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Small Group Strategies and Individual Instruction

Objective

In this workshop you will examine the fundamentals of preparing to teach a lesson and review numerous instructional strategies that can be used as-is or modified to fit the style of a particular student or teacher.

This lesson will focus on small group strategies and individual instruction.

We will take a look at the following small group strategies:

We will then discuss these techniques for individual student instruction:

Small Group Instruction

The following teaching techniques are designed for use with small groups.

Flexible Grouping

Flexible grouping is one method of differentiating instruction based on the achievement levels of the students. In this model, students are separated based on their demonstrated achievement and offered differing types of instruction. For instance, within a classroom, the teacher may divide the class into two groups. In one group, the teacher may engage the students in a remedial activity while in the other group the students may work on an enrichment activity. Both groups are still responsible for understanding the curricular concepts. However, one group may extend their understanding beyond the minimum requirements established by the curriculum.

An extension of flexible grouping occurs when multiple teachers cooperate to form a larger pool of possibilities. Whenever two or more teachers are teaching the same subject at the same time, flexible grouping opportunities may be extended to engage multiple teachers. In this scenario, the teachers sort the students into smaller groups based on the needs of the students. The teachers can then specialize and work with the flexible groups that reflect the curricular preference of the teacher. This allows a teacher to concentrate on a particular subject area and teach it to all of the students rather than teaching all of the curricular areas to just one class of students. Flexible grouping is one way to reorganize the class so that students with similar needs receive instruction that targets those areas.

Flexible groups are fluid. Students may move from one group to another as their characteristics or achievement levels change. Flexible grouping is not a method for tracking students.

Nominal Brainstorming

Nominal brainstorming is a modification of brainstorming that gives everyone in a group the chance to respond. Each student provides a response and then waits until all the other students respond before providing a second response. The responses continue in this manner until every student has exhausted their supply of responses.

Nominal brainstorming is a more controlled technique than brainstorming. It is particularly useful in engaging students who are reluctant or shy learners.

Think-Pair-Share

In this strategy, students are first assigned a question to which they compose an individual response. Next, they are placed in pairs and allowed to discuss, share, and combine their responses into a new response that reflects the thinking of both students. The teacher can then require that these pairs present their combined response to the class. An extension of this strategy is the think-pair-share-square where two pairs unite to become a foursome and a third response is generated. Another variation of this strategy is the timed-pair-share, which is helpful in the event that one student tends to dominate the discussion. In this strategy, each group is given a timer and each student is allowed a designated amount of time to speak, such as one minute.

The think-pair-share strategy is effective because students feel more pressure to perform well when they know they will have to present their work publicly and this tends to result in better quality work. Students also feel a sense of ownership in the class as a result of this type of lesson.

Allowing numerous groups to respond to the same question may seem repetitious, but repetition is a helpful practice for beginning learners. The teacher can adjust the amount of repetition based on the needs of the students and the amount of time available.

Cooperative Learning Groups

Cooperative learning refers to a set of instructional techniques in which students work together in small groups to complete an assignment or project. Students are assigned individual roles such as that of a facilitator, recorder, or time-keeper and are given the opportunity to share their knowledge of the topic. Teachers have modified the “one size fits all” cooperative learning model to create a variety of models that serve unique purposes such as grouping students across age and subject area.

As with all group methods, special rules are necessary to ensure that groups are working as a team and moving toward a common goal rather than acting as a group of individuals looking for individual rewards. Teachers are advised to determine a two-tier assessment system before launching a cooperative learning assignment. One tier rewards the productivity of each learning group as a whole while the other tier assesses the productivity for each student within a group. Teachers are also advised to communicate the assignment and directions clearly so that students are prevented from wasting class time and can begin work immediately.

Asking students to work in cooperative groups is an effective technique as long as the roles are understood and student behavior is at an acceptable level.

Flash Cards

Why have flash cards been around for such a long time? The answer is that they are a proven technique. In its simplest form, a flash card is a writable surface with a question on one side and the answer on the other side. They reflect material from a particular unit. Either the teacher or the students may create them. Flash cards are extremely valuable tools for learning letters, vocabulary and symbols. They are also great for review purposes and for students who need extra assistance. In addition, a teacher can use flash cards for whole-class recitation, or pairs of students can use them to quiz each other.

