Assignment Topic; Students Diversity

Submitted to; Dr. Maliha Nasir

Submitted by; Ayesha Farooqi

Roll number; 07

Subject; Advanced Educational Psychology

Semester; 1 (M.Phil. Education)

Institute Of Education

University Of Azad Jammu & Kashmir

 STUDENTS DIVERSITY

1. Students Diversity

Students are different from each other in multitude of how, each separately and
as teams. Separately, students have a preferred learning style as well as preferred cognitive or
thinking styles. They even have distinctive profiles or intelligence or ability that have an effect
on how and what they learn most efficiently. In addition to individual diversity, students tend
to vary according to their gender, though there are various individual exceptions.
Motor capacities in addition as well as motivation and skill with athletics progressively
differentiate boys and girls, particularly after they reach and start high school. Socially, boys
tend to adopt relationships that are a lot of active and wide-ranging than do girls. Academically,
girls tend to be a little more motivated to receive to some extent higher marks in school.
Teachers sometimes contribute to gender role differences, perhaps without expecting, by
paying attention to boys more frequently and more publicly in class, and by distributing praise
and criticism in ways differentiated by sex.

Students also vary according to cultures, language, and ethnic groups of their families.
Many students are multi-lingual, with educational significances that depend on their fluency in
each of their two languages. If they have more trouble with English, then programs that add
their first language together with English have proved to be helpful. If they have more trouble
with their first language, they are risk for language loss, and the consequences are also negative
even if more hidden from teachers’ views.

2. Different Learning Styles

The term “learning styles” express that every student learns in changed ways.
Theoretically, an individual’s learning style talk about the different way in which the student
absorbs, processes, comprehends and remembers information. For example, when learning
how to build a clock, some students understand the process by following verbal instructions,
while others have to physically manipulate the clock themselves.

Individual learning styles rest on on cognitive, emotional and environmental factors, as

well as one’s past experience.it means everyone has different learning styles.. It is important
for educators to understand the differences in their students’ learning styles, so that they can
 implement best practice strategies into their daily activities, curriculum and assessments.
Following are the different learning styles.

i. The Linguistic Learner

The linguistic learner is one who learns best through verbal skills together with reading,
writing, listening, or speaking. Sometimes, it is mixture of those ways. Therefore, if a linguistic
learner desired to develop an extra skill, the most effective methodology is to develop
new talent through reading, listening audio record and taking notes this. A linguistic Learner
is someone who has greatly developed skills for reading, speaking, and writing and tends
to assume in words.

ii. The Naturalist

The naturalist learner learns by operating with and experiencing nature. This is
often the most effective methodology that shows scientists learn. The naturalist learner use
experiences, observant the world around them and gain the most
effective information or data through experimentation.

iii. The Musical or Rhythmic Learner

The musical learner learns best while buzzing, whistling, sound their pencil on
the table, wiggling, or taking note of music within the background. For this person, music isn’t
a distraction however instead really helps him in learning.

iv. The Kinaesthetic Learner

The kinaesthetic learner may be an individual that learns best by really doing one
thing. These people are scientific in nature and should move with objects so as to learn
from them. a number of the foremost common kinaesthetic-based jobs are those within
the arts, producing or inventive fields like physiatrist, dancing, acting, farming, carpentry,
surgery and jewellery-making. None of these careers could be done without “hands-on
experience.” Some people realize that they are able to learn very well after
they are concerned in some sort of physical activity instead of simply sitting still. They
will be very practiced with their hands, or they will be terribly physically capable of using
their whole body. In either case such people are able to adapt these
physical skills towards many alternative kinaesthetic challenges.
 v. The Visual or Spatial Learner

A visual learner may be a one that learns best if there are visual aids all over to
escort the training method. Some people are talented with the power to visualise the
world with wonderful accuracy. They are able to assume in three-dimensional terms and
might re-create a plan into an operating visual model that they're additionally able to adapt and
modify such a model before any physical construction. Such people have an
incredible ability to make a mental map of an additional territory providing a forceful sense
of abstraction awareness for wherever they are positioned in reference to the world around
them. For instance, some people learn best from diagrams, pictures, graphs would be a
visible or abstraction learner. These people tend to be technically-oriented and enter
engineering fields.

