Designing Differentiated Mathematics Games

Abstract

Primary grade students enter the mathematics classroom with a range of differences including students’ mathematical readiness, mathematical conceptions, interests, and learning profiles. Addressing the learning needs of students is not a trivial task, but accounting for these needs is essential for supporting students as they continually work toward their potential. The philosophy of differentiated instruction provides a framework for addressing the diversity of students’ needs. One unique way of differentiating instruction is by incorporating differentiated educational games into the mathematics curriculum. Although the education market contains scores of mathematics games, few incorporate substantive elements of differentiation. This article presents a guide for modifying a traditional game into a differentiated mathematical game that can be used in primary classrooms. The game design and implementation described in this article were used in a research study, Project Parallax (principal investigators Catherine Brighton and Tonya Moon). During this study, teachers used curriculum (developed by Project Parallax) as a vehicle for identifying mathematical promise in heterogeneous primary classrooms, and differentiated mathematical games were developed as part of the curriculum.