[Oz-gifted] RE: Ability grouping

[Keith McGuinness]

Kristy wrote:
> Not sure. I brought it up to see what others had to say about it as I 
> didnt know alot. I think ability grouping across the whole school would 
> be too difficult to program as you suggested. Early on it was mentioned 
> about combining age and ability grouping and I think this would help 
> with the timetabling. Grouping across two or 3 years for example as the 
> basis.

The school my children attend has two multi-grade gifted classes
(one is Grade 1-4, the other 5-7) AND does ability grouping for
some subjects (e.g. maths). The other classes are a mixture of
single and multi-grade, although the other multi-grade classes
usually only include two grades (e.g. 1-2).

Students may also leave their usual class for special classes
(e.g. art, music) based on interest. All students do art and
music but, e.g. students in a special choir or the school band,
go to the special class instead of doing the subject with the
rest of the class. (As far as I know, this arrangement does not
cause problems because students are usually able to do what they
want, within constraints: e.g. the school band requires a special
commitment.)

Even students who don't do special classes don't spend all their
time with "their" teacher, as certain subjects are often taken by
particular teachers (e.g. language, sensori-motor, often music).

I imagine that the timetabling must be a nightmare! And there are
some mixups when students (or very occasionally teachers) forget
who is supposed to be where and when.

Keith McGuinness