PART 2-Module 4- Individual Differences

INTRODUCTION

“Everyone is unique” as what we usually heard. Though it sounds really like a cliché, one
cannot ignore the truth in it. As a facilitator of learning, the teacher is tasked to consider the
individual differences among the students in planning for effective instruction.

Module 4- Individual Differences

Specific Objectives

 Identify the different factors that bring about diversity in the classroom.
 Demonstrate a positive attitude towards diversity as an enriching element in the
learning environment.
 Come up with teaching strategies that consider students diversity.

Advance Organizer

Individual Differences
(Student Diversity)

Individual Differences Benefits of Diversity in Classroom Strategies for

Factors the Classroom Student Diversity

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 PART 2-Module 4- Individual Differences

Module 4
Individual Differences

Name____________________________ Date __________________

Section ___________________________ Score _________________

Activity- 4

1. Ask 3 of your classmates to provide the following information

For Classmate No. 1

Name: Age: Gender:

Nationality: Province: Language/Dialects Spoken:

Hobbies/Interests:

Favorite Subjects:
Subject you are best in:

Subject you find difficult:

Ambition:
(what you want in the future)

For Classmate No. 2

Name: Age: Gender:

Nationality: Province: Language/Dialects Spoken:

Hobbies/Interests:

Favorite Subjects:
Subject you are best in:

Subject you find difficult:

Ambition:
(what you want in the future)

For Classmate No. 3

Name: Age: Gender:

Nationality: Province: Language/Dialects Spoken:

Hobbies/Interests:

Favorite Subjects:
Subject you are best in:

Subject you find difficult:

Ambition:
(what you want in the future)

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 PART 2-Module 4- Individual Differences

CHAPTER 4
Individual Differences

Name____________________________ Date __________________

Section ___________________________ Score _________________

Analysis- 4

Examine all the responses your 3 classmates had given you and answer the folowing:

1. In what ways are you and your classmates similar? _______________________________

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2. In what ways are you and your classmates different? ______________________________
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3. How does a girl differ from a boy in behavior? __________________________________
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4. In what ways does an American differ from Filipino? _____________________________
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5. How does life in the province differ from that in the city? __________________________
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6. Are you glad you have similarities? Differences? Explain your answer. _______________
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7. How can the teacher utilize these similarities and differences in teaching you?
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 PART 2-Module 4- Individual Differences

Discussion

Factors that bring about Student Diversity

In all learning environment, individuals interact with others who are in some ways
different from them. Recall how these differences were shown in your class tally-gender and
racial, ethnic or cultural background (nationality, province, language). This diversity also
comes from other factors like the following:
1. Socioeconomic status – The millionaires’ lifestyle differs from that of the middle
income or lower income group.
2. Thinking/learning style – Some of you learn better by seeing something; others
by just listening; and still others by manipulating something. (You will learn more
of these in Module 5).
3. Exceptionalities – In class there maybe one who has difficulty in spoken
language comprehensive or seeing, hearing, etc. We will have more on these in
Module 6.

How Student Diversity Enriches the Learning Environment

A teacher may be “challenged” to handle class with students so diverse. There are be
students having different cultural background, different language abilities, different attitudes
and aptitudes and behaviors. Some teachers might see this diversity as a difficult
predicament. Yet a more reflection teacher may see a diverse classroom as an exciting place
to learn not just for her students, but for herself, as well. A wise teacher may choose to
respect and celebrate diversity! Read on to discover the benefits and learning opportunities
that the student diversity can bring to your classroom once you become teacher someday.
1. Students’ self-awareness is enhanced by diversity. Exposing students to others
with diverse backgrounds and experiences also serves to help students focus on
their awareness of themselves. When they see how others are different, students are
given reference points or comparative perspective which sharpen assessment of
their own attitudes, values and behaviors.
2. Student diversity contributes to cognitive development. The opportunity to gain
access to the perspective of peers and to learn from other students, rather than the
instructor only, may be especially important for promoting the cognitive
development of learners. Supreme Court Justice, William J. Brennan said: “The
classroom is peculiarly the ‘marketplace of ideas.’ The depth and breadth of
student learning are enhanced by exposure to others from diverse backgrounds.
Student diversity in the classroom brings about different points of view and varied
approaches to the learning process.
As the German philosopher, Nietzsche, said over 100 years ago: “The more
affects we allow to speak about one thing, the more eyes, different eyes can we use
to observe one thing, the more complete will our concept of this thing, our
objectivity, be.”
3. Student diversity prepares learners for their role as responsible members of
society. Suzanne Morse stresses one competency that has strong implications for
instructional strategies that capitalize on diversity: “The capability to imagine
situations or problems from all perspectives and to appreciate all aspects of
diversity”. Furthermore, she argues: “The classroom can provide more than just
theory given by the teacher in a lecture. With student diversity, the classroom
becomes a ‘public place’ where community can be practiced.

