INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, FACTORS, BENEFITS OF In many ways, socioeconomic status is related
STUDENT DIVERSITY, AND CLASSROOM to the concept of social class.
STRATEGIES Thinking / Learning Style
“I’ll tell you this: There are some people, and then there involves the different strategies and techniques
are others.” on how they learn easily and effectively.
-Anne Harris There are some learners learn by seeing and
looking and others are by hearing and listening.
Anne Harris – a school teacher from about 1910 to On the other hand, there are individual learn
1930. better by touching and doing.
-Students do differ in a multitude of ways, both they actually perform what they want to know
individually and because of memberships in families, and learn, that's why every learner has their
communities or cultural groups. Sometimes the own styles in learning.
differences can make classroom-style teaching more Exceptionalities
challenging, but other times, as Anna Harris implied,
they simply enrich classroom life. learners with exceptionalities as persons who
are different in some way from the "normal" or
As the term implies, individual differences are "average".
qualities that are unique; just one person has them at a Exceptional learners include those with special
time. Variation in hair color, for example, is an needs related to cognitive abilities, behavior,
individual difference; even though some people have emotional disturbances and giftedness.
nearly the same hair color, no two people are exactly learners require a lot of understanding and
the same. patience as well as special education and
related services to reach their full of
FACTORS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
development.
-In all learning environments, individual interact with
BENEFITS OF DIVERSITY
others who are in some way different from them and
that is what we call "diversity". Enriches the Educational Experience
- through culturally diverse classroom and social
-Genetics, study habits, handicaps and motivation are
interactions, students have the opportunity to
just a few of the factors that influence the way in which
learn from people with different backgrounds
children learn. and upbringings, leading to increased
-I realized that it is important to understand the innovation and collaboration.
differences that guide learning in each individual to
Improves communication and thought
ensure that opportunities to maximize learning are
processing skills
accomplished.
- students are presented with daily opportunities
Socioeconomic Status to interact with people of various backgrounds,
which enables them to learn to communicate
it depends on how individual differ in life style more effectively and often differently than they
from that of the middle income or lower are previously accustomed to.
income group.
Challenges Stereotypes
It also depends on a combination of variables - Students are often raised around people of
including occupation, education, income, similar socioeconomic, racial, or cultural
wealth and place of residence. characteristics.
- For many students, regardless of whether or not
Socioeconomic status is the measure of the
they identify as part of a minority or culturally
influence that the social environment has on diverse population, the college will challenge
individual, families, communities and schools.
predisposed stereotypes or norms that may “A good lesson written to state standards isn’t
have been developed during adolescence. good enough”
- When presented with opportunities to critically
explore these experiences, students can become - It can be challenging to keep students
more accepting, tolerant, and thoughtful engaged and actively involved. This is especially
members of society. true for students who struggle with learning,
speak English as a second language, or have
Students can see themselves in their leaders trouble focusing. The solution? Incorporate
- Having culturally diverse peers isn’t the only active learning strategies.
way students benefit from diversity in school.
- They also get the chance to see and experience - Examples: Group learning, Case-based learning,
various leadership styles from faculty, staff, Group discussions and talk-and-turns, One-
administrators, and community members. minute papers and One-sentence summaries,
- For many students, it’s a chance to see Demonstrations and Memory matrixes,
someone from a similar background that they Muddiest Point [Muddiest point is an activity
can emulate. where students are asked to write notes on the
- This is especially impactful for students most unclear or most confusing part of a lesson,
from historically underrepresented communities assignment, or project. Then, the teacher
(This term refers to groups who have been addresses these with students.]
denied access and/or suffered past institutional
discrimination.) 2. Embrace small group
Diversity better prepares students for the - Consider small group activities into weekly
workforce routine because it:
- Education within a diverse setting prepares
students to become good citizens in an Helps all learners, especially diverse
increasingly complex, pluralistic society; learners, by addressing knowledge gaps
- it fosters mutual respect and teamwork; Promotes collaboration and
- it helps build communities whose members are communication among students
judged by the quality of their character and
their contributions. Gives you more opportunities for
feedback
NOTE: Ultimately, studies show that diversity in Encourages independent learning
education, improves the “intellectual engagement,
self-motivation, citizenship, and cultural engagement, 3. Group by learning style, not ability
and academic skills like critical thinking, problem- - grouping by ability is counterproductive
solving, and writing – for students of all races.” (counterproductive(adj) tending to hinder the
Interacting with diverse peers outside a classroom achievement of a goal.)
setting directly benefits students, making them better
scholars, thinkers, and citizens. - It can make things a little easier at the teacher
table, but research is clear that in general, it
CLASSROOM STRATEGIES keeps struggling students where they are and
does little to boost students of intermediate
1. Encourage Active Learning aptitude to higher levels.
- Most educators have created at least one lesson - to place students who learn in similar ways
where they thought, “This is great — I can’t together — visual learners with visual
wait to teach this!” Then, they took it into the learners, auditory with auditory, etc. Doing so
classroom, and the kids either didn’t get it or can make a huge difference during small-group
wouldn’t participate. instruction.
- This demonstrates a teaching fact that should
be shared with all newbies: 4. Promote project-based learning
- Project-based learning is not a summative
assessment;
- it is a way of actually helping students
understand what is being taught through
hands-on methods.
- During PBL activities, kids work together to
solve real-world problems by coming up with
solutions together.
- the real ingredients of project-based learning
activities used to teach diverse learners are:
The academic content itself (the topic you’re
teaching)
Real-world scenarios that make the material
more relevant
A sense of purpose (end goal)
Opportunities to practice collaboration
21st-century skills
Student-focused activities with ample choice
Opportunities for self-reflection
5. Incorporate ed-tech and adaptive learning
tools
- There’s plenty of technology out there designed
with certain types of students in mind;
- try incorporating these tools:
Peardeck presentations like the Newsela Daily
Deck, designed to make news articles interactive
Plickers, free card activities for formative
assessment
Wordsinasentence.com to help students
understand vocabulary in context
Classcraft for game-based classroom
management options, like topic review framed as
Boss Battles
Book Creator as an alternative assessment
Google Keep for electronic note-taking and
organization
6. Provide alternative testing options
- The fact that we traditionally test on paper
doesn’t mean that it’s the only acceptable way.
- Instead, we should differentiate our approach
by allowing students to answer orally, through
drawings (pictures), and with the use of their
notes.