Interview

Teachers arrange student-student interviews for two primary reasons. First, students interview one another using questions provided by the teacher to find out as much about the other student as possible during an ice-breaking activity. Second, students can also interview each other to share their explanations of a current curricular concept or about the content of a previous lesson. Teachers may also decide to allow individuals or teams to report their conclusions or findings to the rest of the class. The interview method increases student interaction and provides repetition.

Group Discussion

Generally students don’t need to be encouraged to talk. In fact, school hallways, cafeterias, and sometimes even classrooms are full of students’ chatter. This type of communication can be channeled into a productive instructional group discussion with proper guidance.

Carefully planned group discussions promote student interaction, learning and higher level reasoning and they can target numerous instructional strategies such as inquiry, review, and problem solving. Through group discussions, teachers can observe their students in a different setting and gain greater insight into the nature of individual students. They also serve as a formative method for determining the achievement level of the class which is helpful for planning lessons.

The two main types of discussions are guided and reflective discussions, each of which serves a different purpose. A guided discussion augments a basic understanding of the content and requires students to interpret, describe, generalize, synthesize, and/or summarize their prior knowledge. The teacher facilitates a guided discussion by asking thoughtful questions that lead students to a defined curricular point.

A reflective discussion, in contrast, requires students to think creatively and critically. The teacher begins a reflective discussion by asking an introductory question on a contemporary and/or controversial topic. The students formulate their opinions on the topic and support them with facts from prior knowledge. The teacher’s role shifts from that of a facilitator to a moderator as the students’ discussion matures.

So what are the elements of an effective group discussion? The initial question, opinion, or situation posed by the teacher must be broad enough to allow for an engaged discussion. Factual questions or those with a simple yes or no answer elicit little discussion. The teacher should clearly communicate both the desired format for the discussion and the expected outcome. For instance, if the teacher decides to divide the students into teams, this will have to be explained to the class. If the teacher wants to seat the students in a circle to facilitate the discussion, this will also need to be done in an organized way.

After the discussion begins, the teacher will need to monitor the flow of conversation to ensure that it moves toward the desired behavioral and curricular outcomes. Yet, once this flow has been established, the teacher should remove himself or herself from the discussion so that the interplay between the students can increase and they can take ownership of the discussion. The teacher’s role should then be more of a moderator than a leader. Teachers sometimes fail to remove themselves from a discussion because they are afraid of losing control of the class or because they want to help the students arrive at the answer, but when a teacher remains involved or re-enters the discussion, he or she tends to take control away from the students.

As the moderator, the teacher might call on certain students to encourage them to participate or ask the speaker to call on the next responder. In some cases, when the discussion is too far off-curriculum, the teacher should intervene and reframe the discussion with another leading question. However, in most cases, student-led discussions are preferred.

Learning Centers

Learning centers are specific areas within a classroom where the teacher has prepared a mini-lesson for the students to utilize. They allow the teacher to present a variety of related curricular topics and to build knowledge through repetition. Learning centers are a great way to increase student movement and interaction and the students usually enjoy moving from one station to another.

To implement learning centers, the teacher must break down large curricular items into mini-lessons that vary in time and complexity but are attainable by the students in a 2-10 minute time span. Note that student rotation will go smoother if the time allotment for each center is similar. The teacher then assigns a small group to each center and allows the students to complete the task presented at that center. When this task is complete, the teacher directs the flow of students to the next learning center in an organized manner. After the students have visited each learning center, they debrief as a group and then report their findings to the entire class.

Another variation on the learning center model is to establish long-term learning centers. This type of center is designed as an opportunity for students to enrich or remediate their learning. Students typically access these centers during downtime in their schedule, such as when they finish a test early, in the time before or after school, or at other times with the teacher’s permission. It is helpful to locate long-term learning centers in a separate section of the room so that students have easy access to them but they are not disruptive to the remainder of the class.

Learning centers serve as another method to introduce differentiation into a classroom.

Jigsaw

One strategy for increasing student interaction while covering multiple topics is to implement a jigsaw. The jigsaw activity develops student-experts that share their information with other students in a small group setting. To implement a jigsaw, students are arranged in small groups called “expert groups.” The expert groups are given time to collaborate and learn a particular topic. Their goal is to become experts on that topic and to explain it to other students who are not in this initial group.

