How Does Enriched Differentiated Small-Group Instruction At The Middle-School Level Accelerated Learning And Promote Community?

The question addressed in this capstone project was guided by the demanding need for customized differentiated enriched learning experiences at the middle-school level. It documents why providing customized enriched learning experiences through small-group instruction for all students is necessary to help close educational opportunity gaps, improve academic growth and to create stronger communities of understanding and connectedness. It is founded in the learning and understanding of differentiation and self-determination theory. The frame of the project guides middle-school teachers through the process of understanding the importance of small-group instruction, provides them with structural classroom framework options and cultivates time for collaboration to develop enriched differentiated learning experiences. The goal is to strengthen classroom learning communities, but also collaborative professional learning communities.