CHAPTER 4
Individual Variations
1
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Learning Goals
1.
Discuss what intelligence is, how it is
measured, theories of multiple intelligences,
and some controversies and issues about its
use by educators.
2.
Describe learning and thinking styles.
3.
Characterize the nature of personality and
temperament.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Individual Variations
Intelligence
What is Intelligence?
Intelligence Tests
Controversies and
Issues in
Intelligence
Theories of
Multiple
Intelligences
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Intelligence
Intelligence: Problem-solving skills and
the ability to adapt to and learn from life’s
everyday experiences.
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Binet Intelligence Tests
Mental Age

An individual’s level of mental
development relative to others
Intelligence
Quotient (IQ)

A score designed to measure
intelligence.
Normal
Distribution

A symmetrical distribution
Majority of the scores fall in the
middle
Few scores in the extremes


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The Normal Curve
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The Wechsler Intelligence Scales
Age-related versions provide an overall IQ and
verbal and performance IQs.
WPPSI-III Wechsler Preschool and Primary
Scale of Intelligence - ages 4 to 6.
WISC-IV
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children - ages 6 to 16.
WAIS-III
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Group Intelligence Tests
Advantage

More convenient and economical
Disadvantages

Examiner cannot:



establish rapport
determine student’s level of anxiety
Student:


might not understand instructions
might be distracted by other students
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Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of
Intelligence
Analytical:
analyze, judge,
evaluate,
compare/contrast
Practical: use,
apply, implement,
put into practice
Creative: create,
design, invent,
originate, and
imagine
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Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
Theory into Practice
Cindy always does very well on both standardized
and classroom tests and gets good grades in
school. However, she does not write original stories
well, nor would anyone say that she has much
common sense.
Q: In what form of intelligence is Cindy high?
Explain.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
Theory into Practice
Trent does not do well on standardized tests. His
grades are not very high. However, Trent is very
imaginative and a wonderful storyteller. Trent’s
classmates beg him to read his stories to the class.
Trent hopes to be a novelist one day. However, he
often turns in work that does not conform to teacher
expectations or directions.
Q: In what form of intelligence is Trent high?
Explain.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
Theory into Practice
Ken doesn’t do very well in school. However, he is
very popular with his peers and has excellent
leadership skills.
Q: In what form of intelligence is Ken high?
Explain.
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Gardner’s Eight Frames of Mind




Verbal
Mathematical
Spatial
Bodilykinesthetic




Musical
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Naturalist
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Gardner’s Eight Frames of Mind
Theory into Practice
Carrie loves to read and write stories.
Q: Which of Gardner's eight frames of mind is
she displaying when she engages in these
activities? Explain.
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Gardner’s Eight Frames of Mind
Theory into Practice
Jane is an excellent athlete, excelling at soccer,
basketball, and baseball.
Q: Which of Gardner's eight frames of mind is
Jane displaying when she engages in these
activities? Explain.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Gardner’s Eight Frames of Mind
Theory into Practice
Steve loves to play the piano, trumpet, and drums
and is quite good at all of them.
Q: Which of Gardner's eight frames of mind is
Steve displaying when he engages in these
activities? Explain.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Gardner’s Eight Frames of Mind
Theory into Practice
Tanesha is a good friend. People often open up to
her and tell her things they would not share with
other people. She never betrays a trust.
Q: Which of Gardner's eight frames of mind is
Tanesha displaying when she engages in
these activities? Explain.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Emotional Intelligence
According to Salovey and Mayer (1990)
emotional intelligence is the ability to:

Perceive and express emotion accurately
and adaptively

Understand emotion and emotional
knowledge

Use emotion to facilitate thought

Manage emotions in oneself and others
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Reflection & Observation
Reflection:


How are you intelligent?
How did teachers accommodate
instruction to address your intellectual
abilities?
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Enter the Debate
Should schools use intelligence tests for
placement purposes?
YES
NO
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Contribution of Multiple Intelligence
Approaches
The various theories have stimulated us to
think more broadly about what makes up
people’s intelligence and competence.
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Nature vs. Nurture in Intelligence
Genetic components provide a
propensity for a particular
developmental trajectory.
Enriching environments can
improve school achievement
and the acquisition of skills.
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Ethnicity and IQ Testing
The consensus is that due to
environmental factors, on average in
the United States, children from African
American and Latino families score
lower than white children on IQ tests.
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Culture and IQ Tests
Culturally biased tests favor:



Urban over rural children
Middle-income over low-income children
White children over minority children
Culture-fair tests avoid cultural bias:


Type 1: Include items familiar to all
socioeconomic (SES) and ethnic backgrounds
Type 2: Remove verbal items from tests
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Between-Class Ability
Grouping and Tracking
Advantages


Narrows class skill
range
Prevents “less able”
students from holding
back more talented
students
Disadvantages



Stigmatizes students
in lower track
May have lessexperienced
teachers, fewer
resources, and lower
expectations
Segregates students
by SES and ethnicity
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Within-Class Ability Grouping
Within-class ability grouping involves
placing students in two or three
groups within a class according to
their ability or achievement.
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Learning and Thinking Styles
Learning and
Thinking Styles
Impulsive/
Reflective Styles
Deep/
Surface Styles
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Reflective vs. Impulsive Thinking
Styles
Reflective students surpass impulsive
students at





Remembering structured information
Reading comprehension
Problem solving and decision making
Goal setting
Setting high standards for performance
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Deep vs. Surface Learning
Styles
Surface Learners
Deep Learners

Actively construct
knowledge


Give meaning to
material


Focus on internal
rewards
Are self-motivated


Are passive
learners
Fail to tie
information to a
larger framework
Focus on external
rewards
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Personality and Temperament
Personality
and Temperament
Personality
Temperament
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Personality vs. Temperament
Personality: The distinctive
thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
that characterize the way an
individual adapts to the world.
Temperament: A person’s
behavioral style and characteristic
way of responding.
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The “Big Five” Personality Factors
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Person-Situation Interaction
Theory
The best way to
characterize an
individual’s personality
is not only in terms of
personal traits or
characteristics, but
also in terms of the
situation involved.
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Children’s Temperament
Easy
Difficult
• Positive mood
• Reacts
negatively,
cries frequently
• Low activity
level
• Irregular daily
routines
• Somewhat
negative
• Slow to accept
change
• Low intensity
of mood
• Establishes
regular
routines in
infancy
• Adapts easily
to new
experiences
Slow to
Warm-Up
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Crack the Case
The Case of the Workshops
1.
What are the issues in this case?
2.
To what extent should teachers adapt their
instruction to the strengths, learning styles,
and personalities of their students? Why?
3.
What will you do in your classroom to
accommodate individual differences such as
students’ strengths, learning styles, and
personalities?
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Crack the Case
The Case of the Workshops
4.
5.
6.
What other individual differences do you
think you might have to accommodate?
How will you do this?
On which theory is Ms. Jacobson basing
her comments regarding Joe and Martha?
What type of grouping is Mr. Adams most
likely discussing?
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.