The debate on how students of different abilities should be organised and taught is probably as old as the introduction of formal schooling. It has generated a lot of debate in the past and continues to do so in the present millennium. This debate has invariably divided the world of educational research into two distinct camps. On one hand are proponents of ability grouping who claim that this grouping approach creates homogeneity which make it possible to tailor teaching to individual needs and thus raise achievement. On the other hand, are the exponents of mixed-ability grouping, who argue that ability grouping denies equality of educational opportunities to many young people, limiting their life chances and increasing social segregation. However, there is an emerging trend which posits that teachers should view students' mixed-abilities as an asset, which if properly exploited can result in effective instruction for the benefit of all students regardless of their many individual differences. This emanates from the realisation that there are different types of intelligences, and that it is not always possible for an individual student to posses all the types of intelligences. Therefore, students from diverse backgrounds, endowed with multiple intelligences, can help one another understand the content better as they will perceive the content from their diverse experiential backgrounds. This qualitative study concerned itself with investigating how mixed-ability grouping can be optimised for effective instruction at the junior secondary school level in Botswana. The study made use of literature study, focus groups, follow-up interviews and lesson observations. Major findings were that teachers are not optimising mixed-ability grouping for effective instruction. Instead, teachers have problems in teaching mixed-ability classes, with most of their teaching being teacher-centred. However, teachers can optimise mixed-ability grouping through the use of student-centred instructional strategies such as cooperative learning, small-group instruction, peer teaching and student research. Gifted students could be catered for through curriculum compaction, enrichment and extension work, while mentally challenged students could be offered remedial work. These cited teaching strategies are differential and they make use of the diverse abilities found in mixed-ability classes. / Educational Studies / D.Ed. (Didactics)

<p>The aim of this essay is to examine if the attitudes and the experiences of Ability Grouping are the same on different levels of the school organisation.</p><p>I have chosen to answer the following two questions:</p><p>· Have the teachers, the students and the headmaster the same idea concerning the educational model at the school, that is, the pros and cons of Ability Grouping?</p><p>· Does the intentions of the curriculum agree with this educational model?</p><p>I knew what I thought about the educational model at the school that is the object of this essay, after spending ten weeks at it as a trainee, but I felt that I would be interesting to know what the people who are part of that system everyday think about it.</p><p>In order to be able to answer my questions, I used both the qualitative and the quantitative method. I interviewed the headmaster and five teachers to find out what they thought about Ability Grouping. I also distributed inquiries to 70 students from 6th to 9th grade to get their point of view. In the theoretical discussion I explain the meaning of different conceptions that I use throughout this essay. I also discuss different theories to give examples of pros and cons of Ability Grouping.</p><p>My conclusion is that the majority of the students think that Ability Grouping is either a good or a very good way of organizing the students in school. All the teachers except one prefer Ability Grouping to the traditional way of grouping the students, that is, in classes that are mixed concerning the level of knowledge but where everybody is at the same age. The main concern though, both among the students, the teachers and the headmaster, is that the students get more shy when they work in groups that are mixed, and that the students who are not that good in school loose someone to look up to. The Ability Grouping model that this school uses, which is more flexible than the traditional one, agree with the intentions of the curriculum in many ways. To agree with it to the full extend though, you need to add the traditional classes as well, which also is the mix that the school has chosen.</p>

This thesis explores the range of strategies used for educational provision for gifted children in mathematics in a group of schools in England. A review of literature relating to international theory and existing research in gifted education and empirical work into the teaching of gifted mathematicians were carried out. The literature review examined the dominant theories of intelligence and giftedness in general, including the historical background of definitions of giftedness and methods for its measurement, before specifically focusing on the concept of mathematical giftedness. The study was located in primary schools within Greater London, where schools are required to implement the ‘Gifted and Talented’ policy of the UK government. The research was conducted in two stages during the school years 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. The first stage involved a questionnaire survey sent to primary schools within five Local Educational Authorities. For the second stage of the research, which constituted the main study, a case study approach was used. The main methods of data collection employed within the case study were observations of mathematics lessons, semi-structured interviews with children nominated as able or gifted mathematicians and their teachers, as well as analysing documentary evidence (i.e., school policy, teacher’s planning, children’s assessment records and children’s written work). It was found that schools were responding to the policy in pragmatic terms, although no specific training was provided for practising teachers or school co-ordinators as part of the national training programme in making provision for mathematically gifted children. In practice, in classrooms, it was found that teachers’ level of confidence and expertise, the level of focused attention given to gifted children, the level of support and extension through higher-order questioning, as well as the size of the class and the nature of the work set were factors which affected the progress, perceptions and attitudes of children who were nominated to be able mathematicians. There is a paucity of research which has investigated aspects of provision for gifted and talented children, particularly in mathematics, in the UK. By specifically addressing this topic, this study makes a distinct contribution to current literature in both understanding aspects of mathematical giftedness and the range of provision used. This study makes a particular contribution to finding out how practising teachers in England are responding to a government initiative, which should be of interest to both policy-makers and practitioners. This thesis also presents examples for organising and teaching mathematics to gifted children at higher cognitive levels, within regular classrooms; this may be of interest to audiences internationally, including countries where there are no policies of provision for mathematically gifted children.

