While heterogeneous groups have been discussed as a solution in the past couple of years, homogeneous classrooms are still mostly present. Most placing exceptionally gifted kids or those with specific learning disabilities in the same class, this concept doesn’t focus on diversity but instead ensures that the presented learning pace is comfortable for everyone that is involved.
In some instances, these decisions can be influenced by parents. Still, it mostly comes down to educators who observe and determine the abilities of kids that they teach. As you could suppose, while that are some positives, the homogeneous approach includes several negatives. Let’s take a look.
The Common Examples Of Homogeneous Groups
Interestingly, sometimes even teachers don’t realize that they are using the homogenous approach in their classrooms. One of the most present and common cases is “literacy classrooms” specially designated for kids that are either exceptionally profound at reading and writing or have specific issues with the regular learning pace. Depending on the case, a small group of students is put together and presented more or less challenging texts to work on.
The same goes for math centers where the curriculum and tasks given to a particular student are determined depending on whether they belong to the high, middle, or low group (ability to comprehend and solve specific math problems).
The Positives Of Homogeneous Groups
When it comes to this approach’s advantages, there are a few both for the educators and the students in question. Firstly, the teacher won’t need to spend as much time answering different questions or tailoring the curriculum according to special needs because all students are at the same level of knowledge and are likely to have similar approaches/questions.
Additionally, there is a high chance that students in this group will be much more interested to fully engage themselves as they don’t feel like the pace is too slow or too fast (an issue that is common for heterogeneous groups).
Frankly, as long as the educator is experienced with an approach of this kind, it can yield good results for both parties.
The Negatives Of Homogeneous Groups
One of the main issues related to this approach is that students put in the so-called “lower” groups often lack the motivation to improve their learning ability. This is in no way their fault but rather the consequence of the feeling they have, which is related to the fact that they aren’t equal to the students in the middle or higher groups.
Although most students in homogeneous groups have the same skills and knowledge, in some instances, the teachers aren’t as cautious. They either devote too much attention to explaining a certain matter or completely neglect it thinking that students in their classroom already know everything about it.
Concluding Thoughts
In our opinion, homogeneous groups make sense in some instances, like for children with autism, as the learning pace may be more appropriate. There isn’t a uniform conclusion on where this approach should be applied, which is why we think parents and educators should collaborate in this matter and determine what is best for the children in question.
