The Art (and Heart) of Grouping

This is the trickiest and most rewarding part of teaching in a learning community.

But let me start with the hard part, reader — to be successful... you have to check your ego at the door. Creating groups in a learning community isn’t about you or your ease of teaching. It’s about what’s best for kids. Once that’s firmly established, groupings begin to take shape — and the learning community begins to move and groove.

The Weekend Routine

It’s Saturday morning and you’re watching your kid’s soccer game.

And while you should be cheering them on, your mind is elsewhere — thinking about how on earth you’re going to pull off another successful math week as you start a multiplication unit.

Because your students are all over the place.

Despite teaching Grade 3, some are still counting-on and can only skip count in 2s, 5s, and 10s to 100. Others know their facts and are starting to understand the properties of multiplication. Still others seem to put your math skills to shame — applying multi-digit strategies and exploring associative properties... on their own.

And you — you’ve got to teach them all, in one period, at the same time, without resorting to busy work or TPT stations.

Then Monday comes. You barely finish reading the math warm-up when one kid blurts out, “This is so easy. The answer is 64.” The wind is sucked out of the class, you-know-who's eyes begin to well up.

And with that, your hours of planning go poof.

Let’s be honest: one teacher can’t differentiate for 24 unique learners perfectly. You do your best, but you can’t be all things for all children.

So, how do we change that?

Well, for one, we don’t do things alone. We become a learning community — a team of grade-level teachers who, together, can do it all.

Because in a learning community, grouping isn’t random — it’s intentional design. Teachers collaborate to ensure no student is ‘stuck’ or invisible — everyone gets a chance to lead, follow, and belong.”

Grouping for Growth

Sometimes, yes, we start with skill-based groups. Maybe you use the 20% formula — grouping the bottom-ish and top-ish 20% together, and mixing the middle 60% based on pace and ability.

But that’s just one lens. One option.

We can group by interest — genre groups in literacy, topic-based social studies groups, or writing partners who share a similar theme. In a unit of study, an interest group might form around an inquiry topic, research type, or presentation style.

One time, in South Africa, I had a personal goal around heterogeneous math groupings. I strategically created five groups of five, each with a “specialist”:

• one who could break down problems,

• one who visualized through pictures,

• one who translated words into numbers,

• one who explained their thinking clearly, and

• one who always checked their work.

Together, they became a sound team for a mini-unit on problem-solving strategies.

That’s the beauty of intentional grouping — it’s like composing music. Each student brings a note, and together, they make harmony.

Transparency Builds Trust

It’s important to share with students why they’ve been grouped together.

When best friends from different home bases see each other in the same room, you can say, “You’re here because of your leadership skills.” Then ask, “What could happen if there are too many leaders in one group?”

These conversations build metacognition and respect for group dynamics.

Sometimes, groups are randomized. Sometimes, students choose within parameters. Sometimes, you want homogenous groupings — for example, those who need support writing introduction paragraphs working separately from their refining “show, not tell” skills.

But here’s the key about that type of grouping: homogenous groups should shift quickly.

We don’t want students to feel pigeonholed — like the old “Bluebird reading group” days. I still remember the heartbreak of not being in that group, watching them get their shiny new books while I was left with a very pre-worn one. I knew I could do it — I just wasn’t given the shot.

4 Non-Negotiables for Grouping in a Learning Community

1. Purpose first — make it about students, not teachers. Once groups are determined, teachers can choose where they want to contribute (“I feel comfortable with this group” or “I’m curious about Sophia’s learning”). But groups shouldn’t revolve around adult roles or comfort zones. Just because you’re the EAL specialist doesn’t mean you have to take the EAL-heavy group. Maybe you’re the one who is best suited to stretch a particular group of mathematicians— and yes, this comes from personal experience (she knows who she is!).

   
   

2. Keep groups fluid. As a team, decide how long groups stay together — maybe for a unit, a mini-lesson cycle, or just a week. If a group clicks, keep them a bit longer. If the purpose changes, so should the group.

   
   

3. Assess and share. Grouping only works when data flows. Agree as a team on what you’ll assess and how you’ll share it. Anecdotal notes, quick formative checks — it doesn’t have to be fancy. I’ve done this on Seesaw, Toddle, Google Docs, even Excel. Just carve out five minutes a day to record quick notes. That way, when you meet to talk about students, those small insights turn into collective wisdom.

   
   

4. Move students when things aren’t working. This one’s hard. Many teachers think shifting a student means they failed. But it’s not about you (that's how I started this blog!) It’s about what’s best for kids. Be okay with rethinking — and let your ego go.

   
   

The Bigger Picture

In a learning community, grouping is never static — it’s strategic empathy in action.

When teachers plan, reflect, and group (or regroup) together, students stop being “mine” or “yours.” They become “ours.”

And in that collective care, every student gets a chance to be seen, heard, and supported.

Try This with Your Team

This week, talk with your team about trying a few low-stakes activities with a new mix of students — just to see what happens. Create a simple slide with all the students’ names, which room they’ll go to, and what materials they’ll need. Then give it a go.

Keep it light, keep it curious, and debrief afterward. You might discover that a simple regroup can spark unexpected engagement — and remind everyone what a learning community is really about.

More about groupings:

• Chalk Talk: Heterogeneous or homogeneous groupings for collaborative learning? The ChalkTalk Method

• EduTopia: Student Learning Groups: Homogeneous or Heterogeneous?

• Kathleen Jesper: Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous Grouping in the Classroom: Key Strategies for Effective Learning