Individual Differences

What?

Students in a classroom are all different. Some of these differences are individual differences such as personality, temperament and intelligence. Intelligence is the ability to modify and adjust behaviors to accomplish new tasks successfully. It involves many different mental processes and may vary in nature depending on one’s culture. IQ testing is one way that has been devised to measure intelligence. There are 4 different ideas we studied about intelligence:

1) Spearman’s Concept of g: The idea behind this theory is that intelligence is a single entity. Spearman called this single entity a general factor, or g.

2) Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences: This theory suggests that there are at least eight different intelligences which are independent of one another: linguistic, logical, spatial, musical, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. This theory suggests that the majority of students, if not all, are quite intelligent in one way or another.

3) Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory: This theory suggests that intelligence involves the interplay of three factors; 1) the environmental context, 2) prior experience and 3) the cognitive process.

4) Distributed Intelligence: This theory suggests that people think more intelligently when they have the support of physical and social environments

Inclusion in schools has added to the differences found among students and the manner in which teachers must teach in order to reach all their students. Some special needs that may be found in classrooms today are: learning disabilities, ADHD, speech and communication disorders, emotional and behavioral disorders, autism, mental retardation, physical and health impairments, visual impairments, hearing loss, severe and multiple disabilities and giftedness.

So What?

Knowing the different ways in which intelligence is measured, and the different theories, helps us as teachers make adjustments to our teaching methods in order to reach a greater majority of our students. When we recognize that each student has varying strengths then we can teach lessons that “speak” to those strengths and allow for the greatest possibility of retention and understanding. As teachers, it is our responsibility to teach students and help prepare them for lifelong learning. That being said, knowing the individual and special needs of our students and how we can accommodate them, makes us better and more prepared teachers.

Now What?

The experience of taking the different intelligence tests helped me to understand better the purposes of each. While the IQ test left me feeling dumb, I see that in some cases, it would be a very important and useful tool in determining the special needs of some students. Although it might not be a tool that I would use for every student, it is one that has a place, just as the multiple intelligence test has a place. Having an understanding of the different theories and of the individual differences found among students will help me be a better teacher. I will plan lessons in a variety of ways, so that I can teach students according to his/her strengths. I will also be aware of students with special needs and adjust lessons, provide tools and do what I can to make the experience for each student as enriching and rewarding as possible.