OEP 101-PSCHOLOGY- Module Topic Five (Four lectures)

OEP 101 Module Topic Five (Four lectures)

Title: Individual Variation and Needs and Exceptional Learners

Content:

·        Variations in Intelligence

·        variations in personality and temperament

·        At-risk students

·        Individualized Instruction programmes

·       Definition of exceptional students

·       Learning Disability

·       Gifted and talented children

·       Concept and practice of inclusion

Introduction:

In the previous topics there is an assumption that all students are similar. Students in one class may appear similar but we all know that there are variations in some of their aspects. Even children of the same age differ in terms of their height, weight and mental ability. Many students will be of average height, weight and mental abilities, but a few of them will be in the extremes of the normal. In the first part this topic we focus on students’ variations on some of the factors that have an influence on learning in school namely intelligence, learning skills and personality.

Objectives:

At the end of this topic the student will be able to:

·        Describe variations in intelligence

·        Identify and compare learning and thinking skills

·        Describe variations in personality and temperament

·        Explain what at-risk students are and describe the prevention programs that serve students at-risk.

·        Summarize the effectiveness of various individualized instruction programs.

·        Explain what is meant by exceptional students.

·        distinguish the terms handicap and disability,

·        List the characteristics of students with learning disabilities.

·        Describe the teacher's role in dealing with students with disabilities

·        List the characteristics of gifted and talented children.

·        Critically evaluate the concept and practice of inclusion.

Body

VARIATIONS IN INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence is one of the most difficult terms to define since we know that it is there but we cannot touch it. It is safe to say that psychologists know that intelligence is a function of the brain. Beyond that even very intelligent psychologists cannot have one acceptable description of intelligence. It is an abstract concept that is not directly observable and it is too broad to have one definition that encompasses all of its aspects and be accepted by all. Intelligence is associated with, but definitely not restricted to, problem solving skills, learning, and the ability to adapt to new experiences.

Psychologists have been debating if intelligence is a single general ability applicable in different situations or a variety of abilities of which each applies in a specific situation. So, there are different approaches in discussing the nature of intelligence. In psychometric approach intelligence is seen as a general factor (Described by Charles Spearman, 1863-1945) and specific   abilities such as verbal, analytical and spatial reasoning. Currently this approach is known as cognitive process as it focuses on thought processes relating to mental functions. The general intelligence enables us to operate in different situations either by using a single specific ability or in a combination of several specific abilities. These abilities are not of the same measure i.e. one ability may stand out more than the others. An individual may have greater verbal ability relative to spatial ability. This perspective can be demonstrated by the performance of students in a classroom. Some students have an overall high/poor performance in all subjects however the performance is not the same in all subjects. In some subjects s/he has a higher/lower grade relative to other courses. Thus a student performance in a subject depends on his/her general intelligence and specific abilities as related to that subject.

On the other extreme of describing intelligence Howard Gardner advocates that we have multiple intelligences that are independent of each other rather than one single intelligence (Gardner, 1993). Among the aptitudes he identified are verbal, mathematical, those for music, spatially analyzing the visual world and for mastering movement skills. Sternberg (1994) postulated the Triarchic Theory which hypothesize intelligence as comprised of three separate but interrelated abilities, namely analytical ability for solving familiar problems based on analyzing, evaluating, judging, making comparison and contrasting the elements of the problem, creative ability for solving new problems by creating, inventing, discovering, and imaging the elements of the problem and practical ability of applying, utilizing, implementing, and activating what we know in solving problem we encounter in our everyday contexts. People are not always equally endowed in all the abilities but intelligent people effectively exploit the abilities they have by capitalizing on the stronger abilities and knowing how to compensate for the weak ones. Hunt (1995) says human intellectual competence is divided into three dimensions, namely fluid intelligence i.e. the ability to develop techniques for solving problems that are new or unusual to the solver; crystallized intelligence i.e. the ability to use previously acquired methods in solving current problems); and visual-spatial reasoning, specialized ability to use visual images and visual relationships in problem solving. The central point in all these perspectives of intelligence is that it is very much involved in solving problems.

Intelligence tests

Many countries have individual intelligence tests that identify individuals’ level of intelligence. In the school setting these tests are used to predict ability to learn a specific skill. Also the results are used in making decisions about a student placement in the context of special education. Here we are going to mention a few. Stanford-Benet is a test developed by Alfred Benet in France and latter on revised at Stanford University in USA. Benet compared the level of mental development of an individual child relative to other children in the same developmental stage. If the score was above that of the majority in the same stage then one is more intelligent. If the score is lower than the majority then s/he is less intelligent and if his/her score was more or less equal to that of the majority then s/he was classified as of average intelligence. In the current Stanford-Benet test the scores of all people together reflect the normal distribution i.e. the majority of the scores are in the middle range while few scores are in the extremes.  Another popular test is The Wechsler Scales developed by David Wechsler in USA. There are three versions, namely Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence for children 4-6.5 years of age; Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children for children 6-16 years and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale for adults above 16.

