The most important part of starting small collaborative student groups in your classroom is the environment that you as the teacher establish the first few weeks of school. Making your classroom a welcoming, inclusive environment where student voice is heard and respected will go a long way toward setting up success for small groups. Below are some helpful tips on how to make this happen.

Classroom Expectations: Consider what behaviors are essential for a respectful and focused classroom environment. Common expectations might include respect for others, active participation, responsibility, and honesty.

Procedures: Identify key daily routines and procedures that will help your classroom run smoothly, such as entering the classroom, turning in assignments, transitioning between activities, asking for help, and dismissal.

Pro Tip: Make sure to set up expectations for students as a class and when they work together. I suggest creating a treatment agreement like this one starting on day one for classroom management and referring to it early and often. In addition, set up your expectations for small groups of students working together. Here is an example of what that may look like in a classroom setting. At first, this seems like a waste of time, but practice, practice, practice expectations. The more you do this and take corrective actions when things go awry, the better your room will manage itself throughout the year. Even high school seniors can benefit from practicing classroom expectations!

Collaborative Rule-Making: Involve students in the creation of classroom expectations to give them ownership and ensure buy-in. Discuss what kind of classroom environment they want and how they can contribute to it.

Discuss the Why: Explain the reasoning behind each expectation and procedure. When students understand the purpose, they’re more likely to adhere to them.

Pro Tip: Try using the fishbowl technique to teach expectations. Facing History and Ourselves provides a great article on this strategy.

Model Expectations: Demonstrate the behaviors you expect from students. For example, model respectful communication, organization, and how to ask questions.

Build Relationships: Establish positive relationships with your students from the start. Learn their names quickly, show interest in their lives, and create an atmosphere of trust.

Emphasize Respect and Inclusivity: Make it clear that respect for everyone, regardless of background or ability, is a non-negotiable expectation in your classroom.

Explicit Instruction: Teach each procedure as you would any other lesson. For example, if you want students to enter the classroom quietly and begin a warm-up activity, practice this routine with them.

Reinforce Regularly: During the first few weeks, consistently reinforce procedures by reviewing them regularly. Praise students when they follow them correctly.

Use Visual Aids: Post key procedures and expectations in the classroom as reminders. Visual cues can help reinforce routines.

Fair and Consistent Consequences: Establish clear, fair consequences for not meeting expectations, and apply them consistently. Consistency is key to maintaining order and fairness.

Positive Reinforcement: Recognize and reward positive behavior. This could be through verbal praise, a point system, or a classroom rewards system. Positive reinforcement helps to build a culture of good behavior.

Proactive Management: Anticipate and address potential disruptions before they escalate. For example, move closer to students who are off-task, or use non-verbal signals to redirect behavior.

Classroom Seating: Arrange your classroom seating to support your expectations and procedures. Flexible seating or strategically placed desks can help minimize distractions and encourage focus.

Transitions: Have clear signals and procedures for transitions between activities to minimize downtime and keep students on task.

Pro Tip: If you are not already adept at “reading the room” to spot possible distractions, misbehavior, and escalations, start practicing this art. Here are some tips from Edutopia on how to be proactive with classroom management.

Parent Letters or Emails: At the beginning of the year, send a letter or email to parents outlining your classroom expectations and procedures. This helps create a partnership between home and school. Pro Tip: When contacting parents by email or by text, it is difficult to read human expression. If you feel that there is a misunderstanding or a parents is getting particularly frustrated, pick up the phone and have a conversation with him or her. It will save you so much time and many headaches down the road! Another pro-tip is to never, ever give out your actual cell phone number or home address to any parent (or student, for that matter). Set up a Google Voice Account so that you can text parents from that phone number. Your school or district may already have this ready for you in advance. Check with you administrators on rules around communication.

Parent-Teacher Conferences: Discuss your expectations with parents during conferences and emphasize how they can support their child in meeting these expectations.

Continuous Improvement: Regularly reflect on how well your expectations and procedures are working. Be open to making adjustments if something isn’t working as expected. Depending on the situation, flexibility and tweaks may be necessary.

