leaps in thinking if not provided with the tools needed to be successful.
Suggested Teacher Moves: Provide written step-by-step instructions with visual supports when teaching a new skill. These should be the same steps you took when you modeled the new skill for the students. From handwriting to algebraic equations, struggling students need to see the new skill modeled by
the teacher-- often several times!-- and also have something visual to refer to when trying it on their own. With a written list of steps to follow and age appropriate visual supports, struggling students feel more confident in their own ability to attempt the new learning on their own. They become comfortable working independently when you’re not right there next to them. They can go directly back to their seats with the written instruction in hand, and know exactly what steps to take to be successful. Independent practice of a new skill is critical in solidifying a foundational understanding of the skill. Set students up for success by providing them with the written and visual support they need.
Tip #2: Provide Visual Supports
Written step-by-step instructions are helpful, but if a student struggles with reading, you’ll want to provide ample visual supports. English Language learners especially need this support if as they haven’t mastered the academic language being used in the lesson. New vocabulary words should always be accompanied by some kind of nonlinguistic representation of the word.
Suggested Teacher Moves: Preview your lesson for key words or phrases that are critical to the understanding of the lesson. How can you visually represent these concepts to students? Find images online to add to your presentation of the lesson. You can also sketch or draw images of your own. You don’t have to be an artist, and students can benefit from seeing their teacher struggle with something but persevere through it anyway. Think about how your lesson may lend itself to students creating their own images, diagrams, timelines, graphs, or other visuals to support their learning. This can also be a great way to make use of available technology in your classroom, like digital cameras, tablets, laptops, etc.. Keep in mind that something as simple as color-coding notes or papers can also be effective strategies for helping students stay mentally organized when learning a new skill or concept.
Tip #3: Make Learning fun
No student wants to “sit and get” information in a lecture-style learning environment all day. How boring! Studies show that students don’t learn very well when they are bored, so take every opportunity to make learning fun and engaging for students. If students are having fun, they are engaged in the learning process. Games offer a way to have repetition of skills practice, motivation for learning (to win the game!), and a fun, interactive opportunity to engage with peers.
Suggested Teacher Moves: For high-energy kids, even small group work can be tough, so include games with movement like tossing a ball, jumping, running in place, or dancing. Simple games with dice or a deck of cards can spruce up any lesson where students must take turns. Example: Instead of telling each student to take turns reading during a guided reading group, each student rolls the dice to see how many paragraphs/sentences they will read to the group. To encourage reading, kids can “keep score” in their notebooks over the quarter or semester. Use a deck of cards for math problems, like adding, subtracting, or multiplying. Create simple board games using online game makers (Do a search for “online game board creator” and several great sites pop up.) I make board games for math, literacy, book reviews, skills reviews, new vocabulary, and so much more. Having kids create the games is another engaging way for struggling learners to connect with the learning in meaningful ways. What other games do you play with students to make learning fun and engaging?
I hope you find these tip useful in making the most of your small group instruction this year!
Elizabeth S. Hopkins, Master teacher and tutor, Owner and Individualized Education Coach at Hopkins Education Services