The worthiness of intelligence tests depends on the user. The score can be used to place the student in the most appropriate conditions for his/her effective learning. However, in the hands of a wrong person it can lead to undermining the student’s academic performance and at worse be used to abuse the individual. Only experts should be allowed to interpret the results and make recommendations on the action to take.

There are controversial issues in regard to intelligence test. One of them is the nature-nurture issue. On one side some say nature i.e. biological inheritance has more influence on the development of intelligence than that of nurture, i.e. environmental experiences. They believe that intelligence is determined by genetic factors and the environment has little influence. Those on the other side claim that environmental experiences rather than inheritance have greater influence on the development of intelligence. Both heredity and environment contribute to intelligence and both interact in various ways. Currently most psychologists believe that nurture has more influence on the development of intelligence than those on the nature proclaim. Another issue is the influence of culture and ethnicity on the students’ performance on intelligence tests. This is a controversy in countries with students of different ethnicity in their school systems such as USA. This issue is also to some degree related to the nature-nurture controversy. When debating this issue one has to take into consideration that intelligence tests are geared towards students in western countries, and mostly to children raised in the middle class and living in urban areas.  What we believe is that genetic factors and environmental factors have influence on intelligence development and as such teachers have some role to play in enhancing students’ intelligence development since they are part of the environment.

As implied by the different perspectives of intelligence and the intelligence tests there are variations in the level of intelligence among students and in other aspects related to intelligence. Also in our normal encounters we observe that some of the human behaviours and responses indicate variations in intelligence. This can be inferred from behaviours of humans in different locations and of different cultures. Among them, solutions are related to problem solving and creativity. Thus, we believe that there are students who are more intelligent or bright students while others are less intelligent or dull. In our school system we have in one extreme students who are mentally retarded and in the other extreme the gifted ones who will be discussed in the following lecture. Most students in primary schools are in between these two extremes. However, due to screening done when selecting students who proceed to secondary schools we can safely state that students at this level are those average or above average. 

Also in one individual student we observe varying levels in abilities related to intelligence. A student can be performing better in verbal tasks and less so in numerical tasks or the other way round. The above imply that a teacher, in planning and teaching, has to put into considerations the variations among students in the class as well as ability variations in individual student’s intelligence.

VARIATIONS IN LEARNING AND THINKING STYLES

In the above section we saw that intelligence is a significant component in learning and thinking. We are aware that there are several ways of learning and one poses a number of these techniques. Teachers know that students differ in the way they learn school material. Learning and thinking styles refer to the mechanisms/skills of utilizing one’s intelligence i.e. a student’s preferred way of learning. Knowing these various styles of learning will help you to be aware of the different learning ways of which individual students in the class approach your teaching. So, you should expect wide variations of learning styles in your class and also be in the position to know the reasons as to why students give different responses to the same learning requirement. Consequently your teaching and perception of your students will take into consideration the various styles of learning.

As mentioned earlier some of the students use divergent thinking while others use convergent thinking in problem solving. Kagan (1964) found that some students are impulsive i.e. quick in giving the first answer that comes into their mind) while others are reflective i.e. take time to respond as a result of evaluating alternative answers so before deciding the correct answer. According to Santrock (2004) impulsive students tend to do well in remembering structured information; reading comprehension and text instructions; and in problem solving and decision making. Reflective students are better in setting their own learning goals and in concentrating on relevant information, and have high standard of performance. Jerome Kagan also identified analytical styles i.e. tending to focus on details and thematic styles i.e. view the pattern as whole.  Other styles identified include deep style i.e. try to understanding the meaning of the material by actively constructing and giving meaning to what they want to remember and surface style i.e. passive learners and only interested to know what needs to be learned (Marton et. al. 1984). Students who approach learning in deep style have intrinsic motivation while those using surface style are extrinsically motivated. Categorizing a student into a certain style does not imply s/he uses that style in all situations. A student may use deep style in one subject and surface style in another subject.

