Lesson 4: Individual Differences

Module 4 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 _ in addition to
h i g h l i g h t i n g the variations on those theme

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 thatare
student-centered (e.g. class discussion, small group work) and teacher-centered
(e.g. lectures, demonstrations)
 • Use f ormats th at 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 pr ojec t s , 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.
In this module, you can discover the many benefits and learning opportunities that student
diversity can bring to your classrooms and also teaching strategies that cater to individual
differences.