The Rock Band video game is a great analogy for differentiated instruction. Presented by Matt Anthes-Washburn and Nate Grover. October, 2009

1. Science for All:
Differentiating instruction and assessment
in inclusive science classrooms
Matthew Anthes-Washburn
Nathan Grover
Denver East High School

2. What do you think:
What is differentiated instruction?

3. Meeting the needs of all learners:
Who are your learners?

4. What is differentiated
instruction?
• Readiness
• Interest
• Learning style

5. Traditional instruction: A
Linear Model
Bored
Lost
Unmotivated
Confused
Teacher and a
few students

6. Differentiated instruction
Everyone has a
common
experience
Learners’explorationsdiffer

7. An analogy: Rock Band!
• Common experience, individualized access
• Differentiated by readiness
• Difficulty level
• Differentiated by interest
• Choose instrument
• Choose songs
• Differentiated by learning style
• Practice mode
• Group vs. solo
• Online

8. People LOVE Rock Band!
• Rock Band and Guitar Hero have grossed over $3 Billion
• No matter what your difficulty level, you get:
• Lots of positive feedback
• Goals and achievements
• When you practice, you get better at it.
• Share the experience with friends
What do you do in your classroom that is like Rock Band?

9. Differentiating instruction in your
classroom: practical examples
• A inquiry investigation
• A mini-lesson
• A problem set
• A unit project

10. An inquiry investigation
• Everyone: Learn the
protocol for the experiment
and do one trial
• 10 minutes: Do several
treatments and multiple
trials of a variable your
team chooses.
• Challenge for teams that are
“cooking”

11. A mini-lesson

12. A problem set
• Traffic signals:
• Green: I understand and I
can help
• Yellow: It’s challenging, but
I’m with you
• Red: I need help
• Can be used for flexible
grouping
• Greens tutor reds
• Teacher helps yellows
• Traffic signals:
• Green: I understand and I
can help
• Yellow: It’s challenging, but
I’m with you
• Red: I need help
• Can be used for flexible
grouping
• Greens tutor reds
• Teacher helps yellows

13. Sports on the Moon: a sample
unit

14. Differentiation of a unit project
• Readiness
• Interest
• Learning style

15. Unit Planning
Understanding by Design,
McTighe & Wiggins
•A model for setting
curricular priorities
•Three domains, enduring
understanding at the core.
•Reminds us what we really
want students to know: “If
I saw a student again 10
years later, I would be
happy if they remembered
this.”
Important to know and do
Enduring
understanding
Worth being
familiar with

16. The Pyramid:
Differentiation by readiness
Our goals:
• The pyramid has a strong
foundation: standards
• Present challenging
instruction at each student’s
level.
• Foster learning environment
where all parts of the
pyramid are recognized, and
progress up the pyramid is
valued.
All students should
understand or do
Most students
will
understand or
do
Some
students will
understand or
do

17. Assessment: a typical
rubric
A B C D
Define 10 terms Define 8 terms Define 7 terms Define 6 terms
Student A
•Diligent
•Motivated because she does
what is asked of her
•Gets an “A”
•Doesn’t necessarily understand
deeply
Student B
•Finds all the work ahead of her
discouraging.
•Might do 7 just to pass
•Might decide not to play the
game at all

18. Assessment and the
layered curriculum
• Kathie Nunley, www.help4teachers.com
• “Layered” curriculum encourages students to progress
at their own pace to higher orders of thinking.

19. The Pyramid:
Another look at readiness and orders of
thinking
• Each step up the pyramid
is an increase in the order
of thinking required.
Explain
Connect to evidence
Clarify
Integrate
Apply
Innovate

20. Sports on the Moon

21. What to notice
• “A,” “B,” and “C” levels are associated with orders of thinking
• Start by planning the foundation: Proficiency (C level) is the minimum
standard for satisfactory completion
• Meets your state standards
• Meets your criterion: What do I want them to still know in 10 years?
• To move up a grade, a student must change their mode of
thinking to deeper understanding.
• Revision
• Self-assessment
• Progress on rubric

22. What level would you rate this
explanation?
Pushing an object on the moon is different from lifting it,
because pushing an object it would weight the same as
it would on earth. It will feel the same using your
arms, and legs bends pushing an object on the moon,
and on earth . When you lifting an object the object
attend to float upon gravity pulling away from the
moon. No matter how heavy an object weight when it
comes to lifting it on the moon it has a less mass. Its
different on earth gravity is pulling down when you lift
and object, and it does not attend to float as on the
moon. It add more more weight on your arms, you
use more of your muscles, and energy when you lifting
an object on earth.

23. Sports on the Moon

24. What level would you rate this explanation?
• Football is a contact sport that involves players
tackling each other to the ground. The problem
with this on the moon is that it is harder to push an
object than to lift an object. Because of this our
group decided to make the game a little interesting.
Instead of playing by running on feet, the players
will move on their knees. Instead of tackling the
opponent (pushing) the players must pick the
opponent up and throw them over their back. This
eliminates the gravitational factors on the moon
involving pushing a lifting.

25. Rubrics, presentation available
online:
www.awzone.com
files