Enrichment Clusters
January 21, 2007 by jzcolby
Enrichment Clusters have started at my school — Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Charter Public School. They run for six weeks — one hour every Friday. After the six weeks, there is a celebration for the whole school where the students demonstrate the skills they learned and share their created projects — it could be a presentation, a play, a song, a dance, or a finished product. The clusters are opportunities for the students in Grades 1 through 4 to study something they enjoy in non-traditional subjects. The students participating in each cluster are mixed-age groups. The six-week mini courses are offered by teachers, parents, and members of the community.
I am assisting a Grade 2 teacher with a cluster entitled “Totally Technology.” The students will be creating their individual PowerPoint which will contain their writings, digital photos, and art projects completed by the students. Students will scan photographs, use the digital camera, use Kidspiration to create a graphic organizer about themselves, and make a podcast. The first week went great and we can’t wait to see their final products.
The concept of Enrichment Clusters and how to develop an authentic enrichment cluster can be found in an article written by Dr. Joseph Renzulli, Director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, University of Connecticut. When I attended the ASP National Conference last week, I attended Dr. Renzulli’s presentation in which he talked about enrichment clusters.
To learn more about Enrichment Clusters:
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/semart01.html
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Ahhh, Renzulli. I teach at ground zero of Renzulli land. My town is the home of UCONN and we bleed Husky Blue athletically and intellectually. From where I am posting this morning, it is a stone’s throw to the Fine Arts complex. His influence (as well as his wife’s) is felt deep here. One of my schools is deep into clusters. We often get parents and other community members presenting. My favorite sequence is Bummer, Bummer, Here Comes Summer, which is timed to coincide with the end of the school year. (I get to stop being the computer guy and usually do a Hiking/Outdoor Safety Cluster) My two other schools – not so much into the cluster concept but several projects that come out of UCONN/NEAG are running there. Gotta go teach.
Interesting Steve. We are an Accelerated School Plus school which is also housed at UCONN — ASP. Work closely with people from ASP. Your cluster sounds like fun. Great idea. It would be nice to do clusters when it is nice out so we could do outdoor activities.
Hi Julia,
I’m famous, I was mentioned on “The Colby Blog”. What a wonderful poem for your mom. Was checking out your “Sites du Jour”. They are awesome- love them and I’m going to show the class on Monday. But, you should put them up higher on the page so everyone sees them right away. Just a little thought. You’re amazing, where do you get the time?
P.S. Awesome job Thursday. Thank you so much!!!
Nicole Gal
Nicole,
What a pleasant surprise. You are mentioned in my December posting also when we did our holiday movie. See how easy it is to comment on a blog. As you can see, I don’t post as much as I should. Thanks for the comment on the sites — I have so many good sites listed on my blog and I should go back and read my postings so I don’t forget about all these great tools.
It was my pleasure on Thursday. Thanks for the good notes and I am glad it went well because I was one nervous person. You have a great class. If you ever want to use the digital microscope, let me know. Maybe when you do your butterfly unit — Linda had real butterflies in glass cases that you could borrow and use under the microscope.
Julia