VARIATIONS IN PERSONALITY AND TEMPERAMENT

According to Zastrow and Krist-Asman (2004) personality is the complex cluster of mental, emotional, and behavioural characteristics that distinguishes a person as an individual. Personality has enduring characteristics that make each of us a unique person. It is a result of the person’s experiences as s/he develops taking into account many internal and external factors. It is has dimensions. However psychologists have identified and grouped these dimensions of personality into the “big five” factors of personality (Santrock, 2004). These broad identified personality dimensions are:

       i.            Openness. Whether one is imaginative or practical; interested in variety or routine; independent or conforming; and shallow or original.

     ii.            Conscientiousness. Whether one is organized or disorganized; careful or careless; irresponsible or efficient; and disciplined or impulsive.

  iii.            Extraversion. Whether one is sociable or retiring; fun-loving or somber; quiet or talkative; and affective or reserved.

  iv.            Agreeableness. Whether one is softhearted or ruthless; trusting or suspicious; quarrelsome or affectionate; and helpful or uncooperative.

     v.            Neuroticism (emotional stability). Whether one is calm or anxious; secure or insecure; and self-satisfied or self-pitying.

In your class you will have students of the above personality traits. In classroom learning interactions these types will be manifested by students, e.g. in the same conditions some students will be anxious while others will be calm; some will be trusting while others will be suspicious. Bear in mind that an individual does not portray the same traits in all conditions. S/he might be anxious in one condition and calm in a different condition. Santrock, (2004) says that the best way to characterize a student’s personality is in terms of his/her traits and situation involved. As a teacher you need to know the personalities of your students so that you understand their reactions, avoid creating conditions that lead to negative aspects of students’ personality, and be in position to encourage the reactions or help the student to cope with the prevailing conditions.

Temperament is a person’s characteristic way of approaching and reacting to people and situations, is the how they manifest  behaviour and not what people do, but how they go about doing it (Papalia et. al., 2001). It is believed people exhibit temperaments just after birth.

Based on the longitudinal study on temperament Thomas, Birch and Chess (1968) categorised individual into three groups, namely:

         i.            Easy children. These are children with a generally happy temperament, regular biological rhythms, and readiness to accept new experiences. Most of the time they are cheerful, calm, eat and sleep at regular times. In school setting they are in positive mood, adapt quickly to new experiences, routines and rules; and accept frustrations with little fuss.

       ii.            Difficult children. These are children with irritable temperament, irregular biological rhythms, and intense emotional responses. They cry most of time for no apparent reasons, have difficulties to sleep, harder to please and see new people and experiences as threatening. In school setting they are slow to adapt to new routines and rules; and react to frustrations with bad temper and such puts them at risk for problem.

    iii.            Slow-to-warm-children. These are children whose temperament is generally mild but who are hesitant about accepting new experiences. Compared to easy children they take longer time to adapt to new people and experiences. In school setting they respond slowly to new situations and display low intensity of mood.

Temperament seems to be relatively stable through one’s development. As a teacher you will have a class of students with these types of temperaments. Remember that not all students fit exactly in these three groups. Also the characteristics of one student do not apply in all situations and at all times. A student can exhibit easy child characteristics in one situation and easy-to-warm characteristics in another condition. So, it is very challenging dealing to students in relation to their various temperaments. It is important for a teacher to be aware of the temperament of each student in the class.

Santrock (2004) in citing several sources advance the following teaching strategies in regard to students’ temperaments:

         i.            Show attention to and respect for individuality. Sensitivity is highly needed in detecting the temperament of individual student and the overall temperament of the class. Being insensitive to some students may lead to chaos and misunderstandings in the class consequently affecting learning of all students including the easy children.

       ii.            Consider the structure of the students’ environment. Difficult children have problems in a crowded class or in frustrating situations.

    iii.            Be aware of problems that can emerge by labeling a child as “difficult”.  Some teachers focus too much on students they believe are difficult and sometimes by actually telling them they are difficult and expecting trouble from them. This may lead to student believing that s/he is difficult and act in the expected manner.

At-risk students

Who are at-risk students? For some Tanzanians this might be a new term. Up to now we have observed that there are quite a number of factors, both internal and external to the students that lead to student’s poor performance. The next lecture focuses on exceptional students needing special education.  However, there are students who do not fall into this category of needing special education since they do not have any disability but are in danger of underperforming academically or have a high probability of dropping out of school. Donnelly (1987) points out that, at-risk students are students who are not experiencing success in school and are a potential dropout. Also it includes students who are in danger of failing to complete their education with adequate levels of academic skills (Slavin and Madden, 1989). Students in this group come from low socioeconomic families, of parents with low level of education, broken families, and orphans. It is now common to see street children in our cities, hear about child labour, students engaging in petty business or prostitution to supplement family income. Most of these students are supposed to be in school learning but their school attendance is very low and concentration as well as participation on school learning is minimal leading to poor performance. In many circumstances they lag behind their fellow students in academic progress and low expectations from teachers and society undermines their self-esteem and expectations. In short, experiences in school for them bring negative feelings.

