School Cluster
Group Model
Nina Thomas
What is giftedness
• Giftedness is the possession of aptitudes or natural
abilities in one or more domains; intellectual, social,
creative, physical or perceptual at significant levels
beyond what might be expected for their age. Found
in the top 10% of their age peers.
• In a class of 30 their could be at least 3 – 4 students
who are gifted in the intellectual domain. There
could also be 3 – 4 students who are gifted in the
physical domain.
• ACARA follow Gagné’s model of gifted and talented.
(Paper Masters, n.d.)
Gagné’s Model
of Giftedness
and Talent
• Gagné defines giftedness as
outstanding POTENTIAL not
performance.
• This model shows why and how
gifted underachievers exist.
(Gagné, 2013)
Characteristics of Gifted Students
(Benchmark Education Company, 2019)
Characteristics of Gifted Students
• Asynchrony
• Discrepancy between cognitive, emotional, social and physical development
• Researches Greek mythology and fights over the last cookie
• Intensities
• Innate tendency to respond in an intensified manner to various forms of stimuli
• Example: What is worth doing, is worth doing to excess
• Perfectionism
• Desire to be perfect + fear of not being perfect +
personal acceptance hinges on being perfect
• Example: Staying up late to redo a paper the teacher
already accepted as “A” quality
• Peer Relation Issues
• Need to relate to intellectual peers during academic times
• Example: May become socially isolated because they
have difficulty finding peers
Identification of
Gifted Students
 IQ - WISC - IV
 Standardised tests
 CogAT
 Parent nomination
 Teacher nomination
 NNAT
(Gifted Student Literacy, n.d.)
What is the School Cluster Group Model
• Students are purposely placed, based on their
potential or abilities, into classrooms.
• 3 to 6 identified students are placed together in the
same heterogenous classroom.
• Cluster grouping has a positive effect on academic
achievement for all students.
• Student achievement increases when cluster
grouping is used
• Over time fewer students are identified as low
achievers and more students are identified as high
achievers
• Reduces the range of student achievement levels
that must be addressed by teachers in all classroom.
(Winebrenner & Brulles, 2008).
How does it work
• Cluster grouping would range between 2 – 3 classrooms within each
year level.
• One class would have the gifted children. The other would have the
high achievers. Never mix the two.
• The range of abilities within each classroom is dramatically reduced.
Classroom Composition
(Winebrenner & Brulle, 2008).
• There is a balanced mix of abilities within all
classes.
• The range of abilities is reduced.
Differentiation
• Being a global citizen means to be proficient in problem solving,
creativity, analytic thinking, collaboration, communication and
ethics.
• We teach this by providing an engaging curriculum which
infuses high level thinking skills that is delivered through
authentic differentiated practices within an environment that is
student centred. We facilitate learning rather than just
delivering it.
• Preassessment and knowing your students learning preferences
and interests.
(Heacox, 2017)
KUDOs
• Know your KUDOs: What do I want my students to Know Understand
and be able to Do?
• Know – facts
• Understand – the big ideas
• Do – written as statements beginning with a verb associated with
Blooms Taxonomy (1984).
Students will:
Know
Definitions of line, quadrilateral, triangle, angle, line segment.
Understand
Geometric shapes have specific properties
Be able to
Identify and describe geometric shapes in their environment.
Construct geometric shapes and identify their properties.
(Heacox, 2017)
Growth Mindset
• Gifted students need opportunities to “hit the wall”: to
fail, to learn from mistakes, to be frustrated…
• Teaching growth mindset Carol Dweck
• Rather than seeing themselves as failures they see
failure as the start of growth and confront those
challenges instead of fearing them.
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