Notes
Chapter 2: Different Ways of Learning
Chapter Preview
 Basic educational concepts are being re-defined, re-examined and
expanded
 What does intelligence mean?
o Different types of intelligences
 How should classrooms be organized to meet different learning styles
 Gender issues
o Boys vs. Girls learning styles
o Single sex education
 Stereotypes and generalizations
o Recognizing group differences
o Avoiding the dangers of stereotypic thinking
 Exceptional learners
o Learning disabilities
o Physical disabilities
o Mental retardation
o Emotional disturbances
Learning Styles
 Learning Styles: diverse ways of learning, comprehending and
knowing
o Ways students learn are unique to each individual
o Challenge of educators to diagnose these learning styles
 Not always obvious at first
 Three factors contribute to each student’s learning style:
o Cognitive: information processing
 Different ways of perceiving, organizing and retaining
information
 Cognitive Domain
o Affective: attitudes
 Different levels of motivation
 Intensity of motivation
 Affective Domain
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 Attitude, values, and emotions that influence curiosity, the
ability to tolerate and overcome frustration, and the
willingness to take risks
 Locus of Control: Don’t take responsibility for their
behavior
o Physiology
 Tired and hungry learners will not be as successful as
well-nourished, rested children
 Body rhythms
 Day/Night
 Still/Active
 Light, sound, temperature
 Myths Versus Facts
o Page 38, 39
Is Gender a Learning Style?
 Teacher’s comments and behaviors blindly reinforce gender divides
o Sensitive to religious, ethnic and racial affronts
 Constant references to gender lead children to believe that teachers
are intentionally signaling important differences between boys and
girls
 Thoughts About Boys versus Girls:
o Boys: physically stronger, more aggressive, better in mathscience-technology, disciplinary problems, competitive, action
oriented
o Girls: nurturing, intuitive, personalize knowledge, successful in
arts and languages, more compliant
 Genetics versus socialization or in between?
Generalizations and Stereotypes about Gender Learning
 Stereotypes: absolute statements applied to all members of a group,
suggesting that members of a group have a fixed, often inherited set
of characteristics
 Generalizations: offer informational clues about groups that can help
teachers plan more effectively
o Recognize exceptions
 Heteronormativity
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Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Students
 A person’s sexual orientation
 A typical curriculum assumes heterosexuality
o Some schools are altering their assumptions
 Ensure that democratic norms of teaching equality are followed
o Ensure that all students are respected
What Does the Gender Debate Teach Us?
 Simplistic stereotypes about girls and boys “short-circuit” our thinking
 Generalizations about different groups’ approaches to learning can
help teachers plan accordingly
 No “one size fits all” teaching!
Multiple Intelligences
 Howard Gardner: Broadened the traditional assessment of
intelligence to include eight kinds of intelligences
 Multiple Intelligences: Captures the diverse nature of the human
capacity
o Logical-Mathematical: Mathematical manipulations and
discerning and solving logical problems
 Related Careers: scientist, mathematician
o Linguistic: Sensitivity to the meanings, sounds and rhythms of
words as well as the function of language as a whole
 Related Careers: poet, journalist, author
o Bodily-Kinesthetic: Excel physically and handle objects skillfully
 Related Careers: athlete, dancer, surgeon
o Musical: Ability to produce pitch and rhythm, appreciate musical
expression
 Related Careers: musician, composer
o Spatial: Form a mental model of the spatial world and to
maneuver and operate using that model
 Related Careers: sculptor, navigator, engineer, painter
o Interpersonal: analyze and respond to the motivations, moods
and desires of other people
 Related Careers: psychology, sales, teaching
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o Intrapersonal: Knowledge of one’s own feelings, needs,
strengths and weaknesses; guide to behavior
 Related Benefits: accurate self-awareness
o Naturalist: Ability to discriminate among living things, sensitivity
to the natural world
 Related Career: botanist, environmentalist, vet, chef,
science/consumer career
 Why the quality of a person’s performance may vary greatly in
different activities
Instructional Technology
 Opening doors to learning intelligences
Assessment
 Pencil and paper tests are less appropriate to test new intelligences
 Portfolio approach: a more comprehensive assessment-includes
student artifacts that offer tangible examples of student learning
 Multiple Intelligences Theory is changing many current assessment
practices
Emotional Intelligence
 Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ): Type of social intelligence
that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s emotions, to
discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one’s
thinking and actions
o “Taps into the heart as well as the head” (49)
Exceptional Learners
 Within a classroom: a great range of abilities
 Exceptional Learners:
o Mental retardation
o Learning disabilities
o Emotional disturbance or behavior disorders
o Hearing and language impairments
o Visual impairments
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o Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
o Health or other physical disabilities
o Gifted and talented
Gifted and Talented
 Gifted learners
 Five elements of giftedness:
o Artistic and creative talents, intellectual and academic abilities,
leadership skills
 Exclusivity invites hostility
o Does it merit special attention? Yes!