Student Feedback: Periodically ask students for feedback on classroom procedures. This can provide insights into what’s working and what might need to be adjusted.

This can be important for a number of reasons. The two most important are that it is critical that you can hear discussions so students will stay on task, holding them accountable.

In addition, it is a way for you to correct any misunderstandings of the information and make note of which students are struggling with the material. This gives you on the spot formative assessment data through qualitative observations of students.

Managing multiple small groups can be challenging. Here are some strategies to keep things running smoothly:

Establish Clear Expectations: Set ground rules for group work, such as staying on task, being respectful, and contributing equally.

Use Visual and Verbal Cues: Signal transitions or remind students of time limits with visual or auditory signals (e.g., a timer, chimes).

Rotate Roles: Ensure that students take on different roles in each group activity to build a range of skills.

In order to assist to students in learning as well as for you to assess the knowledge and quality of the group’s work, require that a product of some type be produced and turned in for either feedback and/or a grade. This holds students accountable and assists you as the teacher in knowing how your student are doing in learning the standards. In Exploros, the system is set up so that students cannot go to the next lesson or see peers’ information without entering their own answer.

A product can be as simple or complex as you’d like for it to be. Below are some examples of activities that can be useful.

Leader/Facilitator: Keeps the group on task, ensures everyone participates, and manages time.

Note-Taker: Records key points from discussions, research, or activities. This can be the person who enters the assignment in to Exploros for the group.

Presenter: Shares the group’s findings or conclusions with the rest of the class.

Researcher: Focuses on gathering and organizing information or materials needed for the activity.

Questioner/Challenger: Encourages deeper thinking by asking probing questions and challenging assumptions.

Pro Tip: Even if each member has a small job, this will ensure that everyone participates and there are no “observers.”

How It Works: Divide a large topic into subtopics. Each group studies one subtopic and becomes the "expert" on it. Groups then reorganize so each new group has one expert from each original group, who shares their expertise with the others.

Benefits: Encourages interdependence, as students rely on each other to learn about different aspects of a topic.

How It Works: Students are divided into small groups to discuss a question or topic using evidence from readings or primary sources. The focus is on dialogue, questioning, and critical thinking.

Benefits: Promotes deep understanding and allows students to explore multiple perspectives.

How It Works: Groups are assigned a position on a historical issue or policy. They research and prepare arguments, then debate against other groups.

Benefits: Enhances research, critical thinking, and public speaking skills.

How It Works: Groups are given a historical case study to analyze. They discuss the causes, consequences, and possible alternatives, then present their findings.

Benefits: Encourages students to apply historical knowledge to real-world situations and think critically about complex issues.

Purpose: Clearly communicate expectations and provide a consistent framework for assessing group work. Rubrics can assess both the group’s final product and the process (e.g., collaboration, communication).

Components: Criteria might include content understanding, quality of presentation, participation, use of evidence, and critical thinking. This can include quizzes, projects, and unit assessments in Exploros.

Self-Assessment: Encourage students to reflect on their contributions, what they learned, and areas for improvement.

Peer Assessment: Students can evaluate their group members’ contributions. This can be done through anonymous surveys or structured peer feedback forms.

Ongoing Checks: Use quick checks for understanding during the activity, such as exit tickets, mini-presentations, or group quizzes. This helps you gauge progress and make adjustments in real-time.

Student Feedback: Ask students what they enjoyed, what challenges they faced, and how the activity could be improved.

Teacher Reflection: Consider whether the groups were effective, if the task was appropriately challenging, and if the learning objectives were met.

Adjustments for Next Time: Based on reflection, you might change group compositions, adjust the complexity of tasks, or modify the way you assess group work.

Establish Clear Expectations: Set ground rules for group work, such as staying on task, being respectful, and contributing equally.

Use Visual and Verbal Cues: Signal transitions or remind students of time limits with visual or auditory signals (e.g., a timer, chimes).

Rotate Roles: Ensure that students take on different roles in each group activity to build a range of skills.

The reading groups feature allows teachers to differentiate based upon student need. For more information on reading groups in Exploros experiences, refer to this article.