Hi, it's Robin Wilson here and welcome to the
Education Podcast, Education Connection Podcast.
Hi, I'm Chris Nessie from the House of EdTech
Podcast, a part of the Education Podcast Network.
Just like the show you're listening to right
now, shows on the network are individually owned
and opinions expressed may not reflect others.
Find other interesting education podcasts at
edupodcastnetwork .com. went to a workshop this
past summer and I first heard about education
kind of swinging to the place of whole group
instruction and I don't know how you've been
taught but going back to even my college days
small group was where it was at and I'm always
open to new ideas and understanding what is the
best return on investment that we have in our
class. and you know what's going to get the biggest
bang for our uh what we're doing in the classroom
so i'm open to understanding this but i'm going
to be honest with you the very first time i heard
it i thought no way it goes against every single
thing i've ever been taught so yeah we're going
to be talking tonight about small groups groups
versus whole group instruction and what's best
for elementary students so i don't know after
researching this i may come out with a different
idea I kind of feel like at the end though we're
going to come down to it being balancing it all
out and using what's best for your kids in this
situation. I don't think for education that any
any one way going all the way is ever going to
work. I know back a few years ago we had whole
word learning versus phonics learning or breaking
the word apart and sometimes there is a place
for whole word learning but most of the time
we need to learn how to break those words apart
but you really need to embrace both. Once a child
understands for example when you're walking through
the grocery store and you are standing in the
lane to check out and you just look over and
you glance at a headline about recipes you don't
you see the word recipes you do start remembering
that that word is recipes. You don't have to
sound that out anymore because you've actually
memorized that sequence and so becomes a part
of your whole word learning. So don't come at
me. I'm not saying that that's the way we should
learn but I'm saying once you get past breaking
a word down you do tend to go into that whole
word Memorization as adults we do that and even
Students when they began learning to read so
I just want to welcome you to the education connection
We're going to explore real talk for teachers
Of course I'm your host Robin Wilson and today
I'm diving into a hot topic in elementary education
and they say it's a hot topic because when I
first heard about going whole group for everything
I was it was a little hot topic for myself and
I know it was for other educators as I've talked
about and you know the saying is true I did not
experience it until after I'd been teaching for
a few years, but education just goes in a big
circle. And so everything goes around and it
comes back around. The old becomes new and the
new becomes old. So I just want to dive into
this to see what maybe your thoughts are, which
one works better. why is it such a big debate
right now and most importantly what's best for
our students. So grab your coffee and at the
end of the day maybe if you're just grab a snack
from the kitchen and let's jump in. So we're
gonna start with a quick refresher. A small group
instruction is when a teacher works with a few
students at a time usually grouped by ability.
while the rest of the class maybe works independently
or maybe they're working in other small independent
groups giving you time freeing time up for you
to be able to work with small groups. It's often
tied to approaches with guided reading which
became super popular through balanced literacy
programs. Now whole group instruction on the
other hand means teaching all students together
exposing everyone to the same lesson typically
at grade level. This approach is becoming more
common in classrooms that follow the science
of reading model. So I think the science of reading
is where this is kind of starting to explore
into the classrooms and go into the classrooms
a little bit. So for years Ever since I've been
teaching, small groups have been set as best
practice. Why? Because they allow us to differentiate.
We can meet kids right where they are, give them
targeted instruction, and build relationships
in those cozy little circles. Teachers have the
flexibility. You can reteach, extend, or just
checking in with struggling readers without losing
the whole class. But there's a catch. The catch
to some are it's a criticism and it's getting
louder especially from researchers in science
of reading advocates is equity. When we group
students by ability we sometimes unintentionally
track them and that means struggling students
often students from low -income backgrounds get
less access to grade level content but listen
I'm in the classroom and when I'm working with
those small groups I'm making sure that I do
meet with every group and not just my high group
so I'm making sure that all groups are being
met with but this is the criticism that some
are not meeting with those small groups and so
when one group is working with the teacher the
others are supposed to be engaged in meaningful
work but let's be honest sometimes it's more
like a worksheet but that does not have to be
the case as a defender of small groups we would
have games and I had an assistant with one of
my games and then one of my groups was a required
reading program that our school requires to do
so that was putting that group in a required
environment that they were not goofing off and
they were not playing around as any classroom
setting you're always going to have those times
when you have students that are goofing around
so I'm not saying I never did have that happen
but I can tell you for a surety I worked to meet
with my lower students and I worked to make sure
every student had time with me as a teacher in
my small group so that no one was left behind
and the other thing that I did in defense of
this is I actually would meet with my lower group
sometimes more than my higher group it's not
that I left my higher group out but I could honestly
get them started on reading say a chapter in
a chapter book and going to answer the questions
like I could set them off to reading the chapter
while I worked with my lower group and then at
the end of that group go back and assign my higher
group with some comprehension questions and they
could actually do that on their own. So in reality,
from somebody that has worked for many years
in small group, my smaller groups got more close
up one on one attention with me. So that but
that's the criticism is that students are left
out. In some situations, I'm not saying in your
situation they were either, but that's what some
are saying So why they're saying whole group
is on the rise the model emphasizes explicit
systematic teaching especially in reading Everyone
gets the same content the same instruction in
the same high expectations The science of reading
community really backs this up saying it's the
best way to build foundational skills, especially
in phonics and comprehension. Supporters also
argue that you lose less time switching groups
and managing behavior, more time, more teaching
time equals more learning. So I'm looking at
that and I can see the benefit of that. If I
could just stop here and go off of my notes a
little bit in. teaching in a whole group unless
I am on my toes my tippy toes there are some
that will be staring off into space or possibly
not following along and me trying to get the
information out there I'm just human and so me
trying to get the information out there and teach
them I have had those students that are not paying
attention Equally as much as what the criticism
is for small group instruction. So when I'm in
a small group, I'm actually able to identify
that quicker and Tap the table and bring them
back to me a little bit better in small group
But I kind of I can see what they're saying about
the switching of the group and losing time So
there is that I'm trying to stay open -minded
um and also um the of course whole group instruction
isn't without its flaws some students might get
left behind if they're not at grade level so
if you're teaching at grade level in whole group
there are some that are going to be higher and
there's going to be some that are lower so this
is the criticism And without some form of differentiation,
it's hard to address the wide range of needs
we see in every classroom. That's where many
educators are asking, do we really have to choose?