 GT students often suffer boredom and negative peer pressure when
kept in regular classroom setting
o Often drop out of school
o Some of the most talented students don’t always succeed in
school
o Sense of isolation and loneliness, pressure to achieve, fear of
failure
 Schools and GT programs
o Forms of tracking-separates the gifted from the rest of the
student population
o Lack of funds
o Enrichment activities in the classroom
o Gifted inclusion
o Accelerated Programs: give college credit early or skip grades
o Advanced Placement courses and exams-acceleration
opportunities
o Mastery dimension that allows students to move through the
curriculum a their own pace
 In-depth learning
 Independent learning
 Field study
 Interdisciplinary studies
 Social maladjustment due to acceleration
Special Education
 Disparaging attitudes were common for years
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o Resulted in inadequate educational programs
o Asylums
 Legal system
o Mandates to put educational programs into place
o Mirrored society’s judgment of the best policy for educating
special needs children
 Special Education
o Five Critical principles of special education:
 Zero reject: no child with disabilities may be denied a
free, appropriate public education
 Nondiscriminatory education: children with disabilities
be assessed so that they can be protected from
inappropriate classification and tracking
 Appropriate education: Children have the right to an
education involving the accurate diagnosis of individual
needs, as well as responsive programs keyed to those
needs
 Least restrictive environment: Protects from being
inappropriate segregated; educated in a setting that most
resembles a regular classroom
 Mainstreaming: placing special needs students in
regular classrooms for at least part of the day
 Inclusion: separate classes and schools are to be
avoided unless a child’s disabilities are such that
education in a regular classroom cannot be
achieved
 Procedural due process: upholds the right of students
with disabilities to protest a school’s decision about their
education
 Laws:
o Public Law 94-142: Education for All Handicapped Children
Act: offers states financial support to make a free and
appropriate public education available to every child with
disabilities
o Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): extended
coverage to all disabled learners between 3 and 21.
o Individualized Education Program: provide a written record of
those needs and procedures
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 An IEP must be written for every child who receives
special education services
 Must include:
o A statement of the student’s current
performance (including long and short term
goals)
o Description of the nature and duration of the
instruction services
o Overview of the methods of evaluation that
will be used to monitor the child’s progress
and determine whether goals have been met
 Today, 1 in 8 children are special needs
o Has risen 30% since 1990
o Learning disabilities: largest group of special needs students
o Meeting special education needs has strained education
budgets
 Regular education initiative: encourages schools to provide special
services within the regular classroom and encourages close
collaboration between classroom teachers and special educators
o Concerns about mainstreamed classrooms
Assistive Technology
 Technology-based devices for students with special needs
o Assistive or adaptive technology
 i.e.: Wheelchairs, switches that respond to voice
commands, computer programs that read material for
blind students, ERICA (Eyegaze Response Interface
Computer Aid, handheld computers
 Pitfalls?
o Spelling and grammar tools
o Inappropriate use of internet websites
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