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 Development funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs |
NEWS BRIEF
Grouping Practices for Effective Student Achievement
A recent study of reading research, funded by the U.S. Office of Special
Education Programs and conducted by researchers at the University of
Miami, has linked some methods of instructional grouping to increased
achievement for elementary school students with disabilities. Overall,
the research showed that the use of instructional grouping formats,
especially student pairing, had more positive effects on students' reading
achievement than whole class instruction.
The researchers found that peer-mediated instruction represents an
especially promising complement to other instructional practices. Although
cross-age tutoring was not found to be particularly effective when students
with disabilities are the tutees, students with disabilities derive
considerable benefit from tutoring younger students. The researchers
note that such tutoring can be effective in producing better reading
outcomes for students in both general education and special education
classrooms, and other studies have shown that it has the potential to
improve the social relationships of children.
The study relied on meta-analysis, a way of looking at many research
studies on a specified topic to get an overall picture of research results
on that topic. Based on the criteria of the meta-analysis, 20 research
studies conducted between 1975 and 1995 were included. The effects of
three types of grouping format on the reading achievement of students
with disabilities were compared. The three types of grouping format
were pairs (including same-age peer tutoring, cross-age peer tutoring,
and cooperative partners), small groups, and multiple formats (the systematic
use of a specific combination of two or more different formats). For
tutoring interventions only, the study also examined whether being the
tutor or tutee made a difference in the student's learning.
For more information on this research, see "Grouping Practices and
Reading Outcomes for Students with Disabilities," by Batya Elbaum, Sharon
Vaughn, Marie Hughes, and Sally Watson Moody in Exceptional Children, 65(3), Spring 1999.
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