Group Categorization and Sorting

What is it?

Group Categorization and Sorting enables students to arrange information into relational components. This strategy can assist students in identifying connections and patterns between concepts that are sometimes better described in visual representations. Consequently, this can assist students in finding significance in the material they are studying, thereby increasing their motivation to understand it. Group Grid is an example of a graphic organizational technique that applies this type of strategy. With Group Grid, students can improve their ability to categorize and explain conceptual categories by organizing and classifying material in a grid format.

This is a versatile strategy that may be applied to a wide range of educational goals. It can offer a structure, for instance, for assembling and classifying concepts for debate, composition, or study. With this strategy, students can clarify conceptual categories and hone their sorting abilities by placing or sorting information in the blank cells of a grid or table. This type of activity can effectively illustrate the coherence and comprehensiveness of a group’s or individual student’s ideas as well as the areas of strength and weakness in their comprehension.

This method is generally most helpful in introductory level courses where students are developing a foundational understanding of the materials through acquiring new vocabulary, and attempting to comprehend a discipline’s classification guidelines. This process facilitates students’ transition from surface to deeper learning by the use of conceptual organization, which also helps them retain the knowledge.

Alternative applications of this strategy

Use two-column grids with a range of categories, such as pros and cons, costs and benefits, advantages and drawbacks, problems and solutions, cause and effect, fact or fiction.
Provide grids with just the categories on them rather than the lists of things students need to organize, and then ask them to create the topics to write in the cells.
Or, provide students with grids that just have the items in the cells and ask them to name the categories.

Skills Promoted

Group Collaboration
Deep Learning
Foundational Knowledge
Integration and Synthesis
Critical Thinking

Who's using it?

SALTISE community members who use this strategy and are willing to share advice and/or resources.

Institution	Discipline	Instructor	Classroom settings
Dawson College Level: College	Social sciences	Cory Legassic	Low-tech: Whiteboards; High tech: Shared online board - Activity: Gender Socialization throughout the Life Course Classroom size: 20-49 View resources used

Institution

Discipline

Instructor

Classroom settings

Dawson College

Level: College

Social sciences

Cory Legassic

Low-tech: Whiteboards; High tech: Shared online board - Activity: Gender Socialization throughout the Life Course

Classroom size: 20-49

View resources used

Institution	Dawson College Level: College
Discipline	Social sciences
Instructor	Cory Legassic
Classroom settings	Low-tech: Whiteboards; High tech: Shared online board - Activity: Gender Socialization throughout the Life Course Classroom size: 20-49 View resources used

Why use it?

Benefits

This strategy assists students in viewing material both holistically and in detail because students are able to demonstrate the relationships between many pieces of information.
By encouraging collaboration, this strategy addresses problems such as the lack of participation in the classroom and surface learning.
Using graphic organizers like Group Grid, students can better understand difficult material by creating meaningful visual displays and connections.
Students’ capacity to synthesize, integrate, and make conclusions is enhanced by the use of this strategy.

Challenges

Group grid requires minimal preparation time for an instructor, but some students may feel uncomfortable working in groups if they are unfamiliar with the material. An instructor can help students prepare by assigning readings and other resources students can review before they participate in the activity.
It is also important to make clear how the process will help students learn the material and to tie the activity to the learning outcomes of the course. This will ensure buy-in from students and they will gain more from the activity.