Get summaries, questions, answers, solutions, extra MCQs, PDF for chapter 13 Individual Differences: NBSE Class 12 Education, which is part of the syllabus for students studying under NBSE (Nagaland Board). These solutions, however, should only be treated as references and can be modified/changed.
Summary
Every person is unique. More than two thousand years ago, the philosopher Plato said that no two people are born exactly the same. While all people feel emotions like love and anger and have needs for success and acceptance, we all differ from one another. These differences can be seen in our gestures, how we talk, and our appearance. We can see differences between one person and another, and we can also see different abilities within a single person. Individual differences are the variations that exist among people in one or more of their characteristics.
These differences come from two main sources. The first is heredity, or nature, which includes the traits we get from our parents. Our height, hair color, and some of our intellectual abilities are determined by heredity. The second source is our environment, or nurture. This includes our family, friends, society, and education. Our environment shapes our behavior, attitudes, and personality. Other factors like race, nationality, sex, and age also create differences. For example, boys and girls develop at different rates. When the text says boys “start winning the race” after age 15, it simply means they usually begin to grow taller and heavier than girls around that age.
People differ in many areas. There are physical differences in height and strength. There are mental differences in how we perceive things and remember information. People have different levels of intelligence, different interests, and different attitudes toward life. Some have special aptitudes, or talents, for things like music or sports. We also see differences in personality, emotional control, and social skills. To understand these characteristics, psychologists use tests. A good test must be reliable, meaning it gives consistent results. It also must be valid, which means it measures what it is supposed to measure.
Understanding these differences is very important in education. Since every student is unique, a teacher must recognize that they have different abilities, needs, and interests. The school curriculum and teaching methods should be flexible to help every child learn best. It is a mistake to treat all students the same way. Education becomes more effective when it considers the individual traits of each pupil.
Some children are differently abled and may have physical, mental, or emotional challenges. These children face special problems in adjusting to the world and require extra support. Education for them involves specific strategies. A crippled child might need special furniture, while a blind child might learn using Braille. A deaf child can be taught to understand speech by watching lip movements. Children with emotional difficulties need a safe and caring environment. Teachers play a key role in helping all children by creating an inclusive classroom that meets everyone’s needs.
Textual
Very Short Answer Questions
1. Define a psychological test.
Answer: A psychological test is a structured technique used to generate a carefully selected sample of behaviour.
2. Define individual differences.
Answer: According to the Dictionary of Education, individual differences stand for the variation or deviations among individuals with regard to a single characteristic or number of characteristics.
3. How does race and nationality cause individual differences?
Answer: Race and nationality is one cause of individual difference. For example, Indians are very peace loving, Chinese are cruel, and Americans are very frank due to race and nationality. Every race has its specific features and habits.
4. What are mental differences in individuals?
Answer: Mental difference is noticed in the form of perception, concept formation, imagination, formation of imaging, memory, and attention.
5. How can achievement differences have influence over individuals?
Answer: An individual differs from others due to his achievement in various fields of life related to academic, social, mental, emotional, moral, spiritual, and intellectual. This depends on previous experiences, and sometimes it is seen that one can achieve much more than what is expected from them on the basis of their intelligence level.
6. What is ‘Defective speech in children’?
Answer: Defective speech includes stammering, speaking at low pitch or at high pitch or no speech. Fumbling is also included in defective speech.
Short Answer Questions
1. What are physical defects in a child?
Answer: A physical defect is any defect that puts a hurdle in a child’s tasks, and this defect can be vigorous or slight. Such defects occur in bones, glands, or joints and are created due to accidents or diseases. Due to these physical problems, children cannot make normal use of their various limbs, and these defects block their functioning.
2. How can we help physically handicapped children to adjust in the class?
Answer: To help physically handicapped children adjust in the class, several measures can be taken. There should be a special type of furniture for such children so that they may not face inconvenience while working in the class.
