HIGH-LEVERAGE PRACTICES IN Self-contained EBD and Alternative Education CLASSROOMS

More Than Small Groups: Designing Flexible Grouping to Maximize Student Success

Episode Description

This episode explores the power of flexible grouping to support students academically, socially, and behaviorally. Manny shares real classroom examples where intentional groupings helped students bridge language gaps, build peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and reduce challenging behaviors rooted in frustration or misunderstanding. The conversation highlights that flexible grouping is not a “set it and forget it” strategy but a dynamic, ongoing process that requires teachers to adapt based on student needs.
Listeners will hear how grouping decisions can foster language acquisition, improve engagement in math and reading, and even de-escalate behaviors by uncovering the academic or social gaps behind them. The episode emphasizes that success lies in intentionality—matching students thoughtfully rather than randomly—to create meaningful learning opportunities. Ultimately, flexible grouping empowers students to grow academically while building confidence, social connections, and independence.

Key Points and Takeaways

  • Flexible grouping is most effective when it is intentional, with groupings designed to address specific academic, social, or behavioral goals rather than being random or permanent.
  • Peer-to-peer learning is a powerful tool—students often explain concepts in ways their classmates better understand, which can accelerate both academic progress and language acquisition.
  • Challenging behaviors are frequently rooted in gaps in understanding; grouping students intentionally can reduce frustration and lead to greater engagement.
  • Flexible grouping is a dynamic process that changes based on student needs, meaning group arrangements may shift daily, weekly, or by subject area.
  • Success with flexible grouping depends on recognizing the whole child—academic skills, language abilities, and social dynamics all play a role in creating effective learning groups.
Podcast Guest

Manny Huecias, RBT

Manny Huecias is a school-based behavior technician specializing in social, emotional, and behavioral challenges experienced by elementary-aged student populations as well as augmented instructional design. He has been a community pop-up virtual learning facilitator and avid volunteer in his community who brings a practical, systems-aware perspective to supporting complex students and the adults doing their best to help them. Outside of his professional work, he has been a special needs inclusion summer camp counselor and an active youth leader in his church. Manny is a Registered Behavior Technician with college coursework in education and psychology.
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High-Leverage Practice #17:
Use flexible grouping.
Teachers assign students to homogeneous and heterogeneous groups based on explicit learning goals, monitor peer interactions, and provide positive and corrective feedback to support productive learning. Teachers use small learning groups to accommodate learning differences, encourage in-depth academic-related interactions, and teach students to work collaboratively. They choose tasks that require collaboration, issue directives that support productive and autonomous group interactions, and embed strategies that maximize learning opportunities and equalize participation. Teachers promote simultaneous interactions, use procedures to hold students accountable for collective and individual learning, and monitor and sustain group performance through proximity and positive feedback.
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So don't be afraid to change up your groups. Just because it worked this week does not mean it'll work next week. Just because it works today does not mean it'll work tomorrow. Be intentional about it and care for your students as well.

Manny Huecias

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Host: Heather Volchko

Guest: Manny Huecias

This week, we're talking about High-Leverage Practice number 17, using flexible grouping. So, Manny, for you and your practice, what does this look like?

So, in my practice, to put it plainly, flexible grouping is the intentional usage of groups with students, whether it's for academic skills or behavioral skills. And in the classrooms I've worked with, that's looked like putting students together who some grasp this academic concept we're going through, while others don't, so they can help each other. Or it has looked like I'm not putting little Timmy next to little Billy because they will fight every time they're in the same group. So it's intentionally grouping students to meet a certain need or to achieve a certain goal.

And that's a lot of the work that you're doing with our partners, too, is, we're helping the kids learn, but we're also helping to curb social things or grow social things or curb certain behaviors, or, like, you are leveraging those groupings for all kinds of different ways.

So let's start with some academic grouping, because I know we can go down kind of all these different directions. So, academically, can you give me some examples of how you've seen teachers or how you've coached the teachers that you get to work with to leverage groups so that the students can perpetuate their academic learning?

