Lesson 4: Individual Differences

The lesson focuses on identifying the various factors that bring about diversity in the classroom. It
also discusses how students’ diversity enriches the learning environment and teaching strategies that consider
students’ differences.

As an individual, the learner is a complex combination of representing one or more

multiple intelligences qualifying individual differences which are readily defined by heredity.
Moreover, every learner in the classroom is a representative of varying cultural orientation
he/she comes from, making the teaching learning process even more demanding and
complicated.

Lesson Objectives:

In this module, challenge yourself to attain the following outcomes:

• Identify the following 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 student diversity.

Discussion:

Factors that Bring about Student Diversity

In all learning environments, individuals interact with others who are in some ways different from them.
Recall how these differences were shown in your answers in the activity 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.

3. Exceptionalities - In class there maybe one who has difficulty in spoken language comprehension or
in seeing, hearing, etc.

How Student Diversity Enriches the Learning Environment

A teacher may be “challenged” to handle a class with so diverse. There may be students having different
cultural background, different language abilities, different attitudes and aptitudes and behaviors. Some
teachers might see these diversities as a difficult predicament, really a hustle! Yet a more reflective 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 student diversity can bring to your classroom.
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 learning is 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.
3. Student diversity prepares learners for their role as responsible members of society.
Susanne Morse stresses one competency that has strong implications for instructional
strategies that capitalize on diversity. “The capacity 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”.

4. Student diversity can promote harmony. When student diversity is 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 experiences. Students will be made
to realize that they have something in common with the rest. they also differ in several
ways.

2. Integrate learning experiences and activities which promote student’s 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, Linggo ng Wika, Indigenous People’s Week and
etc.

3. Aside from highlighting diversity, identify patterns of unity that transcend group
differences. Clyde Kluckhohn, an early American anthropologist who spent a lifetime
studying human diversity across different cultures, concluded from his extensive research that,
‘Every human is, at the same time, like all other humans, like some humans, and like no other
humans”) cited in Wong, 1991). His observation suggests a paradox in the human experience,
namely: We are all the same in different ways. It may be important to point out important to
point out to students the biological reality that we, human beings, share approximately 95%
of our genes common, and that less than 65% 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 attempt to promote student diversity may
inadvertently promote student divisiveness. One way to minimize this risk, and promote unity
along with diversity, is to stress the universality of the learning experience by raising students
consciousness of common themes that bind all groups of people and in addition to highlighting
the variations on those themes.

4. Communicate high expectations 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 the “drawing in’ and involving students include:
(a) assigning them the role of reporter in a small-group discussion, 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 stipulation that each
partner must take turns assuming the role of both listener and speaker, and
(c) scheduling instructor-student conferences with them outside the classroom

5. Used varied instructional methods to accommodate student’s diversity in learning Styles.

• Diversify the sensory/perceptual modalities through which you deliver and present
information (e.g. orally, in print, diagrammatic and pictorial representations, or “hands
on” experiences).
• Diversify the instructional formats procedure you use in class. Use formats that are
student-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 involve both independent learning (e.g., independently and
completed projects, individual presentations) and interdependent learning (e.g.
collaborative learning in pairs or small groups.

6. Vary the examples you are to illustrate concepts in order to provide multiple contexts
that are relevant to students from diverse backgrounds. Specific strategy for providing
examples and varied contexts that are relevant to their varied backgrounds include the
following:
• Have student’s complete personal information cards during the first week of class and use
the information to select examples or illustrations that are relevant to their personal interest
and life experiences.
• Use these ideas, comments, and questions that students raise in class, or which they choose
to write about to help you think of examples and illustrations to use.
• Ask your students to provide their own examples of concepts based on experiences drawn
from their personal lives.
• Have students apply concepts by placing them on a situation or context that is relevant to
their lives. (e.g. “How would you show respect to all person s in your home”).
7. Adapt to the students’ diverse backgrounds and learning styles by allowing them personal choice and
decision-making opportunities concerning what they will learn and how they will learn it. Giving the
learners more decision-making opportunities with respect to learning tasks:
(a) promotes positive students’ attitude towards the subject matter,
(b) fosters more positive interactions among students, and
(c results in students working more consistently with lesser teacher intervention. Also, when
individuals are allowed to exert some control over a task, they tend to experience less anxiety or
stress while performing that task.

8. Diversify 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 to demonstrate learning. In addition to the traditional pencil-and-paper tests and written assignments,
students can demonstrate that 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. concept maps, slide presentations, Power Point Presentations,
collages, exhibits), or
(e) dramatic vignettes---presented live or on videotape.

One potential benefit of allowing children to choose how they demonstrate their learning is that the
variety of options exercised may be a powerful way to promote student awareness of the diversity of
human learning styles.

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 a more advanced stage of cognitive development.

Peer-learning groups may promote this cognitive advancement because

(a) the instructor is removed from the center stage, thereby reducing the likelihood that the
teacher is perceived as the ultimate or absolute authority; and
(b) students are exposed to the perspective of other students, thus increasing their appreciation of
multiple viewpoints and different approaches to learning.

Summary of the Lesson:

The challenges faced by a new teacher do not only consist of “what” (content) and, “how” (pedagogy” to
teach but also of the need to address the diversity of learners, the “who” of the teaching learning process.
The school through the teacher, is expected to be responsive to honoring and celebrating the diversity of
students. Teachers need to remember that the learner is the center of the teaching learning process. Thus,
the need to tailor the learning experiences to the nature of the learners as a determinant of effective
teaching.