Ability grouping can be applied in both regular and special education systems. The system encourages dividing classes into small instructional groups. In simple words, this is the practice of placing learners of similar academic ability in the same class group differently from the placement that is based on age or grade level. Mathias Nkeeto, an educator at Green Hills Academy says this kind of grouping normally consists of a low number of students, from five to ten depending on the number of students in a class. From different reports, Nkeeto says it has been shown that grouping learners offers both benefits to learners and teachers in general. Learners receive more individual attention than they would in a large classroom setting. For instance, he says on the side of an educator, this kind of teaching helps them gain a better understanding of ability grouping and its advantages as well as disadvantages. Jane Nakaayi, another educator from Riviera High school believes that both students and educators can benefit from ability grouping. She mentions that some of the potential positive effects of ability grouping include learners receiving more individual attention than they would in a large classroom setting, especially if the students are in small groups. Nakaayi also notes that it’s important for educators to put in mind that when all students are working on similar skill levels, individual students may feel less intimidated about participating in the discussion and sharing their work with others in the group. For this reason, she notes that teachers can target instruction to the needs of a smaller group rather than attempting to meet a broader range of needs for all students in a full-sized classroom. “When this is applied, it will definitely allow the teacher to be more efficient in their planning, which also helps them identify that high ability students learn more than low ability ones, and at the end, it guides you as an educator on how best you can help,” she says. Meanwhile, Nkeeto notes that when it comes to ability grouping, it also kind of increases student achievement by allowing teachers to focus on their agendas and goals as far as teaching is concerned. Besides, he adds that this mode of teaching is just one way of giving educators an opportunity to adjust the pace of instruction according to students’ needs. Educators also urge that ability grouping practice enables teachers to cater to students’ needs, pace as well as enable them to navigate classroom challenges. Aminadhad Niyonshuti, an English teacher in Kigali believes that ability grouping also comes with the benefits of providing support to each student. Besides, he notes that this kind of teaching can as well enable teachers to tailor instruction to the specific needs of their students, which is vital when it comes to catering to the needs of each and every student. “In a whole class approach, ability grouping also comes with the advantage of allowing both learners and educators to broadly discuss and listen to each other,” he says. On the other hand, Niyonshuti points out that this mode of teaching is also one of the effective strategies that can help students learn at a comfortable pace.