So, twofold on that one, the example that comes to mind for me, I was working with a class of third graders, and the teacher had already had some intentional grouping behind some of these groups she was pulling for math and reading, but it was a group of EL learners, specifically in that classroom, that she had put all the ones that didn't understand English super well together. And anytime I went into that classroom, that was the group I would take, and we would work through the lesson, and I'd get them to more or less be where their peers were at in their understanding, offering the translation piece of it as well. Eventually, I was talking to the teacher, and I was like, ‘You've got other English learners here, and this group is the same group every time we come around. Can we mix and match some of these students to help these kids?’ Not necessarily learn the math that we were working on, but to learn the English of, like, this kid understands this in English. This kid understands this in Spanish. Great. Let's bridge that gap there so they both know the academic content in the language that we're trying to teach the students to speak primarily.

So that was an interesting Use of flexible grouping because the kids knew each other, but it's one thing to be taught by a teacher. It's another to be taught by a peer. So there was always that reminder of, hey, they don't know it yet. Like, keyword being yet. We're all learning this together. I'd bring up examples of ‘yeah, I haven't done this math in years. I'm learning this with you guys.’

But academically, there was that with some of the other classrooms I've worked with it was, these students understand how these words work for sentence building or for reading structure. This student is falling behind on it. So we're going to put these two students together because they work well together and they can teach each other. Or I can ask the one student, ‘Hey, can you explain this better?’ Because they're actively in it. I'm there once a week. I can be like, hey, can you explain this better to your classmate in a way that, because you understand it this way, they are the same age, same grade, so on and so forth as you. You might be able to better translate to them what we are trying to learn. And that has led to some great success. And that has led to some great, ‘okay, that we need to modify our group next time.’

And we have. It was the, okay, this kid does get it, but he can't translate it. But this kid doesn't get it. This kid doesn't get it. Great. So now we're putting them together instead, and they're going to receive extra support from either the para, from me, or from the main teacher in the classroom. Those are the two biggest examples I can think of. And those are the two that honestly are the most common ones with math and reading, especially with the EL populations or with some of the EBD kids that we work with, that teachers are like, ‘Oh, he's just angry all the time.’ No, he's angry because he doesn't understand. But once he understands, once he can figure this concept out, either through another student or through the extra support, then great. Like, they're not as angry. They see that other people are struggling with it too, and it helps them find a weird little inner peace.

Yeah, I love the fact that I asked you a question about academics, and it is unanswerable outside of language, outside of socialization, like, yes, academics, but the examples that you're sharing are talking about reading, talking about math, but it's within the context of language acquisition or language barriers or within social interactions, and how that is helpful or undermining to those academics. It really cannot just be, ‘well, here's our academic grouping and nothing else applies.’ Like, it just doesn't work that way.

Like, there's gotta be. Yes, you can focus solely on, like, this group is struggling with one plus one. You can do that. But aside from learning that one plus one equals two. Without more intentionality behind the actual grouping, they're learning a single skill instead of being able to learn multiple skills all at once. Everything from the socialization aspect of ‘My classmates speak English, but I don't, so how do I not feel inferior?’ to language acquisition, to all these other skills that roll into this, and again, the biggest thing behind that is the intentionality.

Because what flexible grouping is notis just putting your students in groups at the beginning of the school year, and that's your group for the year. It's not necessarily- I mean, teachers love, what is it? My teachers used to use it all the time. It was the popsicle sticks with the names on them? ‘All right, well, group one will be Sarah, Timmy, and Johnny.’ Do any of those students need more support? Do they all understand the concept? Are you aware why these groups will or will not work behaviorally? And yeah, it goes back to the intentionality of why are you forming these groups, how are you forming them, and what are you expecting from these groups?

It's such a dynamic process, right? And it is a process. It's not the one thing you run an assessment and then you set and forget it forever. It's ‘well, that applies in this subject or this month or this week.’ There are so many more variables around whatever it is that we are trying to target that need to be taken into consideration when we're actually defining those groups.

