Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Cluster grouping?

Agreed. From the information provided, this may be named "cluster grouping" to sell it. These links provide more information on flexible cluster grouping by readiness and ability:
- http://www.casenex.com/casenet/pages/virtualLibrary/gridlock/groupmyths.html, (archived on WayBack Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20210511071601/http://www.casenex.com/casenet/pages/virtualLibrary/gridlock/groupmyths.html)
- web search on Gentry Total School Cluster Grouping TSCG,(one current link is: http://nrcgt.uconn.edu/newsletters/spring964/)
- http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0034654316675417.
- School Cluster Grouping Model (SCGM), Winebrenner/Brulles.

A possible positive may be that students become aware of who the others in the group are, giving rise to the opportunity to meet outside of school and develop friendships... including the parents meeting each other, for possible support. It sounds like you may be leveraging those opportunities to some degree. Therefore, while not ideal, the school providing this may be better than your child being an isolate.

Here are some program buzzwords, with un-official BTDT descriptions (see updated thread here):

Cluster grouping. Originally called flexible cluster grouping to distinguish it from tracking. May include pupils from different grade-levels. A pupil may be advanced in one or more subjects. Students may have single-subject acceleration (SSA) of one or more years. The ideal may be flexible cluster grouping by readiness and ability, regardless of age or grade level, therefore combining children of various ages, classrooms, and grade levels. Unfortunately, the buzzword "cluster grouping" may be used (mis-used) to mean one or more gifted kids within a particular classroom, somewhat isolated, not necessarily being taught at a higher level but rather being treated as somewhat auto-didactic (often due to schools buying into the myth that because they are gifted, they will be fine on their own).

Differentiation. The pupil's school experience is somehow different within the classroom. Differentiation may be the favorite buzzword, as it is sufficiently nebulous as to what is "different" for the student's educational experience. Too often the difference may be in work-products expected (differentiated task demands), possibly including more stringent grading criteria, rather than a qualitatively different instructional level and pacing. In general, gifted kids and advanced learners need and may benefit from "differentiated instruction" (not "differentiated task demands" which may seem punitive). Limiting repetition may be appropriate for differentiating the curriculum and experience for gifted learners.

Enrichment. The pupil experiences additional material to provide depth and/or breadth in the area being studied. This may be done to help fill "wait time" while the other students catch up. A common example may be choosing a book to read more about the topic being studied.

Independent study. The pupil experiences enrichment which extends beyond filling the "wait time" in the school day. This may be an optional or assigned research/report activity, building a project, developing a presentation, etc. This may involve exclusion from classmates, and social isolation. This may also divert time from preferred extracurricular activities.

More-ferentiation. A term attributed to Lisa Van Gemert, Mensa Youth Specialist, referring to "differention" gone awry to consist of pupils experiencing quantitatively MORE work, rather than qualitatively different work.

Pull-out. One or more pupils leave the classroom, often once a week, for 20 minutes. This experience may range from receiving advanced instruction to essentially "babysitting" these pupils while those remaining in the gen ed classroom receive instruction. Some students have reported receiving worksheets during pull-out, intended to be completed during wait-time the following week. A "pull-out" only tells that the gifted program/service is taking place outside the classroom... it is a vague "where". It does not tell who, what, when, etc.

Scaffolding. Temporary support for a student to move up to a higher tier. This may often be provided by parents as after-schooling, a summer program, a university class, or may more rarely be an in-school support class providing instruction in study skills, note-taking, etc.

Tiers. Providing various levels of educational experiences to students based on their departure from the norm in ability/achievement. This still does not tell a parent what the educational experience is... a worksheet?... two worksheets?

Tracking. A rather permanent group consisting of age-peers moving together through the grade levels. Pupils are generally advanced in all subjects. Commonly receiving curriculum instruction one grade level ahead of gen-ed age-peers. For many HG+ pupils, this is not enough curriculum advancement for them to learn something new each day, remain challenged, and engaged/achieving. When kids get on the "track" they typically do not leave; Similarly, new kids may have a difficult time getting on the track, as a "track" is generally considered closed. A magnet-school-within-a-school may be a form of tracking: a student is either in it, or not.

Tutoring. Unfortunately, the pupil may not be receiving tutoring as a means of individual or small-group advanced academic instruction, but rather may be assigned to peer-tutor other classmates or function in some other way as a teacher's helper. (Also known as "cooperative learning" or "collaborative learning".)

In reading this list, parents may see that there may be quite a bit of overlap, and the same activity may be called several things. For example using a coloring book during wait-time may be called "differentiation", "enrichment", "tier 2"... it may be called a "cluster" even if it is a cluster of one pupil. If students move to a location outside the classroom to color during wait-time, this may be called a pull-out. Similarly, peer-tutoring may be called "differentiation" or "enrichment" as a euphemism for what is occurring. In the case described, the educational experience was earlier called differentiation, now clustering or "ability-group". Buzzwords can be used by teachers/schools/districts to create a kind of shell-game, by re-naming the experience to make it seem new-and-improved without substantially changing the content or delivery. Point being, parents are wise to look beyond the program labels and buzzwords to ascertain the quality of their child's educational experience. Much of which may be busy work: A distinction without a difference.

To help get beyond buzzwords, this post suggests learning the 5Ws of a gifted program: Who, What Where, When, Why, and How.