Cluster grouping

Cluster grouping is an educational process in which four to six gifted and talented (GT) and/or high achieving students are assigned to an otherwise heterogeneous classroom within their grade to be instructed by a teacher that has had specialized training in differentiating for gifted learners. Clustering does not simply fill a classroom with a fraction of the student body representing all the highest performers in the grade. "Through cluster grouping the intellectual, social, and emotional needs of the gifted students can be addressed." Although typically implemented in the upper elementary grades (3-6), cluster grouping has been used in grades K through 12. The methods for selecting children for cluster groups usually mirror those for other gifted and talented services. Within a cluster, several instructional options are typically used, including: enrichment and extensions, higher-order thinking skills, pretesting and differentation, compacting, an accelerated pace, and more complexity in content.