The teacher’s responsibility includes several provisions:
- Pupils with impaired eyesight, even with eyeglasses, are permitted to move freely about the classroom to read the blackboard, maps, or bulletin board.
- Partially sighted pupils are provided with the services of selected classmates as readers.
- A hard-of-hearing pupil is seated in the front row and is permitted to change seats to hear what is said by the teacher or other class members.
- Lame pupils, including those in wheelchairs, are transported to and from school by special buses and assigned to rooms on the first floor. If possible, they should be permitted to attend a school with elevators, even if it is outside their school district.
- Physically handicapped secondary school students are usually permitted to leave their classes before the regular dismissal time to avoid passing through crowded corridors.
3. How can a differently abled child’s self-esteem be taken care of?
Answer: A differently abled child’s self-esteem can be taken care of by addressing the inferiority complexes that may form in them. The emotional adjustment of such children is very urgent, and the central objective of education should be to remove the feeling of inferiority from their minds.
They should be educated to change their attitude towards their defects and be encouraged to expand their contacts with other normal people. A handicapped person needs more encouragement towards achieving and maintaining self-confidence. They need a friend, such as a sympathetic but objective counsellor or teacher, in whom they have confidence and to whom they can freely express their emotionalised attitudes towards their condition. Morale building is essential for helping them.
4. Why is it necessary to understand ‘Individual differences for educators?’
Answer: It is necessary for educators to understand individual differences because a classroom is a diverse field where these differences are obvious. Handling diverse subjects is a challenge, so it is necessary to meet the needs and requirements of each student. Education can only be made efficient with minimum effort, time, and expense through knowledge of individual differences.
Individual differences must be kept in mind by the teacher if the needs of the individual pupil are to be met. The teacher must be familiar with many approaches to adjusting the learning situation to the individual needs of the pupil. A failure to admit differences by treating all pupils alike can lead to a dilemma in modern education. Ignoring that people differ in ability, intelligence, interest, social training, and strength, as well as in age and sex, would be a serious mistake.
5. Define ‘Individual difference’ and elaborate its categories.
Answer: According to the Dictionary of Education, individual differences stand for the variation or deviations among individuals with regard to a single characteristic or number of characteristics. They are those differences which in their totality distinguish one individual from another and make one a single, unique individual.
Broadly, individual differences may be classified into two categories: inherited traits and acquired traits. These are further divided as:
- Inherited:
- Physical
- Mental
- Temperamental
- Acquired:
- Social
- Cultural
- Educational
- Emotional
6. Why is it important to assess individual difference?
Answer: It is important to assess individual differences to evaluate the personal qualities, behaviours, and abilities of individuals. These assessment procedures describe people by specifying how they are different from or similar to other individuals. Scientific psychology systematises these procedures so that assessment can be made with minimum error and maximum accuracy.
Knowledge of these differences, their amount, interrelations, and causes is very important and necessary for planning the education of a particular child. Exact knowledge of what differences exist between individuals and their causes is important.
7. How does ‘planning’ play an important role in education?
Answer: Planning plays an important role in education by ensuring that the needs of individual students are met. Knowledge of individual differences is necessary for planning the education of a particular child. No child can realise their educational growth and development without a carefully planned and administered adjustment that accounts for the individual differences among pupils.
This planning involves:
- Linking the aims of education, curriculum, and teaching methods to individual differences.
- Designing the curriculum according to the interests, abilities, and needs of different students.
- The counsellor planning guidance techniques that keep in view the needs and requirements of the students.
8. Define special children.
Answer: Special children, also referred to as handicapped or differently abled children, are those in the category of exceptional children who are mentally, physically, or emotionally normal yet defective as compared to simple or normal children. This includes children who are crippled, blind, partially blind, deaf, hard of hearing, or mentally retarded.
9. What is the general requirement for special children?
Answer: The general requirement for special children is special care, as they face various problems of adjustment. There is a need for special educational facilities for such children from various points of view. They need more encouragement towards achieving and maintaining self-confidence. They must also be helped to learn to be independent and to care for their personal needs.
