Question

Individual differences within a class are best handled by
1. Coaching slow children after school
2. Giving the bright students free reading time
3. Peer tutoring
4. Organizing groups for specific purposes

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 4 : Organizing groups for specific purposes

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

• Individual variation is a universal phenomenon. It is said that no two individuals are exactly alike they differ from each other in some way or the other. Such a similarity or difference between persons reveals individual differences in the early 1800s.
• Individual differences psychology focuses on this second level of study. It is also sometimes called Differential Psychology because researchers in this area study the ways in which individual people differ in their behavior.
• According to the dictionary of Education
• 1. Individual differences stand for the variation or deviations among individuals in regard to a single characteristic or number of characteristics.
• 2. It stands for those differences which in their totality distinguish one individual from another.
• So, we can say that individual differences is the differences among humans that distinguish or separate them from one another and makes one as a single unique individual.
• Children develop at different rates. This, in turn, creates variations among individuals (i.e., individual differences). For children in any preschool classroom setting, the differences in temperament, personality, intelligence, achievement, and physical factors such as height and weight, are noteworthy and reflect a wide range of normal variation. Some children grow rapidly and others grow more slowly.
• In general, understanding of the various developmental levels is enhanced by familiarity with the concept of individual differences Each student is a unique individual, different in cognitive and affective development, social maturity, ability, motivation, aspiration, learning styles, needs, interests and potential. Apart from this, there are other factors underlying student differences.
• These include innate differences in intelligence, differences in social and economic background, variations in past learning experiences, and perhaps variations in the level of congruence between the learner and the curriculum. In view of these factors, catering for individual differences is intended neither to narrow the gap between individuals nor to even out their abilities and performance.
• It should aim for understanding why students are able or unable to learn well and finding appropriate ways to help them learn better. The aim of education is to enable each student to attain all-round development according to his/her own attributes. To achieve this, students should be provided with suitable assistance and guidance in accordance with their abilities and learning needs, so that they can develop their potential to the full.
• The best approach is to provide some sort of grouping, either between classes or within the classroom itself, in order to reduce or accommodate for the variability with respect to student  background, achievement, ability or some other characteristic. Levelling or tracking, classroom grouping, cooperative learning, and individualized instruction are examples of this approach. Hence, option 4th is the correct answer.