Once the student-experts have met for their allotted time, the teacher reconstitutes the groups. This regrouping process is designed to form a second set of groups, called “reporting groups,” so that the students can share the information they gained during the expert group experience. The reporting groups consist of at least one student-expert from each of the different expert groups. The goal of the reporting groups is to learn from the student-experts so that all of the students can become experts on each topic. The final result, therefore, is the creation of a class full of student-experts in all of the original topics provided by the teacher.

Numbered Heads Together

Numbered heads together is a good strategy for reviewing material, practicing vocabulary terms, reinforcing factual information, and assessing student knowledge. To begin this strategy, the teacher creates groups of four students. The students within a group are assigned numbers so that each student has a number from one to four. Next, the teacher asks the entire class a question and assigns the groups a set time to deliberate on the answer. The teacher then selects a number from one to four. The students from each group who were assigned that number answers the question for the remainder of the group. To shorten the procedure, the teacher may select a particular number from a particular group so that only one student is required to respond.

RAFT

RAFT is an acronym for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. The RAFT strategy helps students to apply what they have learned by creating something from a new perspective. This technique also allows students to demonstrate their creativity and to think “outside of the box.”

To implement this strategy, the teacher selects an overall topic that relates to one important aspect of the curriculum. However, the topic should be broad enough to allow the students a number of options to choose from, such as the effects of pollution, transportation in the twentieth century, the politics of trade, or human organ systems.

Next, the teacher collaborates with the students to determine what role the students will play or take on in their creation. In a unit on pollution, for example, a student could play a businessperson, a fish in the ocean, a politician, or a child growing up in the year 2108.

Following this step, the teacher collaborates with the students to select an audience to whom the students will be presenting. In the case of the fish in the ocean, it might be the person who is polluting the ocean.

In the last step, the teacher will need to determine the format of the students’ creation. Typically the format requires either a written or verbal response, however, it can be elaborated to include such things as a theatrical production. Using the example above, the students could be asked to create a comic strip from the point of view of the fish for the person who is polluting the ocean to show why pollution is harmful.

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Individual Instruction

The following teaching techniques are designed for use with individual students.

Individual Work

Allowing students to work alone is a powerful way to inform the teacher about the student’s capabilities and skills in a particular curricular concept. Successful individual work builds self-confidence and metacognitive strength. Occasionally combining group work with individual efforts is a great way to introduce variety into the classroom. In addition, certain students prefer to work alone and are sometimes frustrated by always having to work in a group setting. Individual work can also be used to demonstrate to a reluctant students how much they do not know and how beneficial it would be if they applied themselves more.

Certain students benefit from the use of a learning contract as a guideline for individual work. A learning contract is an agreement between the student and teacher that defines the scope, length, and due date of an assignment. It may also include allowable resources, benchmarks, and the criteria for evaluation. It is important for both parties to agree and perhaps to sign the contract before beginning the assignment.

Directed Silent Reading

Requiring students to read a particular selection is an effective way to increase their understanding of the material while promoting their reading prowess in a content class. This technique works best when the students are proficient in the reading strategies required for that lesson. For instance, students should be able to complete the pre-reading activities before beginning to read the assignment. This technique is enhanced when students are also required to complete an activity that allows them to use the information in the passage. For instance, students may be grouped to discuss aspects of the passage, or they may be required to write a summary or a response.

There are three areas of concern related to the directed silent reading technique. First, it raises the question of whether it is cost-effective to use class time to permit students to read. Would it be more efficient for the teacher to plan a different type of activity? After all, a student could take the same information home and read it for homework. Another issue is that the selection may prove to be too long or difficult for the students to read and understand within the time frame provided. Finally, teachers must make an effort to provide their students with a reason for reading the passage and make sure that they have the proper reading skills necessary for the task. Otherwise the students will not be able to comprehend the material and will become frustrated which will waste their time as well as the teacher’s.

Internet Search

An Internet search uses a search engine such as Google to find out more about a curricular topic given criteria established by the teacher. This type of search is the modern version of the library research event. Internet searches allow students the flexibility to research areas of individual interest. This strategy is useful if the teacher wants the students to have the most recent information and also helps the students to develop important Internet research skills.