10. What cautions should be taken into consideration for a crippled child?
Answer: The following cautions and provisions should be taken into consideration for a crippled child’s education:
- Since their mental level is like that of normal children, they should be provided opportunities along with normal children to achieve education and mental development.
- There should be an arrangement of proper furniture according to their physical requirements.
- They should be provided with training for special vocations so that they may not become a burden on others. Their physical defects should also be considered.
- Crippled children should be sent to centres for artificial limbs to benefit from operations. The parents of handicapped children should also be educated for this purpose.
- They should be educated to change their attitude towards their defects and be encouraged to expand their contacts with other normal people.
- The emotional adjustment of crippled children is very urgent. The central objective of education should be to remove the feeling of inferiority from their minds.
Long Answer Questions
1. How can education be imparted to emotionally and socially handicapped children?
Answer: For emotionally and socially handicapped children where therapeutic treatment may be needed, teachers are held responsible for their well-being and adjustment. For this, the teacher should take note of the following:
- Appreciation of variations in growth and development.
- It is significant to understand the influences on an individual of his culture and social background.
- Knowledge of the relationship between learning difficulties and emotional maladjustment.
- Alertness of symptoms of emotional disturbances.
- Recognition of the underlying causes of abnormal behaviour.
- Insight on the part of the school counsellor considering his own limitation in dealing with seriously disturbed pupils.
- Knowledge of appropriate community agencies to which reference can be made for diagnosis and therapy of the emotional or social deviate.
- Co-operation with home, school, and the agency is necessary.
The following suggestions have been given for the remedy and education of emotionally and socially handicapped children:
- The family environment of these children should be improved.
- It is essential to improve school environment.
- Improvement in social environment is needed.
- Psychological methods should be used for the treatment of these children.
- Their treatment should be done by mental therapy so that the mental tensions and conflicts can be removed.
- There should be a provision specially for juvenile courts where the cases for delinquents are settled.
- The provision of reformatory school for juvenile delinquents can prove to be useful.
2. What should be the role of a teacher in meeting classroom challenges?
Answer: To meet classroom challenges, a teacher must keep individual differences in mind so that the needs of the individual pupil can be met. The teacher has to adopt different types of teaching methods and use specific teaching aids that will attract children, considering their individual interests and needs. The teacher must be familiar with many approaches to adjusting the learning situation to the individual needs of the pupil.
A teacher can contribute to the education and remedy of various types of handicapped children. For emotionally and socially handicapped children, the teacher should appreciate variations in growth, understand cultural influences, be alert to symptoms of emotional disturbances, and recognise the causes of abnormal behaviour.
The teacher also has specific responsibilities for physically handicapped students in regular classrooms. These include:
- Permitting pupils with impaired eyesight to move freely to read the blackboard, maps, or bulletin board.
- Providing partially sighted pupils with the services of selected classmates as readers.
- Seating a hard-of-hearing pupil in the front row and permitting them to change seats to hear better.
3. Why is it important to adjust with specially abled students?
Answer: It is important to adjust with specially abled students because they experience specific problems of adjustment and face various challenges in every field. As a result of physical defects, inferiority complexes are formed in these children, and they do not participate in most activities. They have to suppress their needs, are touchy, and may get hurt easily. Due to ideas that other people consider them inferior, their emotional balance does not remain balanced.
Mentally handicapped children feel mal-adjusted at home, school, and society. Their failure makes them disappointed and they turn frustrated. They may also lag behind in social development and not take an interest in school activities. In addition to adjustment problems, such children face emotional, physical, and mental development problems and cannot be emotionally matured.
A handicapped person is upset by many fears, loss of prestige, and loss of ability to make a living. They need more encouragement towards achieving and maintaining self-confidence. Therefore, it is essential for teachers and parents to pay attention to these problems so that the children can adjust properly at home, school, and society and not be dependent on others.
