|
Students
should be responsible for their own and others' learning in cooperative
groups. Norms for cooperative learning activities need to be taught. The
contributions of low-status students should be publicly acknowledged. Peer
teaching, cross-age tutoring, and cross-grade grouping should be utilized.
Information should be available for various reading levels. Heterogeneous
grouping should be used when entry skills are similar as in most electives
and exploratories.
The next
component of an effective program is curriculum. Thematic interdisciplinary
units should be designed for effective instruction. Units should be aligned
to the state's framework of curriculum. Teams should decide on the big
questions and key ideas of the unit. They should also determine the themes
with skill and content objectives.
The last
second component of an effective program is assessment. Explicit criteria
should be provided. Both content and process should be measured. Individual and
group assessments should be utilized.
Research
finds that heterogeneous grouping addresses the needs of special needs
students along with gifted and talented students. Heterogeneous groupings may
or may not have inclusion provisions. The strategies remain the same with or
without inclusion, being effective for all students by increasing equity of
access and by developing higher order thinking, while promoting social
interactions and recognition of contributions (Renzulli, 1994; Cohen, 1994).
REFERENCE
Heterogeneous Grouping (1996) Retrieved
November 28, 2005 from
http://www.nmsa.org/Research/ResearchSummaries/Summary6/tabid/258/Default.aspx
|
