Small Group Instruction: A Forum for Teaching Students with Learning Challenges

This book presents information about the design and provision of small group instruction to students who present persistent, ongoing learning challenges. This includes students who receive special education services as well as at risk students who need to be provided remedial instruction. At the outset, reasons for using a small group arrangement are offered. These include (a) limits to public school funding that do not allow for 1:1 instructional arrangements to be used with most students who present learning challenges, (b) the instructional efficiency that can be realized through small group instruction, and (c) the fact that group instructional arrangements predominate in schools’ least restrictive environments. Subsequently, numerous details that instructors must attend to as they oversee small group instruction are discussed. These details include identifying which students will comprise a group and the specific curricula content they will be taught, designing an appropriate environment, and using data to drive the provision of effective and efficient instruction. While the primary audience for this book is preservice and practicing teachers, it is appropriate for anyone tasked to lead a small group. Further, the book’s content can be applied to various curricula, including academic and functional (or life skills) content.