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In a class of 20 students, the prep homeroom teacher often used teacher led groups to facilitate differentiation in the class. Teacher led grouping involved delivering instruction either to the whole class, a group or an individual. (Valentino, 2000) During observation, the homeroom teacher delivered her instructions to the whole class and then divided the class to small groups. The groups were made flexible depending on the subject that was being taught. During a numeracy lesson, the students were put in groups where students that needed support were put together with those that can serve as peer help. In a literacy lesson, the students that needed further help from the teacher but had similar areas of need were clustered together so that the teacher can scaffold an activity together with them. If needed, the teacher pulled students away from a group and scaffolded an activity with the student independently. This strategy is also effective in providing movement to the students who need movement and the need to speak to someone in their class, it also further clarifies instruction to them by working and being able to ask their peers in a small group setting. (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006) Grouping gave the teacher a way to observe the different learning styles and attitudes of each student and how well they can work together with a group and how effective they are at getting work done independently. This information is gathered and added to the leaner profile of students to help in identifying effective strategies for future lessons.
The teacher scaffolded her lessons to students that needed support. One of the benefits of scaffolding is so that the student can gain independence. There are students that are highly independent early on in their school life however there are those that require more support and guidance from the teacher. Scaffolding helps students grow into an effective independent learner.