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4. Student diversity can promote harmony. When student diversity in integrated

into the classroom teaching and learning process, it can become a vehicle for
promoting harmonious race relations. Through student-centered teaching strategies,
diverse students can be encouraged to interact and collaborate with one another on
learning tasks that emphasize unity of effort while capitalizing on their diversity of
backgrounds.

Some Tips on Student Diversity

1. Encourage learners to share their personal history and experience. Students will
be made to realize that they have something in common with the rest. They also differ
in several ways.

2. Integrated learning experiences and activities which promote students’

multicultural and cross-cultural awareness.
 You can encourage or even initiate co-curricular experiences that are aimed at
promoting diversity awareness. These activities could be held to coincide with
already-scheduled national weeks or months which are designated for
appreciation of diverse groups: Disability Awareness Week, Linggo ng Wika,
Indigenous People’s Week, etc.
 Let students interview other students on campus who are from diverse
backgrounds (foreign students or students from other ethnic/racial groups).
These students or different racial and ethnic origin serve as source of first-
hand information on topics related to their culture. This can also provide
opportunity for interaction among students who may otherwise never come in
contact with each other.
 Invite students to Internet discussion groups or e-mail; have students “visit”
foreign countries and “talk” to natives of those countries.
 Ask students if they have ever been the personal target of prejudice or
discrimination, and have them share these experience with other members of
the class.

3. Aside from highlighting diversity, identify patterns of unity that transcend group
differences.
Clyde Kluckholn, an early American anthropologist who spent life time human
diversity across different cultures, concluded from his extensive research that, “Every
human is, at the same time like all other human, like some humans and like no other
human” (cited in Wong, 1991). His observation suggest a paradox in the human
experience, namely: we are all the same in different ways. It may be important to
point out to students the biological reality that we, human being, share approximately
95% of our genes in common, and that less than 5% of our genes account for the
physical differences that exist among us. When focusing on human differences, these
commonalities should not be overlooked; otherwise, our repeated attempts to promote
student divisiveness. One way to minimize this risk, and promote unity along with
diversity, is to stress the university” of the learning experience by raising students’
consciousness of common themes that bind all groups of people-in addition to
highlighting the variations on those themes.
 Periodically place students in homogeneous groups on the basis of shared
demographic characteristics (e.g., same-gender groups of same-race/ethnicity
groups), and have them share their personal views or experiences with respect

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to course issues. Then form a panel comprised of representatives from each

group who identify the key differences and recurrent themes that emerge
across different group, or students who are not on the panel can be assigned
this task.
 Try to form groups of students who are different with respect to one
demographic characteristics but similar with respect to another (e.g., similar
gender but different with respect to race/ethnicity, or similar in age but
different gender). This practice can serve to increase student awareness that
humans who are members of different groups can, at the same time, be
members of the same group-and share similar experiences, needs or concerns.
 After students have completed self-assessment instrument (e.g., learning style
invention or personality profiles), have them line up or move to a corner of the
room according to their individual scores or overall profile. This practices can
visibly demonstrate to student how members of different student populations
can be quite similar with respect to their learning or personality profiles, i.e.,
students can see how individual similarities can often overshadow group
differences.

