Techniques for Forming Groups

Forming groups should be intentional and based on student readiness and the purpose of the task. Use the resources on this page to decide your grouping criteria and specific techniques you want to use.
SHAPE America Appropriate Practices
  • 1.7.1 Teachers develop learning experiences that help all students understand the nature and the different kinds of competition.
  • 1.7.2 Students are given opportunities to choose their competitive environment. Physical educators encourage positive competitive situations through personal goal setting and/ or team play.
  • 1.7.3 Students are guided to understand that some students prefer competitive situations, while others don’t; and either preference is acceptable.
  • 2.2.1 Physical educators form pairs, groups and teams in ways that preserve every student’s dignity and self-respect.
Techniques for forming groups
Use the following techniques to form groups (also see this Twitter Chat on the topic). Don't forget to establish a "Lost and Found" for students who can't find a group to speed up the grouping process and eliminate potential embarrassment. It is also helpful to teach students how to react when asked to be in a group (see this example rubric).
  • ​Barnyard: Students are given a list of animals to imitate. Students imitating the same animal become groups.
  • Blind Draft: Captains pick teams but do not know which team they will captain.
  • Canoe: Students form groups by sitting single file as if they were in a canoe.
  • Categories: Use categories or questions to create groups such as height, birth month, eye color, etc. Repeat until you are happy with the groups.
  • Colors: Use wristbands, hair ties, snap bracelets, etc.​​​​​
  • Corner Up: Students stand in two lines which create an "L" shape. Fold the lines to assign partners.
  • Criteria: Give students specific criteria for choosing their own groups.
  • Deception: Form students into two lines facing each other. Create new partner groups by shifting one of the lines to the left or right (person at the end of the line rotates to the front).
  • Goes Together: Students select a word from a list and then find a partner who has a word that goes with it. For example, students with peanut butter must find students with jelly.
  • Half and Half: Each student picks a partner and then the teacher combines pairs to form larger groups.
  • ​Matching - Stickers, Name Tags, Colors, Cards, etc: Use objects to create groups. For example, students are grouped by the suit on their poker card.
  • Mingle Mingle: When the teacher says "mingle mingle," students circulate in a small space. The teacher then calls out a grouping such as "Toe to toe with 2 other people." Repeat until you are happy with the groups.​
  • ​Popsicle Sticks: Write student names on popsicle sticks. Randomly pull sticks to form groups.
  • Scenarios: Students first pick a partner. Then give them a scenario such as "You and your partner have to cross a river but only one of you can take a boat. Who will swim and who will use the boat?" Group all of the students who chose boat together and all of the students who picked swim together.
  • Splitting Groups: Ask students to get into groups. Then have 1 student from each group raise their hand and combine those with their hands raised. Repeat with the remaining students in each group.
  • Stand or Sit: Students pick a partner. They then choose one person to stand and one person to sit. All sitters are a team, all standers are a team.
  • Team Switching: You can easily change already formed groups by switching students from each group that have something in common. For example, "Who has a birthday in March?" Students who have that birthday switch place.
IMPROVING GROUP COHESION
Strategies for the Teacher
  • Avoid excessive turnover of members.​​
  • Communicate importance of each student role.​
  • Conduct periodic team meetings.​
  • Create group identity and group pride (team name, colors, etc.).​
  • Discuss what effective communication is. ​​
  • Have students get to know each other.​
  • Set challenging groups goals.
Strategies for the Student
  • Communicate honestly and openly. ​
  • Establish group norms and take personal responsibility for actions.
  • Get to know group members.
  • Give 100% effort to the group.
  • Give positive reinforcement to group members.
  • Help group members whenever possible.
The Tuckman Model
Stages from Tuckman Model
Click to Enlarge
grouping students by skill?
Before deciding on your grouping strategy, you should first consider the objectives for the task. Based on the objectives you can then choose what the appropriate number of students per group should be, whether homogeneous or heterogeneous grouping is appropriate, and whether students should have input/choice on their grouping. Heterogeneous grouping includes having a diversity among students in a variety of categories, such as: prior experience with content, psychomotor ability, cognitive ability, social ability, learning style, gender, race, ethnicity, and primary language spoken.
Benefits of Grouping by Skill
  • ​Can promote interpersonal skills.​​
  • Easier to create more individualized instruction.
  • Environment may be less intimidating for students of lower abilities.
  • Safety may be increased with players of similar skill levels.
Potential Issues of Grouping by Skill
  • ​Can create a social hierarchy based on placement.​
  • Can create negative feelings based on placement.
  • Homogeneous grouping is not representative of our society.
INDIVIDUAL, COOPERATIVE, OR COMPETITIVE GOALS?
All three of these goal orientations have a place in physical education. Choose the format based on your students' needs, what they are ready for, and what the objectives for the lesson/unit are. Also see these articles: Is Participation More Important Than Competition?, On Community, Cooperation, and Competition​ and ​The Case Against Competition.
​​Individual
  • Students should be able to work independently, self assess their own performance, and require little assistance.
  • Students should understand that success is based on their personal performances and growth.
Competitive
  • Students should be able to play by the rules, assess whether rules have been violated, and play with good sportspersonship.​
  • Students should understand that success is based on whether their performance was better than their opponent's performance.
​Cooperative
  • Groups should be able to debrief at the end of the activity.
  • Students should be able to provide positive feedback to each other and employ collaborative skills.
  • Students should understand that success is based on the team and that each student should be responsible for their own contribution.
HAVING COMPETITIVE AND RECREATIONAL LEAGUES
You can increase student engagement and satisfaction by splitting the class into recreational and competitive leagues. Instead of asking the students which league they want to be in directly, have them fill out a questionnaire with guiding questions. Using their answers, you can split them up into appropriate teams so that they are playing with and against people with the same expectations. See the examples below and search online for more examples. 
Resources Used for this Page
  • Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Weinberg, R. & Gould, D. (2006).