We all are unique by inheritance or by virtue of our growth process. Every individual does vary in one or the other ways irrespective of the commonly shared factors such as environment, food, and sociality are among many other factors. Being in the same family, born as twins, two kids land themselves in 2 different paces of learning and it makes us wonder when we witness such examples within such narrow space. We can imagine being a teacher in a classroom size of 4o or odd students. It is again is a tough task while handling 4o odd learners that learn at different paces. It happens almost repeatedly, the school bell rings to wind up the current period but few in the group still remain empty headed with multiple questions in mind. Though some champs leave the class room for a short break as they might have been confidently done with the period with no blanks in mind. Why is this? And what makes learners different from each other’s despite being taught by the same teacher and within the same classroom? Let’s look at the reasons behind such differences and how to break such barriers.
Reasons behind individuality
Well the reasons might be innate or acquired. Innate factors are to do with the genetics, familial illnesses especially the neurological and psychiatric ailments, slowness in the attention, concentration, memorization and some poor motor skills. On the other hand, an individual might differ in the level of his or her learning due to the influential factors such as family environment, poor support groups, peer influences, poor delivery of instructions, environmental factors. Let us explore the most common causes of individual differences in learning.
- Learning and the memory
Memory is something that is gifted from ancestors however it is modifiable based on the way we deal with it. In other words, you don’t halve to be an extraordinary person at your memorization skills in order to be a successful learner. The psychological research backs 4 important conclusions about individual differences in terms of memory and learning. Firstly, children differ in what they know, their knowledge base. Second, they differ in their level of working memory and the ability to hold information in consciously accessible memory. Third, most of the kids feel comfortable in different learning strategies rather than the traditional chalk and talk method. Finally, people differ in their ability to retrieve the information quickly and efficiently. Nevertheless, all these are applicable to short term memory as the remote memory works entirely different.
- Learning and the psychomotor skills
Some children displays a greater ability in fulfilling those tasks that demand certain motor skills such as quick reading, writing and narrating the stuff. Although it is true that brain plays a vital role in such phenomenon, a few children are specifically good at these skills despite their memory is poor. Moreover, a knack in the proper verbal skills is an added advantage for minority of the group as kids with good speaking abilities are much quicker in expressive component of learning which makes teachers more comfortable to diagnose and fix the issues related to classroom teaching. In some practical settings a good body mechanics and the cooperative hands are a great plus, this is especially true in the high-skilled vocational courses including some technical programs.
- Learning and the environment
Learning environment includes a diverse number of factors that acts as push and pull players for a learner. A good physical locations, interesting people around, a positive culture, comfortable seating facilities, proper lighting and ventilation, noise-free environment, attractive teaching aids , a good teacher are among many other factors that stimulate the child`s learning process. Furthermore, it is not always fair to blame the school environment for poor results because family is the core of student`s support system and this is where parents play a vital role. Keeping this in mind , home tutors are gaining a greater advantage as this is the only way the students can be given complete support at student`s home.
- Social, cultural and economic factors in learning
Culture is a broader term used to express the set of beliefs, arts, traditions, customs, and values of the family, group or society. The groups might include a school, community, a nation, or a state. On the other hand, culture is directly linked with the behavior of tutors, parents, students, staff, and the whole community. Furthermore, socioeconomic status of a family or a community determines the ability to support a learner in all the ways they need to. An extravagant classrooms, appealing salaries, pricy learning materials are all the result of good economic status. In many cases parents fail even to meet the basic needs for students, such as adequate nutrition, adequate rest, and support at home for homework, health care and so on.
- Individual differences due to learning strategies
Learning styles can oscillate between the rote repetitions to complex mnemonics. However, every strategy relies on recoding the information, registering it and reproduce when necessary. It is highly acceptable that people differ in their speed and accuracy of recoding the information however such difference can be also due to the influence of the teacher around them. There is no good and bad style or strategy but there is good and bad delivery indeed. Hence the it is important to choose the appropriate material by an apt instructor to make the learning success. Additionally, people`s learning differ on whether they use more language-based or picture-based strategies to learn and remember. In fact many studies have proved that the visual memory can be quite independent of verbal memory. People who are capable of tracing faces or pictures are must be given visual aids based delivery while others can be progressed through rote learning. .It is also very effective to use simulations, models, demonstrations, role plays, dramas, and many video based approaches to enhance faster learning.
- Attitude and the learning
Mindset and attitude are the backbone of learning as they strongly influence the way the learners look at their subject and the academics as a whole. Attitude is not in innate or inborn attribute, it is rather the learned behavior. Attitude is highly susceptible to change however it can be both the positive and negative depending upon the way we handle it. According to the behavioral theory, a positive reinforcement, self-discipline, strong determination really matters when it comes to the academic environment. On the other hand, timely reward for good behavior, appreciation by the teachers are the great boosters for the pace at which students learn. Krathwohl's Taxonomy theory states that a learning attitude is developed over time in an way that the past learning experiences influence on the future learning experiences.
Some quick tips for slow learners
- As a teacher, do not judge a student with a narrow focus as some kids are good at reading while the others are good at memory so it is important to identify the Individual Differences during live Learning.
- Segregation of teaching instructions might help to some. It is the practice to help both fast and slow learners and is commonly known as Differentiated Instructions.
- Use the mix of approaches such as mnemonics, Visual aids, discussion so that students who cannot catch one method might be able to follow others.
- Always advise to take notes and use them till the end of the exams.
- If the student is affordable, recruiting a home tutor is a great way to enhance learning as it uses one-one learning approach.
- Above all, having a private tutor makes a huge difference as he or she is required to deal with all the points I have mentioned in this post. Contact Innoclazz academy for the best home tutors in Bangalore.
