IMPLEMENTATION OF TOTAL SCHOOL CLUSTER GROUPING: A CASE STUDY

[摘要] This dissertation was designed and conducted to examine perception of classroom grouping practices in elementary schools. It includes a comprehensive review of literature related to grade-level and within-class grouping practices over the past thirty years in American schools. A focus was gleaned from the literature that led to the design of a study measuring staff perception of implementation of the Total School Cluster Grouping model in three schools within the same urban school district. Teachers were surveyed and offered an opportunity to further inform the study by participating in follow-up interviews. Administrators were interviewed and also asked to provide professional development agendas, minutes, and examples of best practices related to implementation and maintenance of the model for analysis within this study.The Total School Cluster Grouping model entails a specific method of grouping children into classrooms based on a combination of achievement and ability levels. It involves detailed analysis of all available student data in order to place students into classroom groups that can be leveraged to best meet all student needs. It was originally designed as a way to better serve the needs of gifted and talented learners, but has subsequently been found to have positive effects on students of all abilities.Results from this study show that the staff solicited to participate believe that overall, the model has helped them to better serve the needs of their students. They utilize flexible grouping within their classrooms more and feel more confident analyzing data to place students into their classrooms. The schools that have focused on building parental understanding of the model have been able to maintain parental support and are confident that support will continue over time.Overall, teachers feel better able to meet student needs and are identifying more students for placement into high achievement groups since inception of the model, though there was considerable variation across sites. Most respondents expressed an opinion that more professional development, specifically related to differentiated instruction and curriculum compacting, would ensure continued success over time.

[发布机构] the University of Pittsburgh