6. Individual Differences
Differences: Big Questions • Are some differences changeable and how much? • What effect does community and environment play? • What can teachers do to accommodate differences?
6.1 The Nature-Nurture Controversy 6.2 Intelligence 6.3 Environmental Influences on Individual Development 6.4 Identifying At-Risk Children
6.5 Teaching Strategies to Accommodate Background Differences Among Children 6.6 Exceptional Learners
6.7 Reading Ability 6.8 General Issues 6.9 Summary
6.1 The Nature-Nurture Controversy
Heredity or Environment? • Nature = genetic certainties and predispositions • Nurture = environmental influences • Parenting and family • Socioeconomic status (SES), community, culture
Nature/nurture evidence • “Proof” on both sides • Problem: 2 factors difficult to separate • Twin studies used to control heredity factor • Study with identical twins: • Raised together ➔ near- equal IQ • Raised separately ➔ close but not as similar IQ
6.2 Intelligence
Intelligence categories (1) • Cattell: Fluid vs. crystallized (creativity vs. stored info) • Guilford: 120 areas • Sternberg: 3 components • Processing/analytical (problem solving ability) • Contextual/practical (apply knowledge) • Experiential/creative (personalized)
Intelligence categories (2) • Gardner’s 8 dimensions • Linguistic • Logical/mathematical • Musical • Spatial • Bodily/kinesthetic • Interpersonal (between) • Intrapersonal (within) • Naturalistic
Intelligence testing • Measures verbal and non- verbal abilities • “Normed” = 100 is average with 15 pts per marking (standard deviation) • 130+ very superior (2%) • 116-129 superior (13.5%) • 101-115 above avg. (34%) • 85-99 below avg. (34%) • 70-84 borderline (13.5%) • 69- mentally defective (2%)
Aptitude vs. achievement • Aptitude = functioning ability (predictive of future success) • Examples: IQ test, SAT • Can be used for grouping or tracking • Achievement = what has been learned specifically • Example: Graduation test • Tests often “normed” to produce bell curve results
Creativity factors • Uses 3 types of intelligence • Ability to analyze • Ability to synthesize • Ability to make practical applications and changes • Needs divergent thinking to restructure problems or see multiple solutions • Can be promoted by open- ended activities
6.3 Environmental Influences on Individual Development
Effects of race and culture 1 • Race cannot predict behavior or aptitude • Every race has range of behaviors and aptitudes • Culture as shared values, attitudes, perceptions ➔ somewhat predictive of behaviors and aptitudes
Effects of race and culture 2 • Cultures can have distinct attitudes and preferences regarding • Value of learning/schooling • Attitude toward teachers • Learning modalities • Social interactions and gender stereotypes
6.4 Identifying At-Risk Children
Risk factors that predict failure • Male • Lower SES • Retained in a grade ➔ Low motivation, low achieving, behavior problems in/out of school ➔ Need for early and constant interventions of support
6.5 Teaching Strategies to Accommodate Background Differences Among Children
Teaching to diversity • Not same as teaching about (“honoring”) diversity! • Know your students • Teach success skills • Consistency + novelty • Relevance to every student in every subject area • Clear expectations and feedback about behavior • Respect cultural preferences
6.6 Exceptional Learners
Attention-deficit/ hyperactivity (ADHD) • Distractible ➔ needs help with focus • Impulsive ➔ needs monitoring to complete • Fidgety ➔ needs to move • May show only 1-2 symptoms • Learning disabilities likely • Benefit from behavior contract, stimulant drugs
Behavior disorders • Also “emotionally disturbed” • Externalizing = behaviors aimed toward others • Angry, oppositional • Internalizing = behaviors aimed toward self • Depressed, withdrawn • Learning disabilities likely • Benefit from high structure, token economy, drugs
Learning disabilities • Subject-area difficulties • Reading/language • Writing/communication • Math (computing/solving) • Emotional problems likely • May benefit from pull-out for specific subjects, counseling • But pull-out can cause other problems!
Autism spectrum • Social communication deficit • Repetitive behavior patterns • Overall functional impairment • Sometimes savantism (extreme talent) • Spectrum = range of levels of functionality/responsiveness • Higher IQ ➔ better educational outcome • Benefit from training/therapy
Mental retardation • From genetic and/or environmental causes • Schooling options: determine functionality and support needs rather than IQ score • Education support range: from intermittent and limited (inclusion classroom?) to extensive and pervasive (self-contained classroom)
Speech and language communication disorders • Expressive (speech) difficulty • Articulation (e.g. lisp) • Fluency (e.g. stuttering) • Vocal (e.g. pitch, nasality) • Receptive difficulty (comprehending speech) • Social, even academic problems possible • Benefit from therapy, surgery
Vision and hearing impairments • Vision impairment = not correctible with lenses • Hearing (auditory) impairment = partial to completely deaf • If young ➔ delayed language • Social, academic problems possible
Gifted and talented (1) • High IQ + 1 or more of these: • High achievement • Persistence on task • Creativity and/or artistry • Leadership ability • Other possible traits: • Highly verbal/imaginative • Prefer working alone • Emotional/social problems
Gifted and talented (2) Schools might offer programs (but not required by law) • Accelerated (vertical) • Enrichment (horizontal) • Renzulli program model • Exploratory activities to find interests • Group activities for problem-solving/leadership • Real-world projects
6.7 Reading Ability
Teaching reading • Learning through meaning • Language experience = let child dictate and read back • Whole language = combine speech, listening, writing • Learning through decoding • Phonics = associate letters with sounds (but so many irregularities in English!) • Learn to read ➔ read to learn
Teaching comprehension in reading • Focus on identifying main characters, main ideas, plot, resolution • Reciprocal teaching method • Summarize main idea, clarify points, vocabulary, then predict • Read in subject areas!
Special case: Dyslexia • Difficulty with letter order and/or phonics • Leads to comprehension problems, school frustration • Benefit from extra phonics instruction, readable font, stress reduction
6.8 General Issues Related to Individual Learning Differences
Laws and support • Public Law 94-142 = federal standards to meet needs • Individualized educational program (IEP) after yearly assessment/evaluation and parent conference • Requires least restrictive environment to meet needs • Inclusion = special needs students in regular class with support (trend, not law)
6.9 Summary
Individual differences • Differences can be physical, cognitive, economic, cultural, aptitude-based, or achievement-based • Teachers must find ways to accommodate diverse learning abilities and needs • Laws define what must be done for individual needs – support for student/teachers
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