4. Discuss the common causes of individual differences.
Answer: There are various causes which are responsible for bringing individual differences. The common causes are:
- Heredity (Nature): Individuals have various endowments, abilities, and capacities provided by heredity, which decide the path of progress and development. Heredity also puts limits upon an individual’s growth and contributes to sex, intelligence, and other specific abilities. An individual’s height, size, shape, colour of hair, shape of face, nose, hands, and legs, and the entire structure of the body are determined by heretical qualities. Intellectual differences are also to a great extent influenced by hereditary factors.
- Environment (Nurture): Environment plays a key role in individual differences, as no person from birth to death gets the same environment. It brings individual differences in behaviour, activities, attitude, and style of life. Environment refers not only to physical surroundings but also to the different types of people, society, their culture, customs, traditions, social heritage, ideas, and ideals. This may include family set up, peer group, economic status, education, etc.
- Race and Nationality: Race and nationality is one cause of individual difference. For example, Indians are very peace-loving, Chinese are cruel, and Americans are very frank due to race and nationality. Every race has its specific features and habits.
- Sex: The development of boys and girls exhibits differences. The physical development of a girl takes place a year or two earlier than boys. Between the ages of 11 and 14, girls are taller and heavier, but after 15, boys start winning the race. Girls are described as kind, affectionate, and tender, while boys are brave and competent. Men are strong in physical endurance, while women on average show superiority in memory, language, and aesthetic sense, and have better control over their emotions.
- Age: Age is another factor responsible for individual differences. Learning ability and adjustment capacity naturally grow with age. As one grows, they can acquire better control over their emotions and better social responsibilities.
- Education: Education is a major factor that brings individual differences. There is a wide gap in the behaviours of educated and uneducated persons. Traits like social, emotional, and intellectual are controlled and modified through proper education. Uneducated persons are guided by their instinct and emotions, whereas educated persons are guided by their reasoning power.
5. What are the educational implications of individual difference?
Answer: The educational implications of individual differences are:
- Aims of education, curriculum, method of teaching, etc. should be linked with individual differences considering the different abilities and traits of an individual.
- Curriculum should be designed as per the interest, abilities, and needs of different students.
- The teacher has to adopt different types of methods of teaching considering individual differences related to interest, need, etc.
- Some co-curricular activities such as drama, music, literary activities (Essay and Debate Competition) should be assigned to children according to their interest.
- The teacher uses certain specific teaching aids which will attract children towards teaching considering their interests and need.
- Various methods such as playing method, project method, lecture method, display method are to be used considering/discovering how different children respond to a task or a problem.
- The division of pupils into classes should not be based only on the mental age or chronological age of children but the physical, social, and emotional maturity should be given due consideration.
- In case of vocational guidance the counsellor is to plan the guidance technique keeping in view the needs and requirements of the students.
6. How does individual differ in igneous and what is its impact?
Answer: [The term “igneous” likely refers to inborn or inherited traits, which are a major cause of individual differences.] Individuals differ based on inherited traits in several ways. Each person has various endowments, abilities, and capacities provided by heredity. These inherited traits include physical characteristics such as an individual’s height, size, shape, colour of hair, shape of face, nose, hands, and legs. The entire structure of the body is determined by these qualities. Besides physical traits, intellectual differences, sex, and other specific abilities are also influenced to a great extent by hereditary factors. As Plato stated, “No two persons are born exactly alike; but each differs from the other in natural endowments.”
The impact of these inherited differences is significant. These traits decide the path of progress and development for an individual and also place limits upon their growth and development in various dimensions. Because of these natural endowments, one person may be suited for one occupation while another is suited for a different one.
7. What provisions should be made for the blind and deaf students?
Answer: For blind and near-blind children, the following provisions should be made:
- If their teaching can be improved with a pair of spectacles, such arrangements should be made.
