Small group tuition is defined as one teacher, trained teacher aide or tutor working with two to five students together in a group. This arrangement enables the teaching to focus exclusively on a small number of students, usually in a separate classroom or working area. Intensive tuition in small groups is often provided to support lower achieving students 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.

1. Small group tuition has an average impact of four months' additional progress over the course of a year.

2. Small group tuition is most likely to be effective if it is targeted at students’ specific needs. Diagnostic assessment can be used to assess the best way to target support.

3. One to one tuition and small group tuition are both effective interventions. However, the cost effectiveness of teaching in small groups indicates that greater use of this approach may be worthwhile.

4. Providing training to the staff that deliver small group support is likely to increase impact.

The average impact of the small group tuition is four additional months’ progress, on average, over the course of a year. Evidence shows that small group tuition is effective and, as a rule of thumb, the smaller the group the better. Some studies suggest that greater feedback from the teacher, more sustained the engagement in smaller groups, or work which is more closely matched to students’ needs explains this impact. Once group size increases above six or seven there is a noticeable reduction in effectiveness.

Although the rule “the smaller the better” 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 students 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 student 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.

Studies in Aotearoa New Zealand are similarly positive about the impacts of small group tuition, though studies based here do not strongly differentiate between in-class peer group work supported by teachers, and out-of-class small group instruction. Studies are often closely linked to evaluations of existing programmes, such as Reading Recovery and Accelerating Learning In Mathematics.

Small group tuition has an impact by providing additional support that is targeted at student needs. The reduction in the ratio of students to teacher compared to a regular classroom setting also allows for closer interaction between educators and students. When implementing small group tuition, schools should consider how to ensure that these active ingredients have a positive impact through:

• Accurately identifying the students that require additional support.
• Understanding the learning gaps of the students that receive small group tuition and using this knowledge to select curriculum content appropriately.
• Ensuring teachers are well-prepared for having high quality interactions with students, such as delivering well-planned feedback.
• Ensuring that small group tuition is well-linked to classroom content.

Small group tuition may be delivered by teachers, trained teacher aides, academic mentors, or tutors. Interventions are typically delivered over an extended period, often over the course several weeks or terms, to a small group of between two to five students.

The average cost of small group tuition is low. The costs to schools are largely based on additional salary costs and learning resources, the majority of which are recurring costs. 

When delivering teacher or TA-led small group tuition, implementation is likely require a large amount of staff time compared with whole class approaches. Given the lower costs, small group tuition may be a sensible approach to trial before considering one to one tuition. See one to one tuition.

Alongside time and cost, school leaders should consider using providers with a track record of effectiveness. To increase the impact of small group approaches, school leaders should consider professional development for teachers, TAs, and tutors to support high-quality tutoring practices.

Local research:

McDowall, S., Boyd, S., Hodgen, E., & van Vliet, T. (2005). Reading Recovery in New Zealand: Uptakes, implementation, and outcomes, especially in relation to Māori and Pasifika students. NZCER.

Cowie, B., McGee, C., Peter, M., Taylor, M., & Chen., J. (2012). Evaluation of literacy and mathematics additional learning programmes for students 2011. Ministry of Education New Zealand.