Formation of Ad Hoc Groups in Cooperative Learning

If that snappy title doesn't draw you in, I don't know what will. I thought I would focus here on one particular aspect, the formation of groups for short duration activities (one period or less). Marzano addresses the need for using a variety of criteria for grouping students. Kagan directly comments on the need for variety. As my AP Literature students often use groups to give them an opportunity to express views on literary analysis with a frequency not possible in a whole class discussion, we have a need to vary groups constantly. Here is a strategy for achieving that along with the procedure to execute it.

I give the students a paper with an outline of a clock. The numbers appear normally on the face, but each number also has a line for a name. The students then circulate through the room, exchanging names for each of those lines. For example, Kylie crosses to another row and talks with Michael. They write each other's name for four o'clock. They each then continue on until they have a different name for each hour.

At the next opportunity for group work, I may call for every student to get together with his/her seven o'clock appointment. The next time, it may be the two o'clock appointment. This gives them a variety of partners with whom they can share and defend their ideas. If we want to work in groups of four, they can pair with another group.

This varied pairing is important for what they are doing because they are learning to develop approaches to the literature and they are always incorporating new skills or literary devices in their considerations. Preventing them from staying in a comfortable arrangement with the same partner or two keeps their idea development sharper and it keeps them more easily on task. Benefits occur when they defend their arguments with students who are less familiar to them.

The appointment clock can be redone later in the year, but it works best when they don't know what it is for. I find that small group work gives every student a voice. They need that voice when they take the test in the spring and must speak for themselves in the essays.