MODULE 4

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

OBJECTIVES:

In this module, the students should be able to:

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

INTRODUCTION

Probably, you have heard someone say, “Everyone is unique.” 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.

Activity 1: Answer attached activity sheet.

Individual Differences
(Student Diversity)

Individual Differences Benefits Classroom

Factors of Diversity Strategies for Student
In the Classroom Diversity

COURSE CONTENT

FACTORS THAT BRING ABOUT STUDENT DIVERSITY

In all learning environments, individuals interact with others who are in some ways different from
them. 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 groups.
2. Thinking / learning style – Some of you learn better by seeing something, others byjust
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 “challenge” to handle a class with students so diverse. There may be students
having different cultural background, different language abilities, different attitudes and
aptitudes and behaviors. 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.

1. Students’ 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.
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 market place of ideas.”
3. Student diversity prepares learners for their role as responsible members of society. Suzanne
Morse 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. 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 many ways.
2. Integrate 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. Activities such as: Disability Awareness Week, Linggo ng Wika etc.
* Students interview other students on campus who are from diverse backgrounds.
3. Aside from highlighting diversity, identify patterns of unity that that transcend group
differences. Clyde Kluckholn, an American anthropologist concluded from his extensive research
that, “Every human is .at the same time like other humans, like some humans, and like no other
humans.” His observation suggests a paradox in the human experience, namely: We are all the
same in different ways. One way to promote unity along with diversity, is to stress the
“universality “of the learning experience by raising students’ consciousness of common themes
that bind all group of people.
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. Other strategies for “drawing in” and involving students:
Assigning them the role of reporter in small group discussion or paired discussion with other
classmate. Also learn the names of your students, especially the foreign names that you may have
difficulty pronouncing.
5. Use varies instructional methods to accommodate student diversity in learning styles.
*Diversify the sensory/perceptual modalities through which you deliver and present information
(e.g. , orally , in print, diagrammatic or pictorial presentations or “hands on “ experience.
* Diversify the instructional formats or procedures you may use in class. (student- centered e.g.
class discussion, small group work: teacher-centered e.g. lectures, demonstrations),
(unstructured e.g. trial and error, discovery learning; structured e.g. step by step instruction),
Independent learning e.g. independently completed projects; interdependent learning e.g.
collaborative, learning in pairs or groups)
6. Vary the example you use to illustrate concepts in order to provide multiple contexts that
are relevant to students from diverse backgrounds. Specific strategies for providing multiple
examples and varies context that are relevant to their varied backgrounds.
* Have students complete personal information cards during the first week of class and use this
information to select examples to illustrations that are relevant to their personal interests and
life experiences.
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.
*Promotes positive student attitudes towrd the subject matter.
*Foster more positive interaction among students
*Students working more consistently with leaser teacher intervention.
*Experience less anxiety or stress while performing the 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. One potential benefit 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.
* Instructor is removed from center stage, thereby reducing the likelihood that the teacher is
perceived as the ultimate or absolute authority.
* Students are exposed to the perspective of other students.

Note: Topics presented are excerpts from the book Facilitating Learning: A Metacognitive Process
by Maria Rita D. Lucas, Ph. D., Brenda B. Corpuz, Ph. D.
 MODULE 5

LEARNING/THINKING STYLES AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCIES

OBJECTIVES:

In this module, the students should be able to:

1. Describe the different learning/thinking styles and multiple intelligences.

2. Pinpoint own learning/thinking styles and multiple intelligences.
3. Plan learning activities that match learners’ learning/thinking styles and multiple intelligences.

INTRODUCTION

One factor that brings about student diversity is thinking/learning styles. Individuals think and
learn in distinct ways. Some would absorb the lesson better when they work with their hands
than when they just listen. Others would prefer to watch a video about a topic. Students, likewise,
have preferred ways of expressing their thought s, feelings and ideas. Some would prefer to
write, others would even draw or even dance and sing. These preferences involve
thinking/learning styles and multiple intelligences.

Activity 1: Answer attached activity sheet.

Student Diversity

Learning/Thinking Multiple
Styles Intelligences

Sensory Brain Visual/Spatial

Preferences Hemispheres (Picture Smart)
Verbal/Linguistic
Iconic (Word Smart)
Visual Left Brain Logico-Mathematical
Learners (Analytic) (Number/Logic Smart)
Symbolic Bodily/Kinesthetic
(Body Smart)
Talkers Musical
Auditory Right Brain (Music Smart)
Learners (Global) Interpersonal
Listeners (People Smart)
Intrapersonal
(Self-Smart)
Tactile/ Naturalistic
Kinesthetic (Nature Smart)
Learners Existential
(Spirit Smart)
 COURSE CONTENT

LEARNING/THINKING STYLES

Learning/thinking styles refers to the preferred way an individual processes information. They
describe a person’s typical mode of thinking, remembering or problem solving. Furthermore,
styles are usually considered to be bipolar dimensions. For instance, your particular
learning/thinking style would lie at a point in a continuum. Having a particular learning/thinking
style denotes a tendency to behave in a certain manner. Your style is usually described as a
personality dimension which influences your attitudes, values and social interaction.