vi. The Logical or Mathematical Learner

Some people are able to learn as regards to something persecution their logical
skills. They are able to calculate and estimate relationships and connections between things.
They like mental challenges seeking out solutions to logical, abstract and
mathematical questions and have sensible reasoning skills. The logical or mathematical learner
learn through classifying or categorizing things. They additionally tend to know relationships
or patterns, numbers and equations, greater than others. Logical/mathematical learners tend to
be great problem solvers. These are obviously engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and other
technical professions.

vii. The interpersonal Learner

The interpersonal or social learner is somebody who learns

by communicating others. Often, these types of learners work best in groups, and compare
their concepts to the concepts of others. In a sense,
others facilitate them consider new concepts of their own. They
are typically naturally sensible leaders similarly as team players. These learners have an
outstanding ability to determine relationship with others quickly and simply, they equipped
with the talents to perform this intelligence.
 viii. The Intrapersonal Learner
The intrapersonal, as contrast to interpersonal, learner is someone who works and learns
best when they are alone. They fixed individual goals that are challenging, but not impossible.
They are also motivated by inner forces, rather than exterior ones. They are often introverted
individuals, but not always. These people often enter creative fields, become entrepreneurs,
and sometimes small business owners. But, they are usually in fields or industries that allow
them to work without direct supervision. Very few of us will have been taught the importance
of developing Intrapersonal skills for the ability to reflect and monitor your own progress,
thoughts and feelings, strengths and weaknesses are not encouraged in educations.

3. Special Educational Needs and Techniques to Overcome:

A child or young person has special educational needs (SEN) if he or she has
learning problems or disabilities that make it difficult for him or her to learn like most other
children and young people of about the same age. Many children and young people will have
special educational needs of some kind during their education. Early year’s settings, schools,
colleges and other organizations can help most children and young people overcome the
barriers their problems present quickly and easily. A few children and young people will need
extra help for some or all of their time an early years setting, school or college.

So special educational needs could mean that a child or young person has:
learning difficulties in acquiring basic skills in an early years setting, school or college,
intellectual disabilities, behavioral disorders, physical disabilities and sensory impairments
such as hearing impairment, visual impairment or physical difficulties which might affect them
in an early years setting, school or college, social, emotional difficulties, specific learning
difficulty with reading, writing, number work or understanding information, communication
problems in expressing themselves or understanding what others are saying or medical or
health conditions which may slow down a child’s or young person's progress and/or involves
treatment that affects his or her education.

Some of these are briefly describe below with the strategies that how we can overcome these to
maximize students learning;
3.1 Learning disabilities

A learning disability (or LD) is a specific deficiency of academic learning that affects
with a specific aspect of schoolwork and that decreases a student’s academic performance
significantly. A LD shows that there is a major inconsistency between student’s ability and some
feature of achievement. The student may feel difficult in reading, writing, listening, speaking, or
doing mathematics. A learning problem is not considered a learning disability if it stems from
physical, sensory, or motor handicaps, or from generalized intellectual impairment (or mental
retardation).

Strategies to overcome learning disabilities

To overcoming Learning Disabilities firstly understand the cause of disability. Part of

the density of the problem is that a child can be struggling for a number of reasons. Some have
undiagnosed problems with their eyes or ears, some are trying to focus when their little bodies are
already well and actually burdened with sensitive irritation and most have primary nervous
immaturities that are slowing down their ability to receive and process information. In order to
treat, we must look at the whole child. We also need the right professional at the right time. If a
child is poor at concentration we start at the bottom, the medical stage, and refer to a doctor and/or
a chiropractor before we do anything else. It should be remembered to emphasis on the causes not
the signs of learning difficulties.