It is a difficult to identify students at-risk, and one should exercise caution. The following are some of the characteristics of students at-risk from different sources:

       i.            Avoid labeling these students and be aware that some of them may be getting inadequate diet, lack access to medical services and have limited exposure to matters related to education. It is inappropriate to condemn these students due to their existing conditions based on how we approach them in the teaching processes.

     ii.            Low grades. Low scores are indicators that a student is experiencing problems. This can be in the form of having low scores at the beginning of the year or scores declining as academic year progresses. They are low achievers who exhibit low self-esteem (Donnelly, 1987). A conversation with the students may indicate the source(s) of the low performance. The reasons are numerous and some can be complex. However, if left unaddressed it may lead to more problems and putting the student at risk of not participating in learning activities.

  iii.            Lack of participation in school activities. Students at-risk tend not to participate in school activities and have minimal identification with the school (Donnelly, 1987).

  iv.            Lateness or absenteeism.  If a student is always late or s/he is not attending class regularly it is an indication of a problem. Have a conversation with the student to find out the reasons for missing classes.

     v.            Disciplinary problems. They may exhibit impulsive behaviour and have problematic relationship with peers (Donnelly, 1987).

  vi.            Drug addiction and pregnancies. These are definite indicators of students at-risk.

vii.            Family problems. If there are problems in the family of the student they may affect his/her attendance and performance.

viii.            Disruptive behaviour.  If a student is being too disruptive in the class it is the opportune time to seek the causes of this behaviour. One has to be careful with these students since they can also adversely affect other students.

  ix.            Disadvantaged students with low aspirations. These are students from groups in the society that are considered as disadvantaged i.e. students whose society does not expose them to education offered in the country’s educational system. Disadvantaged students include those raised in nomadic tribes; girls in societies that consider educating women as against their traditions or is a wastage of resources; students in low economic-status communities that do not offer basic needs to their children; and children whose parents have low expectations on their children. In some countries there are communities that deliberately discourage girls from participating in school learning. If you detect a child from such background with low aspirations in education coupled with the expectations of not being a professional then this is a student at-risk (Biehler and Snowman, 1982).

 The above characteristics are not exhaustive. Some of the students may be at-risk but not manifesting any of the above characteristics. As a teacher you are challenged to know all your students individually. This is a daunting task since some of the classes are overcrowded with students and the learning resources are limited.

In addressing students at-risk you are advised to do the following:

       i.            Be alert. Training on identifying symptoms of students at-risk is needed. Your numerous encounters with students put you in a position to be the first one in the community to recognize students at-risk.  Brushing off some of the characteristics can lead to more problems. It is common knowledge that some teachers are quick in punishing students who fall out of school regulations because they are not aware of the concept of students at-risk.

     ii.            Identify students at-risk as early as possible. Early detection facilitates early intervention and so lowering the risks of not participating in learning activities.

  iii.            Continually monitor progress of your students. Situations that may lead to being at-risk arise during student life in school. The author is aware of students losing parents and sudden family problems like parents’ divorces or becoming unemployed that affect students’ life and consequently putting them at-risk.

   iv.            Have a positive attitude towards students at-risk. Avoid making students at-risk feeling alienated from you and other teachers. As a teacher create an atmosphere that make students at-risk feel at ease with you. Make them believe that you have high expectations on them controlling their destiny or coping with the problem while actively participating in school activities. The student at-risk should be encouraged to participate in school activities. 

     v.            Involve school administrators. A school should act as a unit in addressing problems facing a student at-risk. You should also work in consultation with school counselors.

  vi.            Involve parents/guardians. Parents and the community have a bearing on a student life that may lead him/her being at-risk. They are also involved on the education of the student and have the right to be involved on such important matters and solutions relating to school learning because some school learning like homework take place at home. With parents and other members in the society you can control situations that lead to students being at-risk and also create conditions that facilitate effectively learning to students in the community.

 vii.            Prevention programmes. Identify programmes that are effective in helping at-risk students. Donnelly (1987) suggest that you look for programmes that are involved in broad range of special services to help at-risk students; programmes that are intensive and provide students personal contact with a qualified, caring staff, and woks in collaboration with administrators, parents, teachers, and supporting staff to provide at-risk students a climate in which they are able to become successful.

INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION

Due to variations of learners sometimes it is possible to have instruction based on unique characteristics of the student. Individualized instruction is a method of instruction in which the content, instructional material, instructional media, and pace of learning are based on the abilities and interests of each learner (Wikipedia, retrieved June 2011). After analyzing several other definitions Salser (2001) defined it as a method of managing the instructional process without requiring live lectures from teachers. Thus individualized instruction is based on an individual’s unique learning style and instruction tailored to fit a student’s educational needs. With the advancement in computers and information technology the potential for individualized instruction has increased tremendously. Computer-Assisted Instruction uses the computer and the prevailing electronic environment to improve the design and delivery of individualized instruction.

