Authored by:
TeacherVision Staff
Last edited: July 27, 2021
Distribute an article that describes an adaptation you can apply to individualizing textbook instruction.
Page 2 of 2
Placing Students in Three Instructional Groups
Once the diagnostic tests have been given, individualize your textbook instruction by doing the following:
- Calculate an average score for each student based on the scores the student earned on the two diagnostic tests.
- Assign students to one of three instructional groups, using the following criteria based on their scores:
- 0%-47%, teacher directed
- 53%-73%, paired (dyadic) group
- 80%-100%, independent study
The study guides you prepare for the teacher-directed group should contain paragraph and page references after each question as an aid to locating the answers in the passage. The guides for the dyadic group should contain a page number reference only after each question. The guides for the independent students should contain no referential cues. Prepare 15-item multiple-choice tests as described earlier.
Implementing Three Instructional Groups Simultaneously
Three instructional groups can be implemented by means of the following procedure:
- All students read a 1,200-word passage of text independently for 12 minutes.
- Students divide into three instructional groups and complete the study guide for 20 minutes, using their textbooks.
- The teacher-directed students are seated in a row on one side of the classroom.
- The dyadic students are seated in two rows on the opposite side of the classroom with their desks pulled together in pairs.
- The independent students are seated in a row in the middle of the classroom.
- The teacher-directed students are seated in a row on one side of the classroom.
- Lead the teacher-directed students in completing and studying the guide questions as a group. Have the dyadic students work in pairs based on compatibility; these students should complete the study guide questions by cooperatively answering the questions on an item-by-item basis, followed by quizzing each other. The independent students should complete and study the guides independently.
- Have the students take the 15-item, closed-book, multiple-choice test. Read aloud the test questions and the choices for the teacher-directed group, while the others work on their own.
More on Adapting Existing Materials.
