Clustering or Mainstreaming Gifted Students

Action Plan Template: Clustering or Mainstreaming Gifted Students

Is cluster grouping where gifted students are placed with similar students in their areas of strength, necessary to effectively address their challenging, enlightening, and intriguing learning needs or should these students be mainstreamed where teachers can maintain a sense of community within the classrooms on campus amongst all students?

Goal:

Sustain keeping gifted students clustered throughout the Truitt Middle School campus with teachers who have been trained in how to teach exceptionally capable and gifted students.

Action Steps:

To effectively identify gifted and talented learners in all year groups and monitor their progress over a period of time
To make all staff aware of the meaning of gifted and talented and develop a shared understanding and agreed definition
Provide whole school professional development on meeting the needs of gifted and talented learners
Continue to develop appropriate curriculum and non-traditional options for these children
Continue to document and collect data on performance and outcomes


Persons Responsible:

Gifted and Talented District Curriculum Coordinator to provide guidance and training to certify staff members in the area of exceptionally able learners
Gifted and Talented Leading Teacher to provide guidance to staff on strategies to meet the needs of exceptionally able learners
Enrichment specialist to ensure gifted teachers are being taught and supported with the latest research
Campus administration to support initiative
School psychologists
This system allows the students to learn with and from each other and reduces the need for multiple teachers to develop appropriate instructional modifications.

Timeline: July 2010- July 2012

July: Placement of clustered classes on Master Schedule

August: Placement of gifted students in clustered classes

September: Staff development for nurturing needs of gifted students
Differentiated Educational Plans (DEPs) developed for clustered classes

October: Administration to ensure conditions for enhanced learning are in place

November: Staff development on enrichment strategies
Differentiated Educational Plans (DEPs) shared with parents

December: Mid-term assessments and projects on semester culminating activities

January: Begin working on Horizon’s showcase for CFISD gifted students
Differentiated Educational Plans (DEPs) shared with parents

February: Staff development on differentiation strategies

March: Identification testing
Differentiated Educational Plans (DEPs) shared with parents

April: Horizon’s Showcase

May: Final assessments and projects on semester culminating activities
Differentiated Educational Plans (DEPs) shared with parents


Start/End Dates:

July 2010- July 2012


Needed Resources:

Ensure gifted and talented provision is supported by appropriate budgets and resources and their use is monitored for impact and best value
Ensured consistent opportunity to learn new material and to develop the behaviors that allow them to cope with the challenge of new learning
Training and enrichment for staff members in differentiation classes
Certification of Gifted and Talented Teachers
Coach/mentor to assist teachers with differentiation
Access to technology
Assistance with data organization and analysis


Evaluation Process:

1. Research counseling and scheduling data to ensure gifted students are “clustered” allowing them to learn together, while avoiding permanent grouping arrangements such as “tracking” for students of other ability levels
2. Plan elements of gifted and talented provisions for clear objectives and to regularly evaluate performance
3. Work closely with feeder and receiving schools to ensure that transfer data is disseminated and is used to inform planning of teaching and learning and proper placement.
4. Administration’s expectation of integrity of Gifted program be upheld

For educators and leaders blogs can be extremely beneficial in Professional Learning Communities, so members can seek out advice throughout their campus and district to help best practices flourish. With all of the initiatives and problems in education today, it is imperative that we work together and build a community of learners to find the answers and advice we need for the success of all students. "What you do speaks so loudly that no one else can hear what you say," Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Action research is a research process where teachers and leaders can intentionally engage in systematic reflection on their own actions and instructional practices to continue to improve their performance in and out of the classroom. As a teacher and leader on my campus it is important for me to understand that the action research process is an effective tool for improving my teaching, learning, and leading. With rapid changes in technology, it has transformed the profession and allowed teachers and leaders to collaborate in their reflections to improve their problems, focus on student achievement, and to provide opportunities to work, discuss, and solve problems with peers. The concept of reflection is an essential skill for teachers and administrators to possess to have a deep understanding of problems and issues affecting their campus. Research tells up action research and inquiry are important to the overall health of professional growth. It is imperative to be committed to finding time to inquire and to safeguard this time to engage in the process. Because the act of finding your solution makes you understand your practice better, these factors affect how you can better handle the situation. Action research therefore has two aspects, seeking a solution and using the process as a deliberate attempt to understand better. It is important in both approaches that you are open, honest and rigorous in your own personal inquiry and reflection for yourself and your peers.