The curriculum for individualized programme has to take into account the following aspects:

           i.            Pace. This is the amount of time given to a student to learn the content. Time to be spent on learning the material can either be controlled by the teacher in one extreme or by the student in the other extreme. Most of the students in Open and Distance learning have great control of the pace of learning.

         ii.            Method. This refers to the structure of instruction and how it should be managed. The method selected depends on how learning takes place. There are several theories and approaches of learning and the teachers have to choose the principles and theories that are appropriate to individual learners’ characteristics.

      iii.            Content. This is the material to be learned. The materials can be uniform to all students; however, high-achieving students can define their own objectives and pursue learning depending on their own interests.

DEFINITION OF EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS

Exceptional students include learners with disabilities and those classified as gifted and talented.  The next question is what a disability is and why gifted and talented students are classified as exceptional students. Disability is defined as limitation on individual functioning that restricts the individual’s ability. Currently it is acknowledged to say students with disabilities rather than disabled students. This acknowledgement is based on the fact that the second one is on specific conditions rather than implying the individual is disabled to function in any condition.

Another term confused with disability is handicap which is impediment imposed on a person with disability. In many public areas in Tanzania the toilets are built without considering the conditions of persons with physical disability, so these toilets are a handicap to such people. It is not proper to address people with disabilities as handicap. It is expected that the society will minimize or eliminate conditions that make people with disabilities be handicapped.  

Before categorising a student as having a disability, one has to assess the functioning ability of the respective student before determine it as less than normal. The main functioning areas assessed are social, emotional, physical, learning and communication. Also it is crucial to identify handicapping conditions that adversely prevent a student with disability to function at the same as other normal students. A normal teacher can observe without any special aid some of the characteristics of a student with disability. However, only a specialist can determine the level of the disability and provide recommendations on plan of action to help the student.

It is imperative to know that one same condition of disability is characterized at different levels of severity. Each level has corresponding effect on the respective student and as such requiring specific educational needs. Lamping students with similar disability in the same category and treating them the same may lead to more complications instead of assistance.

There are number of disabilities each with its own characteristics, each being caused by a number of factors. Here we discuss some of them briefly starting with the sensory disorders i.e. related to seeing and hearing:

Blindness and Visual Impairments

These are students who are legally blind (can’t see at all) and those with mild vision problem that has not yet being corrected or still have vision problems even with correction. Characteristics of visual impairments including holding books very close to eyes, difficulty in reading small prints, rubbing eyes frequently, red or inflamed eyes, watery eyes, headaches and complaints related to vision.

As a teacher you refer such students to eye specialists for diagnosis purposes and also for corrective measures; and most will be helped. For students with low vision sitting in front of the class can be of help. A student determined as blind cannot access materials needing vision and can be referred to schools which can cater for his/her condition. Also students with good vision can read to the students with visual impairments.

Deaf and Hearing Impairments

Deaf students cannot process information through hearing even with aid of amplifying devices. Hearing impairment is less severe than deafness but yet it adversely affects student performance related to hearing. These students find it very difficult (impossible for the deaf) to hear conversations in the class. Also children with this condition may also have speech disorders. (I believe you know that one first hears the word then imitates to pronounce it or use it in thinking process). In class they have difficulty following oral presentations and directions, turn head and lean towards the speaker, use speech sounds poorly, not responding when called from behind, and complaints about earaches, ear infections or have ear discharge (Ysseldyke and Algozzine, 1995).

Once you suspect a student has hearing impairment, seek professional help to determine the problem and advice on corrective measures. Santrock (2004) points some of the teaching strategies for students with hearing impairment, namely:

·        Be patient.

·        Speak normally, not too fast or too slow.

·        Speak distinctively rather than shouting.

·        Reduce distractions and background noise.

·        Face the student when talking to him/her since they need to read your lips and gestures.

Physical impairments

Physical impairments refer to conditions of the central nervous system and other body systems that adversely affect student’s participation in academic activities. They include a number of disorders. Orthopedic impairments have conditions that impede movement and control of muscle and skeletal movements. Students with cerebral palsy lack control of muscular coordination, shaking and have unclear speech. Epilepsy disorder is characterized by frequent sensorimotor and movement attacks. The frequency and duration of epilepsy attack varies among students affected.

Some of physical impairments require special services such as wheelchairs for movements. As a teacher you should arrange the class to improve movement. Also you have to be in position to influence the construction of structures that are friendly to students with physical impairments. 