Although an Internet search is an individual activity, students can work in pairs and share their findings to create a more interactive event. As we have already discussed, not all students have access to the Internet at home, so Internet searches may have to occur at a time and place where all students are guaranteed Internet availability. Teachers should also implement a “no fly zone” that prevents students from surfing prohibited sites that may not be blocked by the firewall.

Computer systems may overload or run very slowly if unusually high student usage occurs. Check the capacity of the system with the computer technician before scheduling an Internet search in a particular computer lab.

Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of student work that demonstrates a student’s level of achievement. Portfolios are an extension of the concept of the artist’s portfolio through which artists would bring samples of their work to predispose potential clients to purchase their creations. In a similar manner, students’ portfolios are assembled using their best work as evidence of their talents or understanding. Teachers can capitalize on portfolios by informing the students ahead of time that their next assignment will be eligible to go into the portfolio. If the teacher uses the portfolio as part of the students’ grade, students are more likely to work extra hard on that assignment. Teachers typically use summary events such as unit exams or projects as potential portfolio entries.

Portfolios also provide evidence for the student, teacher, and parents about the student’s academic achievement over an extended period of time and help them to make informed decisions about that student. This type of data is especially useful when setting personalized educational goals or petitioning to enter a special class or program. In some cases, schools may use portfolio assessments to measure students’ growth over the course of a school year or over many years.

Portfolios are a non-traditional form of assessment. Students will want their best work to go into their portfolio. Allowing students the opportunity and authority to select items for entry into their portfolio is an effective teaching strategy that increases students’ interest in their own education. However, teachers should retain the right to include academic artifacts that are representative of the students’ work.

Projects

Projects represent either individual or group efforts and focus on a wide range of curricular topics. Teachers can assign projects in a variety of modalities and in a student grouping that fits the characteristics of the assignment and the nature of the students. A project should be a natural outgrowth of the lesson sequence. It can be a musical event for a music class, a research paper for social studies or English class, or a science fair project for science class.

In general, projects are designed to allow the students a degree of freedom and creativity in investigating, compiling, and displaying a particular topic in a style that allows for personal expression. Projects also allow the teacher to insert fun into learning, such as when students create costumes for the characters in a story or present an interpretive dance performance. Teachers establish the boundaries for the project, but students are then free to construct their project within these parameters and pursue their personal interests within the curricular topic. It is often the case that students will engage with their project topic in far greater detail than required by the curriculum and that they go on to develop a particular interest in that subject area. Projects of this nature spark learning that may last forever.

When assigning projects, there are several rules to keep in mind. First, think through:

  • What curricular goals will the project address?
  • What exactly do you want the students to accomplish?
  • Is the project reasonable?
  • What types of resources are allowed or restricted?
  • How long do the students have to complete it?
  • To what degree can parents help?
  • How will you evaluate the project?

Be careful not to assign a project before all of these questions are answered.

Teachers often select short-term projects that are completed during class to enhance or review the curricula. Short, in-class projects tend to follow the flow of the curriculum. Projects that are completed within a class period or two are easier to monitor than those completed over longer periods of time. It should also be noted that projects completed during school are easier to monitor than those completed at home and projects completed by individuals are easier to monitor than group projects.

Longer projects are often completed after the curricular goals have been completed in class. For longer projects, teachers typically have students work on the projects both in class and out of school to allow for curricular enrichment and extension. This allows the students to access resources beyond the normal school inventory, such as local museums or libraries. When you assign large projects that are designed to be completed over time, provide the students with a complete description of the task with specific checkpoint milestones. This will provide a clear reminder of what the students are to accomplish and promote action by a periodic review of their progress.

Checkpoints are crucial for a lengthy project. Teachers can use class time to have the students display and explain their projects at each checkpoint. Since the projects reflect the curriculum, checkpoints reinforce lesson objectives.

Another significant time commitment is the display or class presentation of the project. If every group is allowed ten minutes of class time to explain their project, the amount of time required may be prohibitive. This is especially true if the assignment required individual projects. There are several other drawbacks to the project strategy:

  • If not completely thought through in advance by the teacher, projects can be a long-term disaster.
  • The amount of time dedicated to the project may not justify the results.
  • There are several hidden problems with the dynamics of group projects. Sometimes one student will do all or none of the work and yet receive the same credit as other students. Students who do not actively participate may not achieve understanding of the material or meet the curricular objectives.
  • The storage and transportation of projects may become troublesome.
  • Students may be expected to work for a length of time outside of the classroom, which may not be a realistic expectation. Also, if groups are supposed to meet at a time other than assigned class time, it may be difficult for students to arrange the meeting or transportation.
  • The checkpoints and completion date may extend into a non-supporting curricular unit and interrupt the flow of instruction.

