With our large caseloads, grouping student is often an essential part of the job of a related service provider. As a school-based occupational therapist, I see many students in many buildings. Sometimes my students cannot be seen 1:1. Similarly, some students IEPs are written in such a way that they need to be seen in a small group! There are many benefits to grouping as well. It encourages peer modeling and social skills! Whatever the reason, we must be thoughtful about how we group our students. Not all students will pair well together, and we don’t want an unproductive session. Below are some tips for how to best be grouping students.
Scheduling
Ask yourself: What students are available at the same time? For me, this looks like trying to group students by grade level. Students in the same classroom are most likely to be available at the same time. However, this is not alway the case! My district uses an MTSS model where students may fluctuate in and out of tiered intervention [something I cannot pull from]. For this reason, getting a master schedule for the building is imperative! Check out my blog on prepping for back to school for some more information about scheduling!
Students in self-contained classrooms may also be available at similar times. I often see these students within their classroom settings [push-in model]. It cuts down on transitions, and I can collaborate with or model for staff more easily. This improves carryover. I sometimes schedule monthly cooking or craft groups in these classrooms as well! Even if students get individual sessions, I sometimes add in this “extra support”. I find working with the whole classroom [even students not on the OT caseload] benefits the entire class [including staff!].
Goal Areas
We also want to consider goal areas when we are grouping students. If you have a student who is working on a skill that no other student on your caseload is working on, it will be hard to target in a group session. If one student is working on ADLs like hand washing or toothbrushing while the other student is working on keyboarding, they likely are not an appropriate pairing.
Speaking of ADLs… I typically do not group students who are working on these personal care skills. Due to the personal and more private nature of these skills, I find it more appropriate to work with the student 1:1. I have a student who is working on clothing management in the restroom to increase independence. I would not group this student [even though he has other goal areas too!]. Since IEPs at my district specify if a student is seen as a group or individual, I have to be consistent in how I see the student. I could “split” their time and note that as two services in their IEP. However, I typically stick to one or the other. Even goals like clothing fasteners [ex: buttons, snaps, zippers, shoe tying] can be easier to work on 1:1 as compared to a group. I like to make sure the skill generalizes, so we are often snapping or zipping pants, etc. I prefer to see these students outside of a group.
Independence Levels
Another considering when grouping students is their independence level. Some students may simply require more assistance [physical or otherwise]. That is okay! They just may not be group-able with other higher needs students [or at all!]. If a student is able to be “set up” with an activity like the visual recipe above, and continue without 1:1 attention from the therapist for the complete activity, they may work well in a group!
Students with high levels of impulsivity or limited safety awareness may not be easily grouped. For example, if I am doing a cooking group, I have to be very thoughtful of (a) which students are in which group and (b) if I need additional adults in the group for it to be successful. If you want to try a visual recipe for free, check out this FREE PB&J Visual Recipe!
If you are struggling with fitting all your students in the schedule while maintaining appropriate groupings, consider the following:
- Am I on a 3:1 schedule? Does a 4 week schedule allow for more flexibility in groupings?
- Are there paras available to be an extra set of hands during my sessions?
- Can I see students in a group in the classroom with extra adult support?
- How can students with lower minutes alternate weeks with other students rather than being grouped?
Want to learn more about student groupings or dive into centers in the classroom?
https://courses.simplyspecialed.com/centers-waitlistClick here to join the Simple Centers System waitlist to learn everything about launching simple centers in your self-contained classroom that save you time, free up staff members, and increase student learning!