Speech and/or Language Disorders

Remember that in learning a student has to communicate his/her ideas to teachers and others. In language learning course one must develop the oral aspect of the language. So speech and language disorders refer to disabilities related to communication functions of speech and language. They include stuttering, problems in articulation and voice. Also they refer to receptive disorders whereby a student lacks the ability to process incoming audio messages. On the other hand there are students with expressive disorder i.e. inability to use language to express one self. Expressive disorders can be inform of articulation disorder (problem in pronouncing sounds); voice disorders (producing speech that is too high-pitched, too low-pitched, hoarse, or harsh); and fluency disorders (stuttering). All these conditions will experience difficulties in communication.

Santrock (2004) suggests the following strategies for working with students with receptive or oral expressive language disorders:

·        Use multisensory approach to learning rather than an oral approach alone. Always supplement oral information with written materials and directives.

·        Monitor the speed with which you present information. Slow down and go back to check with the student for understanding.

·        Give them much time to respond, as much as ten to fifteen seconds.

·        Provide concrete, specific examples of abstract concepts.

For an oral expressive disorder he suggests:

·        Giving the student plenty of time to respond.

·        Recognize that the student has trouble responding orally. So consider asking the student to do written work rather than oral report.

·        Provide choices or give the student initial sound in word-finding problems.

·        Let the student know ahead of time what question might be asked so that s/he can have enough time to prepare an answer.

Behaviour disorders

Behaviour disorders are also known as conduct disorders. This is a broad category referring to students with persistent behavioural difficulties that adversely affect their education. These problems include aggression by being physically abusive of others and destroying their properties, difficult in maintaining relationships with teachers and peers, tendency to have anxiety associated with school problems, depression and inappropriate behaviour in normal situations. Furthermore they show lack of feeling guilty and tend to blame other students for the troubles they create. Since students with this disorder display these behaviours consistently they cause great disruption to teachers and other students in the class.

Schreiner (2008) identified the following effective strategies for students with emotional and behavioural disorders. I have included Watson (2011) suggestions that concur with Schreiner’s.:

·        Help students to overcome their emotional problems to achieve academic success. They have to learn and develop skills to control their mood and to think before they act. Seek from the student about his/her strengths, weaknesses and goals. Involve the student in setting academic and personal goals; provide opportunities for the student to use self-control/self monitoring; and teach self talk to relieve stress and anxiety (Watson, 2011).

·        Acknowledge the problem. Take the student aside and discuss his/her disability and allow him/her to explain how s/he if affected by it. This will make the student feel s/he is valued by the teacher and that you have recognized the problem. Also, develop consistent behaviour expectations and set limits and boundaries (Watson, 2011).

·        Create a silent signal. Work out means of silently communicating with the student so that you do not have to call him/her in front of others. Avoid confrontations and power struggles; and establish cues as reminders for inappropriate behaviour (Watson, 2011).

·        Reward frequently. To avoid making these students angry easily when corrected reward them instead of punishing whenever possible. In developing his/her self-esteem you reward more than you punish. Also give frequent feedback and acknowledge and reinforce acceptable behavior so that they see their efforts are appreciated (Watson, 2011).

 Watson, (2011) also has the following strategies:

·        Develop consistent behaviour expectations. In setting your expectation you should acknowledge that students with behavioral disorders cannot change for success immediately, so work on gradual overall improvement. Be patient, sensitive, a good listener and consistent in treating your student.

·        Communicate with parents and others teachers so that strategies are consistent at home and school. The disruptive behaviour displayed in your class is also displayed at home and in other classes.

·        Apply established consequences immediately, fairly and consistently. The student should know what is expected of him/her.

·        Remain calm and aware of body language when addressing the student.

Mental retardation

This is generalized disorder associated with impaired cognitive functioning. Students with this disorder show low level of intelligence (IQ score of less than 70). As expected, with this level of intelligence they have difficulties in learning in school settings and are unlikely to be selected for secondary school education. Also included in this group are students with deficit in adaptive behaviours that are indicative of problem with mental functioning. They cannot conduct things that normal students take for granted i.e. they have difficulty in such simple things like dressing, feeding and self control.

Mental retardation is classified into four categories, namely:

·        Mild mental retardation. IQ range of 55-70.

·        Moderate retardation. IQ range of 40-55

·        Severe. IQ range of 25-39

·        Profound mental retardation. IQ below 25.

Students with mild mental retardation can be expected to develop basic academic skills in ordinary schools.  However they have problems in regard to attention and cognitive processes related to organization, classification and strategies, memory, transfer to new tasks and are vulnerable to distractibility (Elliot, 2000). Those in the other categories require professional help.