Careful planning can eliminate or marginalize these issues, so if a project is in your future, a detailed plan of action should be in your present.

One way to add importance and encourage extra effort toward a project assignment is to display all the completed projects for a period of time in a commonly used area within the school. Whenever possible, coordinate with the administration to arrange for a public and prominent showcase of your students’ projects. The students will likely enjoy seeing their work proudly displayed. You could also enter the projects into a traveling display or competition.

Minute Paper

The minute paper is a brief 3 to 5 sentence narrative that the student writes and submits to the teacher. This activity can be implemented at any time during a lesson, depending upon the type of information the teacher is requesting. Typically, minute papers are a personal essay to the teacher indicating what the students have learned as a result of the lesson and identifying the remaining areas of trouble they are experiencing. Minute papers are effective because they require students to write down their own personal reflections. They are also valuable as a way to inform teachers of the success of the lesson and to identify future topics. The concept of a minute paper can be expanded to include asking students to write a minute paper on a curricular topic.

Double-Entry Notebook

A successful strategy that emphasizes note-taking and reviewing notes is the double-entry notebook. A double-entry notebook allows students to write personal messages at an appropriate location in order to highlight or emphasize a particular curricular concept.

There are a number of reasons for teachers to utilize a double-entry notebook. First, writing is an integral part of the learning process. By using this type of notebook, students practice one of the most vital and enduring functions common to all academic disciplines. A second reason is to provide students with a ready reference for each unit as well as a resource to consult when reviewing for an exam. Maintaining a double-entry notebook encourages students to become more organized. It also allows them to be creative and promotes the retention of information. Finally, a double-entry notebook can serve as a form of communication between the student, teacher, and parent(s). All interested parties can write notes directly into the notebook for sharing and communicating with each other.

A double-entry notebook can be created in a number of ways. One way is for the teacher to draw a line down the approximate middle of the page. Class and/or homework notes are written on either the right or left side of the line, based on the students’ preference. Any teacher or student comments that add meaning or importance to the notes are then written in the correct location on the other side of the line. Another method is for the students to leave adequate space above or below class and/or homework notes, also based on their preference. Students can then use these blank areas to write in useful information. The double-entry notebook is a method for students to organize their learning and to identify areas of special importance for study purposes.

Another way to organize the notebook is to use both the right and left sides of an open notebook. This format is designed to emphasize student learning as opposed to simply copying notes. It has specific guidelines that students and teachers follow to ensure that students are learning the curricular concepts.

This format can also serve as a useful pre-writing tool. The right side of the open notebook contains the “entry” information where students write notes from textual materials, lecture, discussions, and independent work. The left side of the notebook, which is the back side of the preceding page, contains the “final” or processed information. The left side is where students process the information from the right side and reconfigure the concepts in a different form, such as an illustration, graphic organizer, or cartoon along with a written explanation or description. This format requires the student to think about the concepts before re-expressing them on the left side. As yet another way to use this format, the student can annotate a message to the teacher in the left side next to a lecture note of interest. This type of message typically informs the teacher about how well the student understood the information.

Regardless of how the double-entry notebook is set up, the teacher should periodically review the notebook to determine the extent to which the student has internalized the content. The teacher then has the opportunity to respond accordingly. This allows teachers to rectify misunderstandings or misconceptions and also to gain insight into the personal level of achievement for each student, which is helpful when making decisions about future lesson plans.

Highlighting

Highlighting began as a reading strategy in which students highlighted vocabulary words, key parts of a topic sentence, or other important passages in order to draw special attention to them. From there, the practice expanded to include other subject areas. Students now use a variety of colored highlighters to emphasize important concepts, ideas, and skills. For instance, students highlight spelling words, word wall words, or parts of speech as they practice silently reading them. The main idea of a paragraph can be highlighted in one color while supporting details are highlighted in another color to distinguish the two. The teacher can highlight directions on a worksheet or assignment to demonstrate the value of focusing effort on them. The teacher can also separate multi-step directions into smaller steps by highlighting various steps in different colors. Highlighting is fun for students to do, adds color to their learning, and serves an educational purpose at the same time.