There are several perspectives about learning-thinking styles. We shall focus on sensory
preferences and the global-analytic continuum.

Sensory Preferences. Individuals tend to gravitate toward one or two types of sensory input and
maintain a dominance in one of the following types:

Visual Learners. This learners must see their teacher’s action and facial expressions to
fully understand the content of a lesson. They prefer sitting in front so no one would block their
view. They may think in pictures and learn best from visual aids and often prefer to take detailed
notes to absorb the information.

Visual learners can be:

Visual-iconic. More interested in visual energy such as film, graphic displays or
pictures to solidify learning. Would like to read a map better than to read a book.
Visual-symbolic. Feels comfortable with abstract symbolism such as
mathematical formulae or written word. Prefers to read a book than a map and would like to
read about things than hear about them.

Auditory Learners. They learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things
through and listening to what others have to say. Auditory learners interpret the underlying
meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances. Written
information may have little meaning until it is heard.

Auditory learners also fall in two categories:

“ Listeners”- More common type. They most likely do well in school and out of
school they remember things said to them and make the information their own.
“Talkers” - They are the ones who prefer to talk and discuss. Tend to whisper
comments to themselves when the instructor is not asking questions.

Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners . Are learners who benefit much from a hands-on

approach and actively exploring the physical world around them. They prefer “learning by doing”,
preferring the use of psychomotor skills to, say, abstract thinking skills.

Global – Analytic Continuum

Analytic - Analytic thinkers tend toward the linear, step-by-step processes of

learning. They are the “tree seers”. They are more comfortable in a world of details and
hierarchies of information.
 Global – Global thinkers lean towards non-linear thought and tend to see the
whole patterns rather than the particle elements. They are the “forest seers” who gave attention
only to the overall structure and sometimes ignore details.

Several theorists have tied the global-analytic continuum to the Left brain/right brain
continuum. Left- brained dominant individual is portrayed as the linear (analytic) while the right-
brained person is one who is viewed as global, non-linear and holistic in thought preferences. A
successive processor (left brain) prefers to learn in a step-by-step sequential format; a
simultaneous processor (right brain) prefers to learn beginning with the general concept and
then going on to specific.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Gardner defines intelligence as “an ability or set of abilities that allows a person to solve a
problem or fashion a product that is valued in one or more cultures”. Gardner believes that
different intelligences may be independent abilities – a person can be low in one domain area
but high in another. All of us possess the intelligences but in varyingI degrees of strength.

There are nine distinct forms of intelligences. In order to facilitate learning effectively, teachers
should use strategies that match these kind of intelligences.

1.Visual/Spatial Intelligence (Picture Smart) – Learning visually and organizing ideas spatially .
Seein concepts in action n order to understand them. The ability to “see” things in one’s mind in
planning to create a product or solve a problem.

2. Verbal/Linguistic (Word Smart) – Learning through the spoken and written word. This
intelligence is always valued in the traditional classroom and in traditional assessment of
intelligence and achievement.

3. Mathematical/Logical (Number Smart/Logic Smart) – Learning through reasoning and

problem solving.

4. Bodily/Kinesthetic (Body Smart) – Learning through interaction with one’s environment. This
intelligence is the domain of “overly active” learners. It promotes understanding through
concrete experience.

5. Musical (Music Smart) – Learning through patterns, rhythms and music. This includes not only
auditory learning but also the identification of patterns through all the senses.

6. Intrapersonal (Self Smart) – Learning through feelings, values and attitudes. Learning through
which students place value on what they learn and take ownership of their learning.

7. Interpersonal (People Smart) – Learning through interactions with others. This intelligence
promotes collaboration and working cooperatively with others.

8. Naturalist (Nature Smart) – Learning through classification, categories and hierarchies. Picks
up on subtle differences in meaning. It is not simply the study of nature; it can be used in all areas
of study.
9. Existential (Spirit Smart) – Learning by seeing the “big picture”. This intelligence seeks
connections to real world understanding and application o fnew learning. “Why are we here?” ,
“What is my role in the world?”,

TEACHING STRATEGIES GUIDED BY THINKING/LEARNING STYLES AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGECE

1. Use questions of all types to stimulate various levels of thinking from recalling factual
information to drawing implications and making value judgments.
2. Provide general overview of material to be learned so that students’ past experiences will be
associated with the new ones.
3. Allow sufficient time for information to be orocessed and then integrate using both the right-
and left-brain hemispheres.
4. Set clear purposes before any listening, viewing or reading experience.
5. Warm up before the lesson development by using brainstorming, set induction, etc.
6. Use multisensory means for both processing and retrieving information. (Write directions on
the board and give them orally)
7. Use a variety of review and reflection strategies to bring closure to lerning (writing
summaries, creating opinion survey)
8. Use descriptive feedback rather than simply praising.

Note: Topics presented are excerpts from the book Facilitating Learning: A Metacognitive
Process, by Maria Rita D. Lucas, Ph. D., Brenda B. Corpuz, Ph.D.