Santrock (2004) identified the following strategies of interacting with students with mental retardation:

·        Always keep in mind the child’s level of mental functioning. Their performance in academic matters is below that of normal students in the class.

·        Individualize your instruction to meet the student’s needs.

·        Give concrete examples of concepts. Teaching should be clear and simple.

·        Give these students opportunities to practice what they have learned.

·        Be sensitive to the student’s self-esteem.

·        Have positive expectations for the student’s learning.

·        Put into consideration student’s other needs, and help him/her in improving self-maintenance and social skills.

·        Involve parents as equal partners in student’s education.

·        Also avoid placing them in situation where they can be frustrated.

Multiple impairments

Refer to a condition whereby one has a combination of several disabilities that adversely affect learning process. There students who are dumb because of being deaf; others are mentally retarded and blind. If you have students with multiple impairments seek advice from a specialist.

Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities (LD) are among those concepts that are very difficult to come up with one definition that applies to all conditions associated with it. Visser (2000) gave five different definitions of LD and Elliot at al. (2000) points out that there are more than eleven definitions. While mental retardation is related to cognitive functions while learning disabilities are associated with disorders in which a student has a difficulty in learning in a normal manner. According to Lerner (2003) a student with LD does not have mental retardation, behavior disorders or other major disabilities but still the student has difficulty with processing skills such as memory, visual perception, auditory perception, or thinking; and a result has trouble achieving in at least one subject such as reading, math’s or writing.

Visser (2000) identified among others the following definition as used by United State office of Education “the term ‘specific learning disability’ means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not include children who have learning disabilities which are primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor handicaps, or mental retardation, or emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. This definition implies that LD includes several disorders associated with learning but the factors that lead to them (LD) are still unknown. So, students with LD will have difficulties in learning and they will not learn as quickly as students not affected by LD.

Characteristics of students with learning disabilities as cited by Elliot et al. (2000) include:

·        Discrepancy. In definition of LD students with mental retardation are excluded. This implies that students with LD have normal or above normal levels of IQ. To be categorised as having LD there must be a difference between what the student is able to do and what actually s/he is doing. There is discrepancy between ability and level of performance.

·        Deficit. This is indicated by LD student being unable to develop academic skills that other students have. Some of the skills LD can perform include listening, reading and doing arithmetic.

·        Focus. The student’s problem is centered on one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in processing in using or understanding language.

·        Exclusions. LD is not direct result of poor vision or hearing, disadvantaged, or cognitive disabilities, but these students still cannot learn. Once the cause of the problem is determined the student cannot be categorised as having LD.

Teachers may use the following strategies that are considered successful for teaching students with learning disabilities:

·        When preparing lesson put into consideration the needs of a student with LD. S/he will need more time to complete assignments and other tasks.

·        Break learning into small steps. Make modifications when teaching to encourage self-confidence and success.

·        They benefit more when learning is to real life situations.

·        When introducing new concept, first discuss what they know related to the concept and then introduce it.

·        Supply regular feedback.

Gifted and talented children

Students in this category are quite different from students with disabilities we have described in the above part of the lecture. This is a broad term used in education. Students who are gifted and talented have IQ that is above 130 and demonstrate or have potential abilities that give evidence of high performance capabilities in specific areas (Santrock, 2004).  These are students who have evidence of high performance capability in areas of intellectual, creative and artistic or in specific academic areas. Some of characteristics of gifted/talented include:

Cited by Santrock (2004)

·        Precocity. Gifted students who are precocious (intelligent) in situations that demand use of their gift or talent. They are so far ahead of their age mates and others in the class in terms of understanding, mastering and completing school work since they possess good memorization, advanced comprehension and processes information in complex ways.

·        Marching to their own drummer. They learn in qualitatively different way from other students. They are creative by being independent thinkers; and exhibit original thinking in oral and written expressions; creates/invents and formulate abstracts. They learn rapidly without much assistance from teachers and parents.

·        A passion to master. Gifted students are intensely enthusiastic in understanding the domains they have high ability. They widely read in special areas of interest. They are often perfectionist and highly motivated with high expectations for self and do not need to be pushed to in learning.

Why do students who are gifted/talent need special attention in school?

Although students who are gifted have an advantage over their classmates, in normal classroom setting this can be very challenging to themselves and to teachers too.  To beginning with the above characteristics of gifted do not fit into lesson preparations geared towards normal students since they comprehend school material quite rapidly. So they spend less time than peers and this can lead to problems to themselves and to the rest of class. According to Peterson and Medaris (2006) gifted students find it difficult to fit in with schoolmates; and pressures from others can have a significant negative impact on their emotional development.  In short normal class setup is not conducive for gifted students learning capabilities.

