Small group tuition |

Small group tuition

Small group tuition is defined as one teacher or professional educator working with two to five pupils together in a group. This arrangement enables the teacher to focus exclusively on a small number of learners, usually in a separate classroom or working area. Intensive tuition in small groups is often provided to support lower attaining learners or those who are falling behind, but it can also be used as a more general strategy to ensure effective progress, or to teach challenging topics or skills.

How effective is it?

Overall, evidence shows that small group tuition is effective and, as a rule of thumb, the smaller the group the better. Tuition in groups of two has a slightly higher impact than in groups of three, but a slightly lower impact than one to one tuition. Some studies suggest that greater feedback from the teacher, more sustained engagement in smaller groups, or work which is more closely matched to learners’ needs explains this impact. Once group size increases above six or seven there is a noticeable reduction in effectiveness.

However, although the above pattern is broadly consistent, there is some variability in impact within the existing evidence. For example, in reading, small group teaching can sometimes be more effective than either one to one or paired tuition. It may be that in these cases reading practice can be efficiently organised so that all the pupils stay fully engaged as each take their turn, such as in Guided Reading.

The variability in findings suggests two things. First, the quality of the teaching in small groups may be as or more important than the precise group size (there is evidence of the benefits of staff professional development on pupil outcomes). Second, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of different arrangements, as the specific subject matter being taught and composition of the groups may influence outcomes.

Given the uncertainty and the lower cost, small group tuition may be a sensible approach to trial before considering to one to one tuition.

Latin American evidence:

Small group tuition is an educational research topic where there is scarce evidence regarding its impact on academic performance or learning improvement among school students in the region. However, it is possible to find some indirect evidence of the positive effects of this type of intervention in other areas of study such as feedback, meta-cognition and collaborative learning. What has been found is that activities developed in small groups help to create an environment of mutual trust and more participation. They also enable students to produce better work in class. Since there is some evidence in Latin America about the positive effects of this intervention in tertiary education, it seems promising to explore further the impact that small group tuition can have on academic performance among students of primary and secondary level, especially as the international evidence shows that the average impact is positive.

How secure is the evidence?

The evidence mainly relates to low-attaining pupils receiving additional support to catch up with their peers. More research has been undertaken into paired tuition than other kinds of small group tuition, so the evidence for small group teaching across varying sizes of groups and at different levels of intensity is not conclusive and mainly comes from single studies. There are very few studies where group size has been varied systematically to explore the effects beyond one to two and one to three, so more research would be useful in this area. Overall, the evidence is limited.

To date, the majority of the evidence comes from the USA. However, in recent years a growing number of rigorous UK studies have been conducted. In a 2014 evaluation Year 6 and 7 pupils made an additional three months’ progress with Switch-on Reading, a structured programme involving small group tuition. In addition, an intensive coaching programme that involved one to one and small group tuition had an average impact of five additional months' progress.

A 2011 evaluation of Every Child Counts also found that the programme had a positive impact when delivered on a one to one basis or with groups of two or three, with all group sizes making similar amounts of progress.

What are the costs?

Overall, costs are estimated as moderate. Costs decrease as group size increases because the majority of the costs are for staff time.

What should I consider?

Before you implement this strategy in your learning environment, consider the following:

Small group tuition is most likely to be effective if it is targeted at pupils’ specific needs. How will you assess pupils' needs accurately before adopting a new approach?
One to one tuition and small group tuition are both effective interventions. However, the cost effectiveness of one to two and one to three indicates that greater use of these approaches may be worthwhile. Have you considered trying one to two or one to three as an initial option?
Training and support are likely to increase the effectiveness of small group tuition. Have those delivering the small group tuition been trained in the programme they are using?