3.2 Intellectual disabilities

An intellectual disability is an important limitation in a student’s cognitive functioning

and daily adaptive behaviors (Schalock & Luckasson, 2004; American Association on Mental
Retardation, 2002). The student may have narrow language or decreased speech and may not
perform well intellectually. Compared to students with learning disabilities discussed earlier,
students with intellectual disabilities have deficiencies to learning that are wider and more
significant. They score poorly on standardized tests of. Everyday tasks that most people take for
arranged, like getting dressed or eating a meal, may be possible, but they may also take more time
and effort than usual. Health and safety can sometimes be a concern (for example, knowing
whether it is safe to cross a street). For older individuals, finding and keeping a job may require
help from supportive others. The exact combination of challenges varies from one person to
another, but it always contains limitations in both intellectual and daily functioning.
Teaching students with intellectual disabilities.

To deal with this problem, it may help to reward the student frequently for effort and
successes with well-timed praise and at the same time, it is important not to insult the student.
Teacher should be patient and giving more time and practice to the students than usual because of
the disability, though, the student may need more time or practice than most other students. There
are many specific techniques that can support in teaching students with minor or moderate
intellectual disabilities, but most can be summarized into following strategies.

i. The first technique teacher can use in the classroom is called hands-on learning. It is the
process in which teacher use different activities and other hands-on tasks to teach skill. All
children and especially children with intellectual impairments learn best through this
process.
ii. Another technique may be chaining. In this the process teacher break a task into small steps
and teaching them in a sequential manner. It is usually used to teach daily living skills and
life skills.
iii. Group learning is one of the most effective teaching strategies for students with intellectual
disabilities. It is the process in which students are assign the work in group to teach the
specific skill. Students perform better when they are working in a group. Behavior
difficulties are less, and children motivate each other. The only difficulty in group learning
is that you need enough hands to help children learn together.
iv. Positive reinforcement is the technique which is used to reinforce the child positively every
time he learns a new skill, or performs or practices a known skill. It is a great way to
motivate children with intellectual disabilities. Use reinforcements that are appropriate for
the child.

These are just a few effective teaching strategies for students with intellectual
disabilities. The best way to teach, however, is to understand the child, understand his abilities
and his needs.

3.3 Behavioural disorders

Behavioral disorders are varied group of conditions in which a student frequently

performs highly inappropriate behaviors. A student with this condition might seek attention, for
example, by acting out disruptively in class. Other students with the condition might behave
violently, be distractible and overly active, seem nervous or reserved, or seem disconnected from
everyday reality. As with learning disabilities, the sheer range of signs and symptoms defies
concise description. But the problematic behaviors do have several general features in common
(Kauffman, 2005; Hallahan & Kauffman, 2006): they tend to be extreme, they persist for extended
periods of time, they tend to be socially unacceptable (e.g. unwanted sexual advances or vandalism
against school property), they affect school work, they have no other obvious explanation (e.g. a
health problem or temporary disruption in the family).

Strategies for teaching students with behavioral disorders

The most common challenges of teaching students with behavioral disorders have to do
with classroom management. Three important ideas discussed there, however, also deserve special
emphasis here: (1) identifying circumstances that cause unsuitable behaviors, (2) teaching social
skills clearly, and (3) disciplining a student fairly.

i. The first technique is to identifying situations and events that cause inappropriate
behaviors rather than focusing on the personality of the student doing the disrupting.
By identifying the particular variables often associated with disruptive behaviors, it
is easier to develop ways to prevent the behaviors, either by avoiding the triggers if
this is possible, or by teaching the student alternative but quite specific ways of
responding to the triggering condition.
ii. Some students with behavior disorders have had little chance to learn appropriate
social skills, so at this time teacher should teach social skills gradually. These skills
can be taught in ways that do not make them part of punishment, make them seem
“preachy”, or put a student to shame in front of classmates. Depending on the age or
grade-level of the class, one way is by reading or assigning books and stories in
which the characters model good social skills. Several behaviorist techniques were
discussed in including the use of positive reinforcement, extinction, generalization,
and the like. In addition to these, teachers can arrange for contingency contracts,
which are agreements between the teacher and a student about exactly what work
the student will do, how it will be rewarded, and what the consequences will be if
the agreement is not fulfilled (Wilkinson, 2003).
iii. Many strategies for helping a student with a behavior disorder may be implied in
the student’s individual educational plan. The plan can (and indeed is supposed to)
serve as a guide in devising daily activities and approaches with the student.
Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders often do not respond very well
to conditions that seem unfair to them. This can trigger a force that cause negative
 emotions and acting-out behavior. If such type of student students feel they are not
being treated fairly and with the same consideration and respect as their peers, their
behavior will be affected. To ensure that you are treating all of your students in a
consistently fair manner, don’t bend your established rules for any student. Apply
the expected consequences every time, with every student. Allowing exceptions
opens you up to accusations of being unfair.