Teachers with students who are gifted/talent are advised to use the following strategies in teaching:

·        Enrichment. Since they take less time to cover school material modify assignments provided to regular class by giving them extra work at an advanced level.

·        Self-pacing methods. Use flexible practices that allow students to advance at their own pace.

·        Acceleration. After covering normal curriculum in shorter time schools these students can advance into higher-level class.

·        Full-time separate classes or schools. Gifted students can be educated in special schools or separate classes where available.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Some of students with disabilities need special education services since they face challenges with learning in normal classroom settings. As we have seen above some have communication challenges, others have behavioural disorders, physical disorders, mental retardation or learning disabilities. In order for a student with disability to get the same education as normal student s/he might need individualized teaching procedures, equipment and materials adapted to his/her respective needs, rearranging learning setting for easier access, and if need be, be placed in special environment. Special education refers to education of students with disabilities that addresses their special needs and taking into account each student’s individual differences and needs.

To be categorised for special education the first thing done is the diagnosis of the disability to determine the student’s weakness and strengths in learning. Students needing special education have different needs, even if they have the same type of disability the level of the disability varies among them. After diagnosis the teacher makes intervention by modifying his/her teaching processes and assesses the response of the respective student. If the response is not effective there might be a need to refer the student for special education. Special programme identified for the student should be tailored to address the needs of the individual student and also taking into account his/her strengths. According to Goodman (1990) special education should be individualized so that it addresses the unique combinations of needs in a given student.

There are different approaches and institutions offering special education to students with special needs, especially in developed countries. Each approach has it merits and limitations and none is perfect. In deciding which approach is appropriate for a student with special need on has to consider the nature of the disability. Some disabilities, such as conduct disorder can necessitate the respective student to be excluded from class. You have to identify institutions available in your country and learn more about special education in course offered by the Faculty of Education.  Here we identify some of the approaches:

·        Mainstreaming. In this approach, part of the day students with special needs are educated in regular classes with non-disabled student and in other time segregated in separate special classes for students with special needs.

·        Inclusion. Students with disabilities and with a need of special education spend most of their time in a normal school with students who do not have special education needs. Such schools make modifications to cater for the needs of special education and also have resource rooms with specialized equipment for more intensive instruction secessions. Schools practicing inclusive approach need to have regular teachers trained in planning, and offering support to students with special needs. Inclusive approach taking into consideration the needs of normal students by sometimes segregating students with need of special education e.g. special room for students with hearing disability to minimize disruption.

Elliot et al. (2000) suggests the following guidelines for including students with special needs in regular classes:

Ø Students should be capable of doing some work at grade level.

Ø Students should be capable of doing some work without requiring special materials or adaptive equipment.

Ø Students should be capable of staying on task without requiring as much attention and help as a student in a special school.

Ø Students should be capable of fitting into routine of the regular class. 

Ø Students should be able to function socially in the regular class and profit from the appropriate behaviour of classmates.

Ø The physical setting of the classroom should not interfere with the student’ functioning.

Ø The school should be possible to workout scheduling to accommodate the students’ various classes and schedules.

Ø The classroom teacher should have adequate support to serve the needs of all children placed in the classroom.

Instructional strategies for students with special needs in inclusive setting can be classified as either being accommodation or modification. An accommodation approach refers to providing the same material to all students in the class but changing the delivery mode so that students with disabilities can access the material (Pepper, 2007). This can be in form of providing texts with large prints or using recording devices for students with visual impairments, listening to audio tapes, or student with physical disabilities sitting in front of the class for easy movement. In modification the material is changed to make it simpler depending on the mastery level the student is expected to reach; sometimes the school can make modification on the way the student is assessed e.g. during test one might read the questions to visually impaired students (Busuttil-Reynaud and Winkley, 2007). Modification may also include skipping some of the text, giving simplified or shorter assignments, providing extra aids and/or providing extra time to complete learning task. In some circumstances the school might provide both modification and accommodation to some students. 

·        Exclusion. This refer to students with special needs but are excluded from school and as such do not receive any instruction. In some communities in Africa there are parents with children with disabilities but do not want to enroll them in any school. Also some of these students are in hospitals/institutions for children with emotional disabilities or some of them are far away from schools with facilities special education.

·        Special schools. A special school is officially designated to cater for students with specific needs that are so severe they cannot be offered in other institutions. These schools provide individualized education that addresses specific needs of the students. The teachers in these schools are specifically trained to be professionals in teaching students with severe disabilities. 

Summary

This topic looked variations among students in the same classroom. Suggestions on how to accommodate students with various differences were advanced.