So walk me through. I know you've also with trying to match up peer pairs to help understand different classrooms or to understand how to use their behavior to really, like, access the supports that they need as opposed to their behavior undermining. So let's talk through some of the flexible grouping that you have leveraged with your team, specifically because of social or behavioral challenges.

One of my favorite ways to use flexible grouping, intentional grouping, is I get students all the time who are younger siblings, or they don't have siblings, or whatever. But one of their favorite things to do is, I understand this concept. I love to teach other kids how to learn this. So that becomes like a reinforcer that, at the end of the day, the kid doesn't need a bag of chips, the kid doesn't need whatever. Just put them in the group and let them teach. Especially when they've actually proven that they can understand the concept and are in a group full of other students who may not grasp it. Again, they will be able to better translate how they understood it in the way they understood it to other students than you will be able to, as an educator. But that's one of the most fun ways. I've used flexible grouping as a reward for other students that I've worked with as a reinforcer.

I know there have been times where you have been able to engage peers as a way to bring down some of the behavioral escalation that we have seen or that typically our team is pulled into to support. I know you've already sort of shared those examples around the social element of we always kind of refer to them as, like, tour guides in the classroom, right? And so sometimes we ourselves are the tour guides for students in our classrooms. But when you're talking about language and making sense of kind of how I do things and how I get through things, that's a lot of the social side. 

I'm wondering if we could also give some examples around behavior, because I think a lot of times, most of the staff that we work with view behavior as a reason that grouping is impossible, because the behavior just needs to be, like, separated and sheltered from, so that it doesn't impact the group or the class. But we've seen a lot of success when it's intentionally integrated, because then those behaviors are not even necessary in some aspects, because the needs are really just getting met within that grouping that they are a part of.

I think in elementary school, you don't have periods. You don't have ‘go to a separate classroom for this stuff,’ maybe for the computer lab and art room, and such, but you're in the classroom all day, every day. I've worked in classrooms where the student population is everything from five students to 10 students, like that small group. And maybe science comes up, and you've got three kids who are just breaking loose. And my one student's also breaking loose that I'm normally there for. And I'll be like, all right, cool. This is in. Hey, like, it seems like we're all struggling with this. Like, how about we all come together and we all work and we walk it through in that specific. I'll take all those kids who are having that issue with that subject, and we'll break it down, we'll go slower until they understand it. And that kind of pauses whatever they're going through that was making them resist.

And I have said this before, there are students who exhibit behaviors not because they're bad kids, but they would rather be known as the troubled child, the bad child, than the stupid child. So when I group all these kids who are struggling together and we break down the fact that, okay, it is just a gap in understanding this concept, then suddenly some of those behaviors just drop. Then they start learning, and maybe next week I'm there, yes, two of them still go through, but then they see me walk through, and they know that we'll go down and we'll slow down and we'll talk it through in a way that they can understand it. And I've had behavior reduction in whole classrooms just that way, as long as I can pass that information off to the staff member and they decide to honor it.

Because the number of students I meet who have been labeled ‘as they can't join a group’ or ‘grouping isn't going to work because of…’ No, just group them together. Find out what the common issue is, especially when it's around a certain subject or a certain class, or a certain whatever. Nine times out of ten, they'd rather be known as having a tantrum than being stupid, even though they're not stupid. It's just, I need you to go slower. But because everyone else understands it, I don't understand it. How can I get out of this? Throw a tantrum, get sent to the principal, or get sent to the calm down corner or whatever, because then I don't have to show that I don't understand this. Is that more aligned with what you were asking?

Yeah. So often, we see our staff have the perspective that flexible grouping means you are the kids with the problems, and therefore, I'm going to remove you from having your problem impact anybody else. And to a certain extent, yes, there are absolutely times where that is the appropriate decision. And then you're layering in specific supports so that they can then learn those skills and reintegrate and all of that. Yes to all of that.

