Knowing Your Learner

Adapted from the required text, Effective Teaching Methods: Research-Based Practices by Gary D. Borich and

How To Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms by Carol Ann Tomllinson

Individual Differences and Adaptive Teaching

Adaptive Teaching – Apply different

instructional strategies to different groups of learners so everyone succeeds in the classroom

Two Adaptive Approaches to Learning

• Compensatory Approach – Provide the learner

with an instructional method to compensate for the lack of information, skills or abilities known to exist among learners

• Teaching using an

experiment or group discussions

• Remediation Approach – Provide the learner

with prerequisite knowledge, skills or behavior needed to benefit from instruction

• Teaching

auditory skills as a prerequisite to a listening activity

Benefits of Adaptive Learning

• This is not just ability grouping for your students. The focus is on maximizing student’s strongest receptive modalities – Visual vs. Auditory – Discussions vs.

Presentations – Student Experiences

vs. Text Driven

Intelligence and Learning

• Intelligence is fluid and cannot be attributed to one single unified factor or dimension – According to

research in the field, only 25% of intelligence is attributed to IQ with 75% attributed to social competence

Specific Aptitudes & Learner Abilities

• Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner

– Demonstrated that there are nine different types of intelligence based on skills needed in a modern society

– One way of having students operate in

this environment is to establish centers for students to work at that adhere to these different skill areas

Specific Aptitudes & Learner Abilities

• Sternberg’s Definition of Intelligence – Intelligence can be taught and it can improve

through instruction

– The greater our experiences, the more we grow and can adapt to changing conditions around us

– Intelligence results from how people learn to cope with the world around them and from the mental processes with which they are born

Effect of Prior Learning on Achievement

• What task relevant prior knowledge and skills do students need to bring to the lesson?

• Task relevant are the facts, skills and understandings that must be taught in order for subsequent learning to occur

– General to Detailed – Simple to Complex – Abstract to Concrete

Cultural Differences in Learning

• Large number of public

schools are represented by non-European cultures speaking a variety of languages – Non-Anglo students

make up over 40% of all students in America

– Non-Anglo students currently make up the majority of learners in the 27 largest school districts

Socioeconomic & Cultural Diversity

• According to the

research, social class is a strong predictor of academic achievement

– Twenty percent of

American students live in poverty

– Family dynamics have drastically changed in the last 30 years

Language and Cultural Diversity

• Research shows that if language is used by a cultural group differently at home than in the classroom, members of that subculture are at a disadvantage – Cultural Deficit Model – Cultural Difference

Model/Cultural Frame

Learning Styles

Field Dependent

– Sees the world in terms of large connected patterns

– An example: looking at

a volcano would notice the overall shape, major colors and topographical features

Field Independent

– Sees the world in terms of specific parts of a scene

– With the volcano, this

learner would see all the details of the scene and organize items in a linear fashion

Peer Group Work & Learning • Make sure groups represent students from

different backgrounds and interests

• Make sure to establish group norms everyone can operate under in the class

• Make sure to do ground breaking activities that promote group cohesiveness

Home Life and Social Context of Learning

Child

Microsystem

Exosystem

Macrosystem

• Microsystem – family – School – Classroom

• Exosystem

– PTA – Parents’ friends – School board

• Macrosystem

– State – Culture – nation

Improve Success for ALL Learners

• To reduce achievement differences in the classroom, teachers need to do the following:

– Be willing to incorporate a variety of learning

aids (computers, learning centers, audiovisuals)

– Have high expectations for ALL learners and

reward accomplishments – Provide learners the opportunity to express

their own sense of what the know and to build connections to learning from their own experiences

Understanding Learning Profile

Learning Profile

Learning style

preference

Intelligence Preference

Gender-Based

Preference

Culture-Influenced Preference

Differentiate by Learning Profile

Content (What)

•Tape-record key materials

•Use role-play combined with assigned readings

•Use flip charts or overheads along with lecture

•Provide graphic organizers to gain big picture

Process (How)

•Use words or pictures to illustrate how to create directions for how to solve math problems

•Provide multiple versions of math problem and allow for opportunity to check for accuracy

•Investigate how this type of math problem would be used in real-life situation

Product (Evaluation)

•Assessment using student created portfolios

•Variety of product assessments •Essay

•Illustrated time line

•Oral presentation

•Model representation of learning