ABSTRACT
Participation and engagement are foundational to all learning. While students may not be outwardly rebellious or retreating, ritual or strategic compliance are less than ideal. Research shows that engagement and learning can be boosted in many ways, including classroom discussion and small-group instruction. Specially designed instruction can be provided within whole-group lessons but is much easier and more likely to happen in small groups. Within smaller groups, the specialist has the opportunity to level instruction based on IEP goals, connect with individual students, promote equitable discussion, provide corrective feedback and track progress. Teachers in inclusive settings or self-contained classrooms will want to intentionally choose readiness-based or mixed-readiness grouping, depending on the learning target and the goals.
