Individual Differences

• Factors that bring about Student Diversity

– Socioeconomic status – the millionaires’ lifestyle
differs from that of the middle income or lower
income group.
– Thinking / Learning Style – Some of you learn better
by seeing something; others by just listening; and
still others by manipulating something.
– Exceptionalities – in class there maybe one has
difficulty in spoken language comprehension or in
seeing, hearing, etc.
 How student diversity enriches the learning
environment
1. Students’ self awareness is enhanced by
diversity.
2. Student diversity contributes to cognitive
development.
3. Student diversity prepares learners for their
role as responsible members of society.
 Some Tips on Student Diversity
• Encourage learners to share their personal history
and experiences.
• Integrate learning experiences and activities which
promote student’s multicultural and cross-cultural
awareness.
• Aside from highlighting diversity, identify patterns of
unity that transcend group differences.
• Communicate high expectations to students from all
sub groups.
• Use varied instructional methods to accommodate
student diversity in learning styles.
• 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.
• Diversify your methods of assessing and
evaluating students learning.
• Purposely, form small-discussion groups of
students from diverse backgrounds. You can form
groups of form groups of students with different
learning styles, different cultural background,
etc.
 Learning/Thinking Styles
• Refer to the preferred way to an individual 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 simply denotes a
tendency to behave in a certain manner. Your style is
usually describe as personality dimension which
influences your attitudes, values, and social interaction.
• 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
dominance in one of the following types:
• Visual Learners. These learners must see their
teacher’s actions and facial expressions to fully
understand the content of the lesson.
– Visual-iconic. Those who prefer this form of input are
more interested in visual imagery such as film, graphic
displays, or pictures in order to solidify learning.
– Visual symbolic. Those who prefer this form of input
feel comfortable with abstract symbolism such as
mathematical formulae or the written word.
Auditory Learners. They learn best through verbal
lectures, discussions, talking things through listening to
what others have to say.

• Auditory Learners falls into two categories:

– Listeners. This is the common type. ‘listeners,’
most likely do well in school. They may even carry
mental conservations and figure out how to
extend what they learned by reviewing in their
heads what they heard.
– Talkers. They are the ones who prefer to talk and
discuss. They often find themselves talking to
those around them.
Tactile/Kinesthetic Learner. Tactile/Kinesthetic
persons benefit much from a hands-on approach,
actively exploring the physical world around them.
They may find it hard to sit still for long periods.
They prefer ‘learning by doing’ preferring the use
of psychomotor skills to, say, abstract thinking
skills. They tend to have good motor memory and
motor coordination.
Global – Analytic Continuum
• Analytic. Analytic thinkers tend toward the linear,
step-by-step process of learning. They tend to see
finite elements of patterns rather than the whole;
they are the “tree seers.” They are more
comfortable in a world of details and hierarchies of
information.
• Global. Global thinkers lean towards the non-linear
thought and tend to see the whole pattern rather
than particle elements. They are the “forest” who
give attention only to the overall structure and
sometimes ignore details.
Left Brain (Analytic) Right Brain (Global)

Successive Hemispheric Style Simultaneous Hemispheric Style

1. Verbal 1. Visual

2. Responds to word meaning 2. Responds

3. Sequential 3. Random

4. Process information linearly 4. Process

5. Responds to logic 5. Responds to emotion

6. Plans ahead 6. Impulsive

7. Recall’s people name 7. Recall’s people’s faces

8. Speaks with few gestures 8. Gestures when speaking

9. Punctual 9. Less Punctual

10. Prefers formal study design 10. Prefers Sound/Music background

while studying

11. Prefers bright lights while studying 11. Prefers frequent mobility while
studying
 Multiple Intelligence
• The theory of multiple intelligence was first
describe by Howard Gardner. He defines
intelligence as “an ability or sett 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 varying degrees of strength and skill.
 Nine distinct forms of intelligence.
• Visual/Spatial Intelligence(Picture Smart) – learning visually
and organizing ideas spatially. Seeing concepts in action in
order to understand them. The ability to ‘see’ things in one’s
mind in planning to create a product or solve problem.
• Verbal Linguistic (Word Smart) learning through the spoken
and written word.
• Mathematical/Logical (Number smart/Logic Smart) learning
through reasoning and problem solving.
• Bodily/Kinesthetic ( Body Smart) Learning through interaction
with one’s environment. This intelligence is not domain of
‘overly’ active learners.
• Musical (Music Smart). Learning through patterns rhythms
and music.
• Intrapersonal (Self Smart) learning through
feelings, values and attitudes
• Interpersonal (People Smart) Learning through
interaction with others .
• Naturalist (Nature Smart) learning through
classification, categories, and hierarchies.
• Existential (Spirit Smart) learning by seeing the
big picture .
 Categories of Exceptionalities
• Learning Disabilities. Learning disabilities involve
difficulties in specific cognitive process like
perception, language, memory or metacognition
that are not due to other disabilities.
– Dyslexia (reading)
– Dyscalculia (number operation)
– Dysgraphia (writing)
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
(1)Difficulty in focusing and maintaining
attention and (2) recurrent hyperactive and
impulsive behaviour.
• Speech Communication Disorders. There is difficulty in
spoken language including voice disorders, inability to
produce the sounds correctly, stuttering, difficulty in spoken
language comprehension that significantly hamper the
classroom performance.
• Emotional/Conduct Disorders. This involves the presence of
emotional states like depression and aggression over
considerable amount of time that they notably disturb
learning and performance in school.
• Autism. Autism is a condition manifested by different levels
of impaired social interaction and communication, repetitive
behaviours and limited interest.
• Mental Retardation. Mental retardation refers to significant
sub-average intelligence and deficits in adaptive behaviour.
 Physical Disabilities and Health Impairments

• Physical and health impairments. This involves

physical or medical conditions.
• Severe and Multiple Disabilites. Two or more
types of disabilities.
• Visual Impairments.
• Hearing Impairments.
• Giftedness.