Following the guidelines provided on pp. 30–31 of your textbook, develop a purpose statement and a corresponding research question for a topic in education that you are interested in researching. Next, discuss (1) the theoretical background for this topic, and (2) why you are interested in examining this specific topic. (400 words)

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Purpose Statement

The main purpose of my study is to determine if ability grouping in classrooms, or within grade levels, is something that is widely utilized and continually promotes growth for students in respect to literacy instruction.  A related purpose is to determine whether students make greater improvements in literacy instruction when they are ability grouped for reading, writing and word study versus learning in a standard structured classroom.

Research Question(s)

1.    To what extent is ability grouping utilized for reading, writing and word study instruction?

2.    Does ability grouping for literacy instruction promote student growth and gains reading, writing and word study?

3.    Does ability grouping for literacy instruction promote more student growth than standard classroom settings?

Theoretical Background

Ability grouping in classrooms is a practice that is commonly defined as dividing classes into small, ability based instructional groups.  This practice is most commonly used for reading instruction in most classrooms.  Students are typically grouped based on some form of standardized test score or by some common ability.  Ability grouping allows a teacher to reach the needs of students who are on the same targeted level.  A teacher can plan and implement similar instruction for students who are able to understand and comprehend the same materials instead of have a large variance of understanding when teaching all students the same material that may be too hard or too simple for some students.  While most teachers readily accept ability grouping practices and often use it for reading instruction, research should be examined to see if there is an explanation that determines if this is the best practice for literacy instruction.  Some students greatly benefit from being incorporated into a group of peers that are on the same ability level; however, research should be examined to see if this is the best method for all students and to ensure that academic growth is being shown from ability grouped instruction. 

Personal Interest

            I am personally interested in examining ability grouping because I recently moved into a grade and school in which ability grouping is widely practiced.  I have also had to incorporate ability grouping in my regular instruction, as we ability group by grade level.  I am most interested in ability grouping as it is related to literacy instruction, because this is what I regularly use it for.  As a grade level, we switch for reading instruction, word study and writing.  I am teaching the “low” group and I can see where there are instances that are hard to teach without the “high” kids to give you insight and relate to other students within each other’s zone of proximal development.  I often wonder how beneficial ability grouping is for those students who are “low” versus those students who are “high”.  I feel that students should benefit from each other as the Biblical quote from 1 Thessalonians 5:11 states, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”  I hope to learn from current research to help lead my own classroom instruction and also see positive correlation between ability grouping and student achievement.

References

Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2010). Applying educational research: how to read, do, and use research to solve problems of practice (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

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