Ability grouping in education is a common practice used to differentiate instruction in order to meet the academic needs of students. The primary purpose for grouping students by ability is to increase their academic growth and achievement by providing instruction at the students’ current instructional level. However, there is much conflicting research regarding the impact of grouping students by ability and its link to student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between school-wide student achievement in grades 3, 4, and 5 based on the type of grouping: ability grouped or not grouped by ability classroom settings. Data were collected from the Tennessee Department of Education website for the 2012-2013 academic school year as well as from individual school administrators regarding how students were grouped for instruction: grouped by ability or not grouped by ability. Independent samples t-tests were run to determine if there is a significant difference between students who received instruction in ability grouped setting and those that were not placed in an ability grouped classroom. The results of this study indicated that there is no difference in achievement scores based on the type of instructional setting (ability grouped or not grouped by ability) in reading and math in grades 3, 4, and 5.

The aim of this essay is to examine if the attitudes and the experiences of Ability Grouping are the same on different levels of the school organisation. I have chosen to answer the following two questions: · Have the teachers, the students and the headmaster the same idea concerning the educational model at the school, that is, the pros and cons of Ability Grouping? · Does the intentions of the curriculum agree with this educational model? I knew what I thought about the educational model at the school that is the object of this essay, after spending ten weeks at it as a trainee, but I felt that I would be interesting to know what the people who are part of that system everyday think about it. In order to be able to answer my questions, I used both the qualitative and the quantitative method. I interviewed the headmaster and five teachers to find out what they thought about Ability Grouping. I also distributed inquiries to 70 students from 6th to 9th grade to get their point of view. In the theoretical discussion I explain the meaning of different conceptions that I use throughout this essay. I also discuss different theories to give examples of pros and cons of Ability Grouping. My conclusion is that the majority of the students think that Ability Grouping is either a good or a very good way of organizing the students in school. All the teachers except one prefer Ability Grouping to the traditional way of grouping the students, that is, in classes that are mixed concerning the level of knowledge but where everybody is at the same age. The main concern though, both among the students, the teachers and the headmaster, is that the students get more shy when they work in groups that are mixed, and that the students who are not that good in school loose someone to look up to. The Ability Grouping model that this school uses, which is more flexible than the traditional one, agree with the intentions of the curriculum in many ways. To agree with it to the full extend though, you need to add the traditional classes as well, which also is the mix that the school has chosen.

Ability grouping has become increasingly common in the teaching of English in Swedish secondary schools. This study was concerned with the effects of different group constellations on the more able pupils. The research questions involved the able pupils’ performance, their roles in mixed-ability groups and whether the learning environment is better for them when they work with other able pupils. The study used discourse analysis of group interaction in the target language between pupils in year eight. It was found that able pupils perform according to their pre-defined skill, regardless of what groups they were put in. They also supported and lifted the interaction to higher levels in mixed-ability groups. Finally, the results suggested that able pupils might have a greater chance to develop their English in tracked groups. It is argued that this has implications for the implementation of ability grouping in the teaching of second languages in Sweden.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1968. / Title from title page screen, viewed Aug. 16, 2004. Dissertation Committee: Benjamin C. Hubbard (chair), Elmer Lemke, Alan Hickrod. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-108). Also available in print.

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This study investigated the perceived strategies used to deal with mixed ability classes of four English teachers, two working at a year 4-9 compulsory school, and two at an upper secondary school in Sweden. The same teachers were asked about their attitudes towards and experience of ability grouping. The findings of the latter part of this investigation were discussed in reference to research concerning the field of ability grouping.Semi structured interviews were used. Strategies used by teachers included grouping devices, issues of communication, giving individual attention inside and outside the classroom and encouraging self- and peer reviewing. Two teachers in the 4-9 school used ability grouping sparingly but clearly and had experienced an ability grouping of a year nine class which was perceived to have predominantly positive results in academic terms and both positive and negative results in social areas. The teachers of upper secondary school did not use ability grouping – either on democratic grounds or because it was perceived to be unacceptable in the particular school climate. Because the research in ability grouping is diverse, many of the teachers’ attitudes could be supported, and refuted in the research. The teachers using ability grouping felt themselves to be going against research made, but were confident in the decisions they made. Further investigations about maximum numbers of students in heterogeneous classes and time spent with an extra teacher contra own teacher were encouraged.