CHAPTER 7:

STUDENT DIVERSITY
I

INTRODUCTION
- One of the educational challenges that teachers face nowadays is the diverse learners inside
the classroom. This situation calls the teachers to become more innovative and creative to satisfy
the varied characteristics and needs of the 21 st Century learners. It is essential that future
teachers like you to be more knowledgeable, most especially on how to deal with learners’ needs
and interests for you to prepare learning activities that are more meaningful for the learners. In
this chapter, you are expected to:

- discuss the factors that contribute to student diversity;

- analyze classroom scenario that considers student diversity
- suggest ways on how to provide learning activities considering student diversity.
 Lesson 1: Learning Styles

THINK
Learning Styles

- Ignacio Estrada statement that, “ If learners cannot learn the way we teach them, maybe we should teach them the way they
learn,” is a clear reminder for teachers to always consider in their daily teaching the unique style of learners. Considering the
different characteristics of the learners as visual, auditory and kinesthetic, teachers are challenged to provide activities and
materials that will correspond to their learning preferences, especially if the learners are electric (a learner whose learning
preference is a mixture of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic). In 1984, a known educational psychologist, David Kolb, described
learning styles as the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Jones and Blankenship
(2017) view learning styles as the preferential way in which the students absorb, process, comprehend, and retain information.
Each learner has their way of processing unique learning styles of the learners. The importance of knowing the concept of
learning styles could influence teachers’ understanding of students’ individual differences. When teachers are critically aware of
learning styles, they are likely to be very careful when designing a lesson plan, during, their teaching and when assessing
individual student.

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

- Kolb’s experiential learning style theory is typically represented through a four-stage learning cycle. Effective learning style
theory is typically represented through a cycle of four stages. Kolb (1974) views learning as an integrated process in which each
stage I mutually supportive and feeding into the next part of cycle. It is further explained that effective learning only occurs when a
learner can experience all four stages of the model.
 Kolb’s Learning Styles
Due to the heavy demands of improving the teaching-learning process, having knowledge of the
learning style of the students is very important. Maddux, Ewing-Taylor, and Johnson (2002) state that
one way to ensure quality education and positive student outcome is considering the relevance of
student learning styles in designing instructional methods. Kolb presented four basic learning styles:
accommodative, assimilative, divergent, and convergent, and each learning style is incorporated
with four learning modes: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract
conceptualization, and active experimentation.
Kolb and Fry, in 1975 described four different conductive learning environments that will accommodate
different learning styles and learning modes: affective learning environment, symbolic learning
environment, perceptual learning environment , and behavioral learning environment.
 Learning Styles Learning Modes

Assimilative Abstract Conceptualization

Strengths: Building Theoretical Models Focus: Logic, Ideas and Concepts
Emphasis: Less on People and More on Ideas and Values : Conceptual Systems and Rigorous Idea
Concepts Analysis

Reflective observation
Focus: Understand Meaning of Ideas
Values: Patience, Impartiality, and Thoughtful
Judgment

can Accommodative
Strength: Doing and Risk-taking
Concrete Experiences
Focus: Involved Interpersonal Experiences
Emphasis: Adapting Oneself to New Situations Values: Real-world Situations
Active Experimentation
Focus: Influencing People and Changing Situations
Values: Ability to Manipulate Environments

Convergent Abstract Conceptualization

Strengths: Intelligence Tests Focus: Logic, Ideas and Concepts
Emphasis: Problem-solving and Decision making Values: Conceptual Systems and Rigorous Idea
Analysis
Active Experimentation
Focus: Influencing People and Changing Situations
 LEARNING STYLES ( Kolb, 1984)
Accommodativ These types of learners excel at accomplishing tasks by following directions, meticulously planning, and
e ultimately seeking new experiences. They are characterized as being opportunistic, action driven, and risk
takers. They can easily adapt to changing circumstances. They can solve problems in an intuitive trial-and-
error manner rather than through careful examination of facts, and they rely heavily on other people for
information rather than on their analytic ability. The learning models associated with this learning style are
concrete experience and active experimentation.

Assimilative These type of learners can reason inductively. They can create theoretical models in assimilating disparate
observations into an integrated explanation. They are concerned with ideas and abstract concepts rather than
with people and social interactions and are concerned with abstract logical rather than practical aspects of
theories. They incorporate the learning modes of reflective observation and abstract conceptualization.

Divergent Divergent learners are best at tasks that require imaginative ability and awareness of meaning
and value. They can identify concrete examples of a concept and generate numerous qualities of
a concept from many perspectives. They are considered as brainstormers because they prefer to
observe rather than act, are emotionally oriented and tend to be very creative. They prefer the
learning modes concrete experiences and reflective observations.

Convergent Convergent learners’ greatest strength is the ability to efficiently solve problems, make
decisions, and apply practical ideas to solve problems. These learners do well on standard
conventional intelligence tests because they can organize knowledge by hypothetical-deductive
reasoning and converge to one given answer. People with this learning styles are well adept at
controlling their emotions and prefer dealing with technical tasks and problems rather than with
issues that involve interpersonal and social interactions. Convergent learners draw from the
learning modes of abstract conceptualization and active experimentation.
 LEARNING MODES (Kolb, 1984)
Concrete Experience This learning mode is the characteristic of learners
who desire plenty of opportunities for direct human
interpersonal interactions. They prefer to feel and
experience rather than think. They are intuitive
decision makers who value circumstances involving
people in real-world situations. This learning mode is
concerned with the uniqueness