4. Communicate high expectation to students from all subgroups.

 Make a conscious attempt to call on, or draw in students from diverse groups
by using effective questioning techniques that reliably elicit student
involvement. In addition to consciously calling on them in class, other
strategies for “drawing in: and involving students include: (a) assigning them
the role of reporter in small-group discussions, i.e., the one who reports back
the group’s ideas to the class, and (b) having them engaged in paired
discussions with another classmate with the role of both listener and speaker,
and (c) scheduling instructor-student conference with them outside the
classroom.
 Learn the names of your students, especially the foreign names that you may
have difficulty pronouncing. This will enable you to establish early personal
rapport with them which can later serve as a social/emotional foundation or
springboard for encouraging them to participate.

5. Use varied instructional methods to accommodate student diversity in learning

styles.
 Diversity the sensory/perceptual modalities through which you deliver and
present information (e.g., orally, in print, diagrammatic and pictorial
representations, or “hands on” experience)
 Diversity the instructional formats or procedures you use in class:
 Use formats that are students-centered (e.g., class discussion, small group
work) and teacher-centered (e.g., lectures demonstrations)
 Use formats that are unstructured (e.g., trial-and-error discovery learning) and
structured (e.g., step-by-step instruction)
 Use procedures that involved both independent learning (e.g., independently
completed projects, individual presentations) and interdependent learning (e.g.,
collaborative learnings in pairs or small groups).

6. Vary the example you use to illustrate concepts in order to provide multiple
contexts that are relevant to students from diverse backgrounds.

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Specific strategies for providing multiple examples and varied context that are
relevant to their varied backgrounds include the following:
 Hove students complete personal information cards during the first week of
class and use this information to select examples or illustrations that relevant
to their personal interest and life experiences.
 Use ideas, comments and question that students raise in class or which they
choose to write about to help you think of examples and illustration to use.
 Ask students to provide their own examples of concepts based on experience
drawn from their personal lives.
 Have students apply concepts by placing them in a situation or context that is
relevant to their lives. (e.g., “How would you show respects to all persons in
your home?”).

7. Adapts to the students’ diverse backgrounds and learning styles by allowing

them personal choice and decision-making opportunities concerning what they
will learn and how will they learn it.
Giving the learner more decision-making with respect to learning tasks: (a)
promotes positive student attitudes towards the subject matter, (b) foster more positive
interaction among students, and (c) results in students working more individuals are
allowed to exert some control over task, they tend to experience less anxiety or stress
while performing that task.

8. Diversity your methods of assessing and evaluating student learning.

You can accommodate student diversity not only by varying what you do with
your teaching, but also by varying what you ask students to do demonstrate learning.
In addition to the traditional paper-and-pencil tests and written assignments, students
can demonstrate their learning in a variety of performance formats, such as: (a)
individually-delivered oral reports, (b) panel presentations, (c) group projects, (d)
visual presentations (e.g., concepts maps, slide presentations, Power Point
presentation, collages, exhibits), or (d) dramatic vignettes-presented live or an
videotape. One potential benefit of allowing students to choose how they demonstrate
their learning is that the variety of options exercised may be a powerful way to
promote students awareness of the diversity of human learning styles. You will have
more of assessment in your courses on Assessment of Learning.

9. Purposely, form small-discussion groups of students from diverse backgrounds.

You can form groups of students with different learning styles, different cultural
background, etc.
Small peer-learning groups may be effective for promoting student progress to
more advanced stage of cognitive development. Peer-learning groups may promote
this cognitive advancement because: (a) the instructor is removed from center stage,
thereby reducing the likelihood that the teacher is perceived as the ultimate or
absolute authority; and (b) students ate exposed to the perspective of other students,
thus increasing their appreciation of multiple viewpoints and different approaches to
learning.

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 PART 2-Module 4- Individual Differences

Module 4
Individual Differences

Name____________________________ Date __________________

Section ___________________________ Score _________________

Evaluation -4

1. By means of graphic organizer, identify the factors that bring about diversity in the
classroom.

2. Think a slogan that celebrate diversity in the classroom. Make a poster to show
Students and have a Students Diversity Day Poster Exhibit.

3. Cite teaching strategies and explain how these teaching strategies consider student
diversity.

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 PART 2-Module 4- Individual Differences

Module 4
Individual Differences

Name____________________________ Date __________________

Section ___________________________ Score _________________

Exercise/Drill -4

5-minutes non-stop writing

Your 5-minute non-stop writing begins NOW!

From the Module on Individual Differences, I realized that …

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