Site RtI Site RtI ImplementationImplementation

Sunrise River ElementarySunrise River ElementaryProfessional Development DayProfessional Development Day

April 4, 2011April 4, 2011

SpheresSpheres• Natalie Hokanson• Grant and Training opportunities for

Sunrise

Academic Priorities for RtI Academic Priorities for RtI ImplementationImplementation

Top priorities

• Common Core across all grade levels- (increase time if possible)

• Common Grade level lunch• Scheduled team planning

times• Grade level PLCs• Flex across building-

provide training and planning time

Next level of priority

• Grade levels in same neighborhood

• More student movement opportunities provided- (i.e. PE or recess)

• Common prep time• Para support for Grade

levels and /or clusters (Keep at Kindergarten)

Flexible Instructional Flexible Instructional GroupingGrouping

• Flexible instructional grouping across the building next year.

• Groups would not switch until after the fall benchmarking. Target date of October 1st.

• Grade K would wait until January to group their students.

• Groups should be adjusted every trimester based on classroom assessments, progress monitoring data, and benchmarking data.

What is flexible instructional What is flexible instructional grouping?grouping?

• Occurs when there is a whole group assessment or instruction initially; and then the students are divided by their need for either review, re-teaching, practice, or enrichment.

• Such grouping could be a single lesson or objective, a set of skills, a unit of study, or a major concept or theme.

• Flexible instructional grouping creates temporary groups for an hour, a day, a week, or a month or so. It does not create permanent groups.

Why use flexible Why use flexible instructional grouping?instructional grouping?

• Allows both collaborative and independent work.

• Allows for additional exploration by students.

• Provides intensive, enriched and accelerated curricula at all instructional levels.

• Provides a fluid match of student needs and instruction.

Total School Clustering Total School Clustering ModelModel

• Pilot at Grades 2-4.• The pilot group would need to be

a large enough group of staff (4 to 5) so that we could implement a pilot as the model intends.

What is cluster grouping?What is cluster grouping?• Cluster grouping is a strategy in which identified

highest performing students are assigned to one or more classrooms with a teacher who has had special training and interest.

• A group of identified students (usually from 5 to 8) are placed together in mixed ability classroom(s).

• Classroom compositions are carefully structured with two main goals: – to ensure a balance of abilities in all classes in the grade

level– to reduce the learning range found in any given classroom

(Winebrenner & Brulles, 2008)

How should cluster How should cluster classrooms be structured?classrooms be structured?

• One class, taught by a teacher trained to extend curriculum, should be assigned the cluster group of high performing students and some students of average and low average abilities.

• The remaining classrooms include a range of students from high average to below average.

• The goal is to create a more narrow range of student achievement levels, allowing the teacher to focus instructional activities. (Gentry 1999)

Gentry’s model Gentry’s model 30

students

3 classes

Group 1

Highest Performing

Group 2

High Average

Group 3

Average

Group 4

Low Average

Group 5

Low

A 6 0 12 12 0

B 0 6 12 6 6

C 0 6 12 6 6

Rationale for cluster Rationale for cluster groupinggrouping

• The program is cost effective.

• Students are clustered with their intellectual peers.

• The highest achieving students are removed from other classrooms, thereby allowing new leaders and achievers to emerge.

• More efficient use of special education and Title I personnel is achieved by creating clusters of these students in one or two rooms instead of spreading them across five rooms.

• A high achieving group of students exists in every teacher's classroom.

Isn’t cluster grouping the Isn’t cluster grouping the same as tracking?same as tracking?

• No. In a tracking system, all students are grouped by ability for much of the school day, and students tend to remain in the same track throughout their school experience.

• Cluster grouping of highest performing students allows them to be placed with students of similar strengths in classes with others of mixed abilities.

(Hoover, Sayler, & Feldhusen, 1992; Rogers 1993)

Why cluster group instead of assigning Why cluster group instead of assigning highest performing students evenly to highest performing students evenly to

all classes?all classes?

• When teachers are required to meet the diverse learning needs of all students, it becomes extremely difficult to provide adequately for everyone.

• Often, the highest performing students are expected to “make it on their own.”

• Our highest performers have traditionally not demonstrated consistent growth.

What are the benefits of What are the benefits of cluster grouping?cluster grouping?

• Both cluster and non-cluster classrooms experience an improvement in achievement for all class members because teachers are able to provide more appropriate instruction for all students.

• In cluster classrooms, teachers learn to provide strategies for highest performing students and offer modified versions of the same opportunities to the entire class.

• In non-cluster classrooms, new student role models and leaders emerge.

(Kennedy, 1989; Winebrenner, 1992; Gentry 1999)

Cluster teachers should:Cluster teachers should:

• Understand the unique attributes and needs of highest performing students

• Have a specific interest in extending grade level curriculum

• Be flexible and willing to find appropriate outlets for student production

Food for thought…Food for thought…• In general education classrooms,

gifted/high achieving students may already know 30-50% of the grade level content. Unless the general education teacher is sensitive to each student’s needs, the student who requires the least practice receives the most. (Reis & Purcell, 1995)

Food for thought…Food for thought…

• Gifted/high achieving students are significantly more likely to retain science and mathematics content when taught 2-3 times faster than the normal classroom pace.

Food for thought…Food for thought…

• Gifted students are significantly more likely to forget or learn science and mathematics content incorrectly when drill or review is required more than 2-3 times. (Rogers, 1999)

Food for thought…Food for thought…• Educators and parents generally

assume that students who earn good grades and score highly on standardized achievement tests are learning; however, many gifted students have mastered the majority of grade level standards prior to receiving instruction (Brulles, et al., 2010).

Site visits of other schools that Site visits of other schools that are currently Clustering…are currently Clustering…

• April 6- Mahtomedi- O.H. Anderson and Wildwood– Grades 3-5 and K-2– Terri Moriarty, Michelle Hamann, Laurie Bednarczyk,

Doug Bloom

• April 7- Milaca– Muffy Hejny, Julie Jackson, Jason Hartmann

• April 7- Bendix- Annandale– Deb Pierce, Donna Johnson, Laura Yust, Carolyn Slater

Information will be reviewed and considered for inclusion in our service model.

ImplementationImplementation• 2011-12

– Flexible Instructional Grouping across all grades in reading and/or math

– Pilot Clustering– Evaluate

implementation

• 2012-13– Flexible

Instructional Grouping in Reading and Math in all grades.

– Implement clustering model with recommended modifications from the pilot group in grades 2-4

ReferencesReferences• Gentry, Marcia (1996). “Total School Cluster Grouping: An Investigation of

Achievement and Identification of Elementary School Students.” The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, Storrs, CT.

• Kingore, Bertie. (2004). Differentiation: Simplified, Realistic, and Effective . Austin: Professional Associates Publishing.

• Rogers, Karen (2002). Reforming Gifted Education: How Parents and Teachers Can Match the Program to the Child . Arizona: Great Potential Press.

• Schuler, P. (1997). “Cluster Grouping Coast to Coast.” The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, Storrs, CT.

• Winebrenner, Susan (2000). Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom . Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing.

• Winebrenner, S and B. Devlin (1996) “Cluster Grouping of Gifted Students: How to Provide Full-Time Services on a Part-Time Budget.” ERIC EC Digest #E607.

• Brulles, D., Cohn, S., & Saunders, R. (Winter, 2010). Improving performance for gifted students in a cluster grouping model. Journal for the Education of the Gifted.

• http://www.slideshare.net/PCEF4kids/clustermodel2?from=share_email_logout2

• http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/newsletter/spring96/sprng964.html• http://www.aasa.org/content.aspx?id=17446