But I appreciate what you're saying, but sometimes those things are because of all of this other context that we started talking about at the beginning of this conversation. And so we can't just group based on behavior for the sole purpose of excluding to save everybody else, that it's okay, let's get that group, and let's figure out what's going on behind this behavior. Because, like you just said, sometimes it's academic, sometimes it's just a misunderstanding. Sometimes it's ‘I have gaps, and I don't even know how to communicate that I have gaps in these things, and so I just don't know any of it.’ When in reality, no, it's just a frustration tolerance issue.

So there are all these things that are really hiding behind the behavior. That's why I wanted to make sure that you had some time to speak to ‘it's not just, oh, they have behavior, great, just group them, exclude them, and deal with everybody else.’ That you can actually intentionally include students who have really challenging behaviors or challenging social dynamics that are happening in classrooms. But to be able to include them in a way where we can see where that is actually coming from makes the intervention so much more powerful, so much more successful, so much faster. So, yes, thank you for sharing a little bit about that.

I mean, just the amount of times I've had kids come to the table and they're crying, they're whatever, yelling at me, and just going, ‘I can't understand you when you're speaking like that. Let's take a deep breath. What is the issue?’ And nine times out of 10, ‘I don't get it’ is the answer. ‘Cool. So how can I help you understand it? Hey, look, Johnny doesn't get it either. Sarah doesn't get it either. Michael understands a little bit more.’ So maybe bring in Michael. And I've had students calm down and actually participate. And then, as we work through it as staff, honor it, they can join any group after they've understood the concept and will actually enjoy the content.

I had one student where that's how we work through English. On the computer, he disliked it so much because he didn't understand it and wouldn't join any group. He'd be sent to the back of the corner to chill. You don't understand it, but this other student understands it. How about you all you guys work together? It's gamified already. Try to beat each other's scores. If you don't understand how to beat this level, this other student has already beaten that level. And we got to the point where that student was joining the teacher up front, being able to sit at his desk and do his IXL, and it did not take a week, it did not take two weeks. It took me a good six months of working with that student to be able to get him there. But that's because we intentionally grouped him with someone who knew it and was then he was able to join any other group doing the same activity that at one point had frustrated him.

Well, thank you so much for sharing all these different examples of ways that you have supported your local teachers with whom you're working to leverage flexible grouping. If it's for academics, if it's for social, with language acquisition, it could be for behavior. All these different ways that there is so much power behind the use of flexible grouping, and it is dynamic. It is not just a set-it-and-forget-it and forget it. It's not just running a certain score, and that gives us the answers.

It's really complex in all of the different types of variables or criteria that really need to be considered as part of creating those groups. So thank you for bringing that forward because I know that is a lot of what you are doing out here with trying to help our students integrate into what's going on around them.

And the final thing I'll say is it changes daily. So don't be afraid to change up your groups. Just because it worked this week does not mean it'll work next week. Just because it works today does not mean it'll work tomorrow. Be intentional about it and care for your students as well.

Exactly. Couldn't have said it better. Thank you so much.

Thanks for having me.

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It's one thing to be taught by a teacher. It's another to be taught by a peer.

Manny Huecias

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Special education teachers master the art of flexible grouping to tailor instruction and address individual student needs. The grouping patterns they use are highly adaptable, shifting between homogeneous and heterogeneous small groups, pairs, whole-class settings, and individual instruction as lesson goals and objectives evolve. This dynamic approach not only accommodates varying learning needs but also fosters meaningful academic interactions and collaborative skills among students.


Research and professional organizations, such as the International Literacy Association and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, support the use of flexible grouping. Within this framework, special educators often utilize small groups—typically consisting of two to six students—for targeted, intensive instruction. These small groups can be homogeneous, composed of students with similar abilities to tackle specific skills and concepts, or heterogeneous, where students of varying skill levels collaborate on grade-level content and enhance interpersonal relationships.


