60-Second Strategy: Playing Card Table Groups

In Brittany Kelleher’s upper-level math class at Cedaredge High School in rural Delta county, Colorado, she keeps a long-term goal in mind: “I want students to be able to use the things they learn in my class in their everyday life.” And while she acknowledges that derivatives and local linearization may not have applications for many of them later on, she notes, “Being willing and able to work in a group to share and build off of each other's ideas, to navigate the conflict that sometimes comes from group work—all of those things I think most students will use when they leave my classroom.” So Kelleher is very intentional about how she sets up seating for group work, and her preference is randomized groups of three. 

To truly mix them up, each Monday she pulls out sets of playing cards—all 4 suits of the same number—for each group she needs. For example, if she needs 5 randomized groups, she pulls all the 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 6s from a deck of cards. Before students arrive, she places the diamond from each set in the center of a work group table and shuffles the rest. As kids enter, they draw a card (they’ll get hearts, clubs, or spades) and find the table with a center diamond card that matches the number they’ve drawn. The next Monday, the process happens again, creating a whole new set of groups.

In addition to creating true randomization, she has seen other, sometimes unexpected benefits. “One, I'm not making seating charts. Two, the students know that I'm not making seating charts, so I field zero complaints about seating, which was just a bonus,” she laughs. “But the third thing is they're working with different people and different skill levels throughout the year, and so it's getting different perspectives and learning how to build those interpersonal skills with people that maybe you don't talk to any other time.”

While randomized seating is one way to structure groups, there are lots of other strategies to set up groups for success. To learn more, read Sarah Said’s article for Edutopia, “How to Motivate Students to Work in Collaborative Teams.”