Learning outcomes

The intended outcomes of this activity are for you to learn that:

• paired and group activities can increase pupil success, but to work together effectively pupils need guidance, support and practice
• how pupils are grouped is also important. Care should be taken to monitor the impact of groupings on pupil attainment, behaviour and motivation
• homework can improve pupil outcomes, particularly for older pupils, but it is likely that the quality of homework and its relevance to main class teaching is more important than the amount set
• flexibly grouping pupils within a class to provide more tailored support can be effective, but care should be taken to monitor its impact on engagement and motivation, particularly for low attaining pupils

In your notepad

Key questions:

• in what different ways can you group pupils?
• why is it important that you don’t assume that pupils will be able to do group work well?
• in what ways can you guide and support pupils to work more effectively together in groups?
• how can you ensure that the homework you set pupils is of high quality and therefore maximises progress?