Homogeneous groups are particularly effective for concentrated instruction on high-priority skills. Teachers design these groups to address short-term goals, using explicit instruction techniques and strategies to maximize student engagement and response opportunities. Smaller group sizes, sometimes as few as one or two students, have proven especially beneficial for improving achievement, with added time and focused practice further supporting student mastery.


Conversely, heterogeneous groups mix students with different knowledge and skill levels to enrich discussions, facilitate collaborative problem-solving, and improve social dynamics. In these groups, teachers set collaborative tasks, encourage productive interactions, and ensure all students have equal opportunities to contribute and learn. By monitoring interactions closely and providing consistent feedback, teachers help sustain group cohesion and maximize learning outcomes.


Overall, flexible grouping enables special education teachers to meet varying student needs effectively while enhancing both academic and social development.


When it comes to grouping students, teachers constantly adapt their approach based on the specific skills or learning activities they are targeting. These groupings are not static; they shift in response to students' evolving needs, skill levels, and knowledge. The art of effective grouping lies in the teacher’s ability to make agile, informed decisions that address these needs.


This flexibility in grouping is crucial but doesn't operate in isolation. For it to truly enhance student performance, it must be complemented by other High-Leverage Practices (HLPs). For instance, decisions about group size and the instructional methods used within these groups should align with data-informed practices and other HLPs, such as HLPs 2 and 6, which emphasize creating a positive learning environment and using data to inform instruction. In essence, while flexible grouping is a powerful tool in itself, its effectiveness is amplified when integrated with a broader strategy of skilled instructional practices.


Teachers who excel in using flexible groupings understand the power of adapting their approach to fit students' needs and learning goals. They seamlessly vary group sizes—sometimes opting for whole groups, other times breaking down into smaller clusters—depending on what's most effective for the lesson at hand. They also carefully choose between homogeneous groups, where students with similar abilities work together to tackle specific goals, and heterogeneous groups, where varying abilities mix to enhance discussions and foster stronger interpersonal connections among students.


In practice, these teachers might employ cooperative learning structures like jigsaw or quiz-quiz-trade to address a wide array of instructional objectives, from academic to behavioral to interpersonal skills. They stay attuned to the dynamics within these groups, closely monitoring both individual learning progress and group interactions. Holding students accountable, both as individuals and as a team, helps strengthen personal responsibility and encourages positive interdependence. By providing varied opportunities for all students to engage actively, these educators ensure that every student remains involved and invested in their learning journey.


To truly support teachers in using flexible groupings effectively, school leaders should start by offering comprehensive instruction and professional development focused on the nuances of grouping strategies. It’s crucial to observe how teachers implement these groupings in their classrooms and provide targeted feedback to refine their approach, ensuring that the practice meets its intended goals and offers constructive guidance when needed.


Encouraging educators—whether they’re co-teaching partners, solo teachers, or teams—to experiment with various grouping configurations can be incredibly beneficial. Highlight the versatility of flexible groupings, reminding them of the broad range of instructional objectives these configurations can address. Given that managing and implementing flexible groups can be complex, it’s essential for leaders to regularly check in with teachers who might be struggling. By helping them pinpoint specific challenges and collaboratively finding solutions, leaders can greatly enhance the effectiveness of this dynamic teaching strategy.


Assessing the effectiveness of flexible grouping can be challenging because it involves a range of instructional setups—from individual work to whole class activities—that change based on students' needs and learning goals. Essentially, flexible grouping functions like an intervention package, with its success dependent on isolating and studying each component of its implementation. To fully understand its impact, we need more empirical studies that delve into the decision-making processes behind flexible grouping strategies.


Research shows that both homogeneous and heterogeneous small-group arrangements, when designed and implemented effectively, can enhance a range of academic and interpersonal outcomes. For these groups to be successful, they need to be structured with careful selection of goals, tasks, and materials, clear instructional guidance, and strategies to ensure that every student has the chance to engage and contribute equally. As with any teaching practice, it's crucial for teachers to monitor student performance closely, offer timely and constructive feedback, and ensure that students are accountable for their own and each other's progress.

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