3.4 Physical Disabilities and Sensory Impairments

There are few students who have serious physical, medical, or sensory challenges that
effect on their learning. Usually, the physical and medical challenges are medical conditions
or diseases that need ongoing medical care. The sensory challenges are usually a loss either in
hearing or in vision, or more rarely in both. Whatever the specific problem, it is serious enough
to interfere with activities in regular classroom programs and to qualify the student for special
educational services or programs.

3.4.1 Hearing loss

This may be because of a variety of reasons, ranging from disease early in childhood,
to difficulties during childbirth, to reactions to toxic drugs. In the classroom, however, the
cause of the loss is almost irrelevant because it makes little difference in how to accommodate
a student’s educational needs.

Teaching students with hearing loss

Adjustments in teaching students with hearing loss are quite easy to make though they
do require careful actions or choices by the teacher and by fellow students. Interestingly, many
of the strategies make good advice for teaching all students.

i. Seat the student close or in front of the class during teaching to you if you are doing
the talking, or close to key classmates if the students are in a work group. Keep
competing noise, such as unnecessary talking or whispering, to a minimum (because
such noise is especially distracting to someone with a hearing loss). Keep
informations brief and to-the-point. Ask the student occasionally whether he or she
is understanding.
 ii. Teacher can use charts and diagrams wherever suitable to demonstrate what you are
saying. Look directly at the student when you are speaking to him or her to facilitate
learning.
iii. Another way is to include the student in the classroom is to ask different students
to help such type of student in learning. Recruit one or more classmates to assist in
learning, translation or oral comments that the student may have missed.

3.4.2 Visual Impairment

Students with visual deficiencies have difficulty seeing even with corrective lenses.
Most commonly the difficulty has to do with refraction (the ability to focus), but some students
may also experience a limited field of view (called tunnel vision) or be overly sensitive to light
in general. As with hearing loss, labels for visual impairment depend somewhat on the extent
and nature of the problem. Following are the teaching strategies that a teacher can use to
facilitate students with visual impairments.

Teaching students with visual impairment

In general, advice for teaching students with minor or moderate visual impairment parallels the
advice for teaching students with hearing loss, though with apparent differences because of the
nature of the students’ disabilities.

i. Teacher should place such type of student in the class where he can easily see the
most important parts of the classroom and there should be appropriate lightening
in the classroom. Make sure that hand-outs, books and other reading materials
have good, sharp contrast and font size. It will also helpful for the students with
visual impairments.
ii. Another way is not to expect a student with visual impairment to learn information
that is by nature only visual, such as the layout of the classroom, the appearance
of photographs in a textbook or of story lines in a video. Teacher should explain
these to the student somehow. Use hands-on materials wherever they will work,
such as maps, photographs etc.
iii. Make sure that the student is acknowledged as well as possible into the social life
of the class. Recruit classmates to help explain visual material when necessary.
 REFERENCES

Schalock, R. & Luckasson, R. (2004). American Association on Mental Retardation’s

Definition, Classification, & System of Supports, 10th edition. Journal of Policy and
Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 1(3/4), 136-146.

Wilkinson, L. (2003). Using behavioral consultation to reduce challenging behavior in the

classroom. Psychology in the schools, 47(3), 100-105.