GRACE MISSION COLLEGE

Catiningan, Socorro, Oriental Mindoro

E-Mail: [email protected]

“A wise man will hear and increase in learning and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.”
Proverbs 1:5

Name: _________________________________________
Aethel Rose G. verances Date: ______________
05/12/2023
Grade and Section: ____________________________
1E-29 Score: _____________

Facilitating Learner-Centered Teaching

Module 4

Lesson/Topic: Individual Differences

Intended Learning Outcome:
In this module, challenge yourself to attain the following learning outcomes:
• Identify the different 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 the teaching strategies that consider student diversity.

INTRODUCTION
You’ve probably 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 asked to consider the individual differences among the students in planning for effective
instruction.

ADVANCE ORGANIZER

Individual Differences
(Student Diversity)

Individual Differences Benefits of Diversity in the Classroom Strategies for

Factors Classroom Student Diversity

EXPLAIN
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 class tally-gender and racial, ethnic or cultural
background (nationality, province, language). 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. (You will learn more of these in Module 5).
3. Exceptionalities - In class there maybe one who has difficulty in spoken language comprehension
or in seeing. hearing, etc. We will have more on these in Module 6.

How Student Diversity Enriches the Learning Environment

A teacher may be "challenged" 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. Some teachers might see this
diversity as a difficult predicament, really a hassle! 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 perspectives which sharpen assessment of their own attitudes, values and
behaviors.
2. Student diversity contributes to cognitive development. The opportunity to gain access to
the perspectives 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 marketplace of ideas.' The
depth and breadth of student learning are 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.
As the German philosopher, Nietzsche, said over 100 years ago: The more affects we
allow to speak about one thing, the more eyes, different eyes we can use to observe one thing,
the more complete will our concept of this thing, our objectivity, be."
3. Student diversity prepares learners for their role as responsible members of society.
Suzanne 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 students' 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 Week, Linggo ng Wika, Indigenous People's Week, etc.
• Let students interview other students on campus who are from diverse backgrounds
(foreign students or students from other ethnic/racial groups). These students of different
racial and ethnic origin serve as source of first-hand information on topics related to their
culture. This can also provide opportunity for interaction among students who may
otherwise never come in contact with each other.
• Invite students to Internet discussion groups or e-mail; have students visit" foreign
countries and "talk" to natives of those countries.
• Ask students if they have ever been the personal target of prejudice or discrimination,
and have them share these experiences with other members of the class.
3. Aside from highlighting diversity, identify patterns of unity that transcend group
differences.
Clyde Kluckholn, 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 human' (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 to students the biological reality that we, human beings, share
approximately 95% of our genes in common, and that less than 5% 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 attempts 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 highlighting
the variations on those themes.
• Periodically place students in homogeneous groups on the basis of shared demographic
characteristics (e.g., same-gender groups or same-race/ethnicity groups), and have them
share their personal Views or experiences with respect to course issues. Then form a panel
comprised of representatives from each group who will report their group's ideas. You can
serve as moderator and identify the key differences and recurrent themes that emerge across
different groups, or students who are not on the panel can be assigned this task.
• Try to form groups of students who are different with respect to one demographic
characteristic but similar with respect to another (e.g., similar gender but different with respect
to race/ ethnicity, or similar in age but different gender). This practice can serve to increase
student awareness that humans who are members of different groups can, at the same time,
be members of the same group-and share similar experiences, needs or concerns.
• After students have completed self-assessment instruments (e.g., learning style inventories
or personality profiles), have them line up or move to a corner of the room according to their
individual scores or overall profile. This practice can visibly demonstrate to students how
members of different student populations can be quite similar with respect to their learning
styles or personality profiles, i.e., students can see how individual similarities can often
overshadow group differences.
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 for "drawing in" and involving students
include: (a) assigning them the role of reporter in small-group discussions, 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.
• Learn the names of your students, especially the foreign names that you may have difficulty
pronouncing. This will enable you to establish early personal rapport with them which can
later serve as a social/emotional foundation or springboard for encouraging them to
participate.
5. Use varied 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 and pictorial representations, or "hands on" experiences).
• Diversify the instructional formats or procedures you use in class:
o Use formats that are student-centered (e.g., class discussions, small group work) and
teacher-centered (e.g., lectures, demonstrations).
o Use formats that are unstructured (e.g., trial-and-error discovery learning) and structured
(e.g., step-by-step instructions).
o Use procedures that involve both independent learning (e.g., independently completed
projects, individual presentations) and interdependent learning (e.g., collaborative
learning in pairs or small groups).
6. Vary the examples 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 varied contexts that are relevant to their
varied backgrounds include the following:
• Have students complete personal information cards during the first week of class and use this
information to select examples or illustrations that are relevant to their personal interests and life
experiences.
 • Use 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 students to provide their own examples of concepts based on experiences drawn from their
personal lives.
• Have students apply concepts by placing them in a situation or context that is relevant to their
lives (e.g., "How would you show respect to all persons 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 learner more decision-making opportunity with respect to learning tasks: (a)
promotes positive student attitudes toward 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
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 paper-and- pencil tests and written assignments, students can demonstrate
their 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 (d) dramatic vignettes-
presented live or on videotape. One potential benefit of allowing students to cho0se 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. You will have more of
assessment in your courses on Assessment of Learning.
9. Purposely, form small-discussion groups of students from diverse backgrounds. You can
form groups of students with 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 center stage, thereby reducing the likelihood that the teacher
is perceived as the ultimate or absolute authority; and (b) students are exposed to the
perspectives of other students, thus increasing their appreciation of multiple viewpoints and
different approaches to learning.

EXTEND BY APPLYING
Describe/present the concept on individual differences by means of the following: (You may
choose one only.)
Song
Poem
Jingle
Slide presentation
PowerPoint presentation

As present the concept on individual differences by means of the song is in intelligence,aptitude,interest

, atitude and other personality traits. Physical, cognitive and personality areas.
These difference between individuals that seperate them from one another and make on a unique
individual on oneself are termed as individual differences.
 5-minute non-stop writing

Your 5-minute non-stop writing begins NOW!

From the module on Learner-Centered Psychological Principles, I realized that …
ILearner- centered Psychological principles provide a framework for developing and
incorporating the components of new designs for schooling.They focus on psycgologi-
cal factor that are primarily internal to and under the control of the learner rather than
conditioned habits or physiological factor.However, the principles also attempt to
acknowlegde external environment or contextual factors that interact with these
internal factor.

Erika M. Javier 09511098008 Erika Millan Javier/

Teacher Mobile Number [email protected]
Fb Account / E-mail