When teaching students how to highlight, consider the following rule: highlight as few words as possible to achieve meaning. Highlighting can also be modeled on an overhead projection system. Dedicating different colors to different functions clarifies instruction.

Differentiation

Differentiation is a technique that allows the teacher to treat students differently based on their academic needs. In a differentiated classroom, the teacher assesses the academic level of the students and then prepares a variety of lessons that meet the students on their levels and provides specific ways for each student to learn in their own unique way. They do not assume that one type of instructional modality is suitable for all children since learners differ in their preferred modality, their personal interests, and the length of time they need to fully understand a topic. It is thought that differentiating instruction removes instructional hurdles and allows students to achieve at a higher level. Teachers who utilize differentiation hold high standards for all students but realize that the mechanism for promoting students to higher levels varies with the diversity of the students.

The following list of instructional techniques is helpful in differentiating a lesson. Teachers may modify these ideas to fit their individual classroom situations.

  • Summary activities are independent curricular-based projects that the students can personalize. Although typically completed at the individual level, students can be grouped to further discuss their results.
  • Open-ended assignments target a curricular process, such as creative problem solving or critical thinking, and allow students a degree of individual freedom. To magnify this strategy, allow students to complete a hands-on project. This technique is useful as both an individual and group strategy.
  • Authentic situations allow students to understand difficult concepts in real world terms that they can relate to in meaningful and specific ways. The authenticity should reflect community values, vernacular, and other localized characteristics.
  • Learning centers allow students varying amounts of time to complete multiple tasks which increases the opportunity for differentiation.
  • Flexible grouping is a good way to group students with similar academic characteristics. It is important to know that flexible groups are fluid. Students can move between groups as their needs mature.
  • Flexible pacing allows time to work for the students instead of against them. Flexing time does not give students an unlimited amount of time to complete a task but it does eliminate unnecessary or trivial content to provide additional time for struggling learners.

Knowing a variety of instructional strategies is a necessity for teachers. It is important for teachers to be able to apply the correct strategy to effectively reach all of their students.

As a friend who worked in construction used to remind me, it is important to know the right tool to use. You cannot use a table saw to hammer a nail.

Tiered Lessons (or Tiered Curriculum)

Tiered lessons or layered lessons are a series of teacher-generated, curricular-based activities that differentiate instruction according to the academic needs of the students so they can learn in their preferred modality. Similarly, students with diverse needs are instructionally accommodated and enabled to master the same curricular concepts and process skills. Tiered lessons provide one way to ensure that students with different learning needs receive more personalized instruction in the same basic curriculum.

Structuring a learning unit so that students receive a menu of activities is the simplest form of creating tiered lessons. The teacher creates a series of lessons with different modalities that remain true to the intent of the curriculum. Students either select or are assigned those lessons that are specific to their preferred learning style. It is important that the teacher establish a minimum level of required work in each lesson that each student must successfully complete to provide evidence of curricular mastery while also creating additional lessons that extend student thinking beyond the minimum curricular limits. The activities may vary according to learning style, degree of enrichment, and the amount of time required for completion.

Preparing and implementing tiered activities is a different task for the teacher than more traditional lesson planning. Tiered lessons require the teacher to front load the unit plan by preparing all the lessons to be ready for student use on the first day of study for the unit. Once the students begin to work on their lessons, the teacher becomes a facilitator and assists students as needed. This technique allows the teacher to interact more effectively than is possible in a more traditional setting. Students tend to prefer this strategy because they can work on an activity that aligns with their background and have ready access to the teacher. Because they like this format, students complete more work at an increased level of proficiency.

Tiered lessons match students’ readiness and preferred learning style with appropriate activities. Students learn to become independent of the teacher and interdependent among themselves.

Review Questions

  1. Which strategies require the students to think at an analysis or synthesis level?
  2. Which strategies are useful for recalling factual material?
  3. Which techniques do not interrupt the flow of the lesson?
  4. If the teacher wanted to focus on a particular curricular topic, which strategies would be most useful?

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