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The Cluster Grouping Handbook:

How to Challenge Gifted Students and
Improve Achievement for All

A New Book by Susan Winebrenner and Dina Brulles

Susan Winebrenner and Dina Brulles have released an excellent resource, this research-based book is comprehensive, well organized and very readable. They presnt their “SCGM:” Schoolwide Cluster Grouping Model.

The book comes with a CD that includes over 60 reproducible pages, NNN editable Word documents, a comprehensive PowerPoint slideshow about SCGM, and more.

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ISBN 978-1-57542-279-4, $34.95 from Free Spirit Press.

Susan Winebrenner

Susan Winebrenner has an M.S. in curriculum and instruction and a B.S. in education. A former classroom teacher and gifted-program coordinator, Susan is an internationally recognized leader in the field of gifted education. She is the author of several books and teaching resources, including Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom, Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom, and Differentiating Content for Gifted Learners in Grades 6-12. Through her consulting and workshop business, Education Consulting Service, Susan presents seminars nationally and internationally, helping educators translate education research into classroom practice. She has contributed articles to various educational publications and served at one time on the faculty of New Leaders for New Schools, a national organization dedicated to training and supporting a new generation of outstanding school principals for urban schools. Susan lives in San Marcos, California.

Dina Brulles

Dina Brulles, Ph.D., is a school administrator and the gifted-education director for Arizona's Paradise Valley Unified School District. Recognized for her expertise in creating and supervising schoolwide cluster grouping, she also assists districts throughout the United States in developing gifted education programs, including those districts serving culturally and linguistically diverse gifted students, She holds a Ph.D. in gifted education and an M.S. in curriculum and instruction and serves on the faculty of the Graduate College of Education at Arizona State 1 University. Prior to becoming an administrator, Dina was an elementary classroom teacher, a bilingual teacher, an ESL teacher, and a gifted-cluster teacher. She 4 lives in Peoria, Arizona.

 

Winebrenner & Brulles: Cluster Grouping Handbook

Table of Contents:

Foreword by Bertie Kingore, PhD

Introduction

Part 1: Implementing the Schoolwide Cluster Grouping Model (SCGM)

  1. Chapter 1: What Is the SCGM?
    • How Does It Work?
    • Overview of the SCGM
    • Placing Students in Cluster Groups
    • Other Placement Considerations
    • What the SCGM Looks Like in the Gifted-Cluster Classroom
    • Clustering When Combined with Other Forms of Grouping or Gifted-Education Services
    • Questions Teachers, Parents, or Other School Stakeholders May Ask
    • Summary
  2. Chapter 2: Planning and Introducing the SCGM
    • Step-by-Step to SCGM Implementation
    • Developing and Maintaining Support for the SCGM
    • Summary
  3. Chapter 3: Identifying Students for Gifted-Cluster Groups
    • Recognizing the Traits of Giftedness
    • Understanding the Social and Emotional Aspects of Giftedness
    • Teacher and Parent Nominations
    • Standardized Tests
    • Parent Notification
    • Summary
  4. Chapter 4: Staffing the SCGM
    • Getting Started: How to Determine Who Should Teach the Gifted-Cluster Classrooms
    • Roles and Responsibilities of the Gifted-Cluster Teacher
    • Roles and Responsibilities of Support Specialists
    • Budget Concerns
    • Summary

Part 2: The SCGM in Action: Working with Students in the Classroom

  1. Chapter 5: Compacting and Differentiating Curriculum That Students Have Already Mastered
    • Five Elements of Differentiation
    • How Compacting Meets the Needs of Gifted Students
    • Essential Teaching Skills for Gifted-Cluster Teachers
    • Making Compacting and Differentiation Work Smoothly
    • Strategies for Compacting and Differentiating Previously Mastered Skill Work
    • Keeping Records of Student Work
    • Grading Extension Work
    • What About Homework?
    • Modifications of Compacting and Differentiation Techniques for the Whole Class
    • Building a Unified Learning Community
    • Summary
  2. Chapter 6: Compacting and Differentiating Curriculum When the Content Is New to Students
    • Preparing to Work with Gifted Students in the Content Areas
    • Using the Curriculum Planning Chart
    • Planning Tiered Lessons
    • Record Keeping with the Choice Activities Log
    • Using Study Guides and Extension Menus to Compact and Extend Learning
    • Project-Based Learning for All Students
    • Sustaining a Unified Learning Community
    • Summary

Part 3: Sustaining the SCGM

  1. Chapter 7: Professional Development for All Staff
    • Preparing All Teachers for Schoolwide Cluster Grouping
    • Professional Development Topics for SCGM Teachers
    • What Are Effective Ways to Provide Ongoing Professional Training?
    • Peer Coaching: Ensuring Long-Term Implementation of Content Learned in Staff Development
    • Ongoing Meetings of SCGM Staff
    • Obtaining Gifted Endorsements or Certifications
    • Monitoring Teachers' Professional Growth
    • Summary
  2. Chapter 8: Evaluating the Effectiveness of the SCGM
    • Setting Goals for the SCGM
    • Establishing a Gifted-Student Database
    • Examining Student Progress Regarding Classroom Work
    • Monitoring Gifted Students’ Growth on Standardized Assessments
    • Evaluating the Effectiveness of the SCGM as a Whole
    • Summary
  3. A Note to Parents
  4. Appendixes:
    • Appendix A: References and Resources
    • Appendix B: Glossary
  5. Index
  6. About the Authors