So and I'm kind of moving like before, I have
always done a whole group lesson and then we
moved into small group. The whole group lesson
has been on their level and then we move into
small group to teach individually and kind of
bring it down together. So I kind of like this
idea a lot of teachers and researchers are called
calling for a balanced approach and that's what
they're calling it whole group for core instruction
like phonics vocabulary and comprehension and
then data informed small groups to reinforce
or extend learning. The key here is being intentional
not just grouping kids by level and keeping them
there forever and I know every teacher in my
hallway and I can honestly say I don't know of
any teacher that keeps a student there forever
in that group once they see them growing the
groups are fluid and I think if you're really
paying attention to your class and you know which
direction a student is going you are able to
make your groups fluid it's a matter of just
changing some names on a board that you might
already have up and just you know switching a
couple out and moving some up moving some down.
These should be fluid in your classroom not keeping
them there forever and so that was one of the
criticisms of small group instruction and balanced
literacy is they get stuck there forever but
I can tell you I don't know any teachers that
actually do that. I think as educators across
the board we need to come together and do less
judging and more open talk about it and understanding
um educators and what they're doing in their
classrooms instead of the assumption that that
they're that they're for example keeping them
for there forever in a small group because i
mean i don't really know anybody that's doing
that So back to small group or whole group, it's
not about picking a side, it's about using the
best tools at the right time. So I kind of like
that idea. So small groups or whole group, the
answer isn't one way or the other. The real question
is, how do we make sure every student gets what
they need? That might mean rethinking how we
use time, how we group our students, and how
we plan instruction. So it's okay to evolve I'm
always trying to evolve and when I first hear
something like that my immediate was reaction
was No, I think what I'm doing is working but
as any profession the way to Grow is to stay
open -minded and take a look at it and see what
the positives and the negatives are and make
what is the best decision for you in your classroom
at the time. And just be careful as you're planning
your instructions. Obviously if you have a student
that is not going to be able to survive in that
whole group instruction because maybe they're
lost, they need to be pulled back in a small
group at some point. What worked five years ago
may not serve our kids today and that's okay.
Before I go I want to share something exciting.
I've officially launched my own web store and
I talked about this over the last couple of weeks
and I just want to shout it out there again today.
If you're looking for resources that support
both small group and whole group instructions
especially in the early grades check out firstgradeloves
.com. You'll find materials I've used in my own
classroom all designed with intention and a heart.
Now right now I have one Product up there and
it's get ready for first grade and I'm just gonna
be honest I went to upload get ready for second
grade and I downloaded the product from my my
drive and I looked through it and I Said to myself
self because that's what I call myself I think
I need to update this product So that product
has things have slowed down a little bit because
I really want to give quality resources I don't
want it to be something that's been on the shelf
for a while I am updating it right now with the
science of reading in mind and I will be up I'm
gonna take this whole week to update that product
get ready for second grade so if you know somebody
going into second grade just stay tuned because
I am updating that resource with the latest and
greatest science of reading research base standards
and making sure that that's all in there get
ready for first it's already up and so get ready
for seconds coming soon and I want to let you
know that will be in the works and so I don't
want to just throw a bunch of products up there
I want to make sure that I'm doing everything
with intention with purpose and for the best
for you the best resources for you so hey thanks
for tuning in to the education connection if
this episode sparked some ideas or maybe stirred
up some strong feelings about whether or not
you're going to be doing whole group or small
group i'd love to hear from you tell me what
your thoughts are because it really kind of has
taken me aback a little bit um but i am open
I'm wanting to learn I'm wanting to do what's
best for my students and at this point I am doing
some whole group and I'm doing some small group
but I am right now kind of tweaking around with
a little bit of a whole group thought process
to see because I'm open. I don't want to be left
behind. I don't want what the latest research
is saying is best for my kids. I don't want my
kids to be left out. I want to make sure that
they are progressing and that's my prayer and
as a teacher if you're listening to this you
probably also I pray for my students I pray I
write about them in my journal I pray that God
would bless them and that God would help them
to grow I do pray for the words that come out
of my mouth when I'm teaching I pray that God
will lead me and guide me in exactly the things
I need to say to them the silliness I need to
say to them to get their attention or the games
I need to play to get their attention to learn
and so I do pray about that and I I don't want
to be close -minded and I want God to use me
in teaching. He's called me to teach and I want
him to direct my thoughts. Psalms 32 and 8 said
guide says the Lord says I will guide you along
the best pathway for your life. I will advise
you and watch over you and I pray that for my
students. Lord guide me and the teacher listening
along the best pathway for our education. for
our students, for academics. It says, I will
advise you and watch over you. God advise us
and watch over us to help our students in the
best way possible. So thank you so much for listening.
Don't forget to follow the show and leave a review
if you found this helpful. It really helps other
educators to find me. So until next time, stay
inspired. Keep growing and remember you make
a difference every single day in the little lives
that you touch. Have a great week.