I noticed early that only a few students were engaged and participating and was unsure how much anyone was learning. Now I work with mixed ability classes all the time. ‘teams’ and grouping are important strategies for me.

I’ve learnt that kids don’t automatically work well in a team of mixed ability, it takes some structuring and training. That said, when they have learnt some skills for working in teams it has a significant impact on student learning across the whole class. I’ve also noticed that year 7 and 8 tend to ‘ability’ group themselves in the classroom if allowed to but it wears off in year 9 and 10 with students much more willing to work with people they aren’t friends with.

Your comment that students with lower ability have less to contribute is true. The trick is to provide ways to validate their contributions, because they also have the most to learn and their peers are the best ones to teach them, especially with a specialised skill like video games. I use Kagan cooperative learning structures a lot and am very explicit about the social skills required.