- Completely blind children require special treatment and should be sent to schools for the blind where special teaching methods are used.
- Books with bold type and Braille should be used for them.
- There should be a proper arrangement of air and light.
- The reading and writing habits of these children should be improved.
- Blackboards should be such that words written on them could be easily read and placed at a convenient distance.
- The blind or partially blind should be given training in handicrafts instead of bookish knowledge.
For deaf and hard-of-hearing children, the following provisions should be made:
- There should be provision for deaf children in normal schools with training in special techniques.
- There should be no separate provisions for children who are hard of hearing because they can learn from the lip movements of teachers and classmates.
- Various devices can be used to aid them in listening.
- A rapport should be established between such children and teachers so that the teacher may pay individual attention for their adjustment.
8. What measures should be taken to educate the visually impaired children?
Answer: To educate visually impaired children, including those who are blind, near-blind, or partially sighted, the following measures should be taken:
- If teaching can be improved with a pair of spectacles, such arrangements should be made.
- Completely blind children should be sent to special schools that use special teaching methods.
- Books with bold type and Braille should be used.
- There should be a proper arrangement of air and light in the learning environment.
- The reading and writing habits of these children should be improved.
- Blackboards should be designed and placed so that words can be read easily without strain.
- Training in handicrafts should be provided instead of only bookish knowledge.
- In a regular classroom, pupils with impaired eyesight, even with eyeglasses, should be permitted to move about freely to read what is on the blackboard, maps, or bulletin board.
- Partially sighted pupils should be provided the services of selected classmates as readers.
9. What provision should be made for the deaf and hard of hearing children?
Answer: The following provisions should be made for the education of deaf and hard of hearing children:
- There should be provision for deaf children in normal schools, where they receive training with special techniques.
- For children who are hard of hearing, there should be no separate provisions, as they can learn a lot from the lip movements of the teachers and classmates.
- Various devices can be used to aid them in listening. Sometimes, children who are hard of hearing can improve with the help of hearing aids.
- In the classroom, a hard of hearing pupil should be seated in the front row and permitted to change seats to better hear what is said by the teacher or other members of the class.
- A rapport should be established between such children and their teachers so that the teacher may pay individual attention for their adjustment.
10. How can children with weak immunity be handled?
Answer: Children with weak immunity are described as delicate children, who do not have any specific disease or physical defect but whose health is not so sound. This delicacy can be due to a defective upbringing, imbalanced diets, or contagious diseases.
For educating such children, there should be provisions for medical checkups and psychological teaching methods. It is also essential to provide them with balanced diets and ensure they have a sound upbringing.
Additional
Extra Questions and Answers
1. What did Plato state about individual differences more than 2000 years ago?
Answer: More than 2000 years ago, Plato stated: “No two persons are born exactly alike; but each differs from the other in natural endowments, one being suited for one occupation and the other for another”.
2. What is the study of individual differences linked with?
Answer: The study of individual differences is linked with differential psychology.
3. What are the two aspects from which individual differences can be viewed?
Answer: The problem of individual differences can be viewed from two aspects:
- Difference in abilities from individual to individual.
- Difference in abilities within the same individual.
4. How does the Dictionary of Education define individual differences?
Answer: Individual differences stand for the variation or deviations among individuals with regard to a single characteristic or number of characteristics.
5. According to Osborne, what are individual differences?
Answer: According to Osborne, individual differences are the dissimilarity between persons that distinguish them from one another.
73. Discuss the teacher’s role and responsibilities in handling individual differences in a diverse classroom, including those of differently-abled students.
Answer: The teacher’s role is central to effectively managing a diverse classroom and ensuring that the educational needs of every student, including those who are differently-abled, are met. Individual differences must be kept in mind by the teacher if the needs of the individual pupil are to be met. This requires the teacher to be familiar with many approaches to adjusting the learning situation to the individual needs of the pupil.
The teacher’s general responsibilities in handling individual differences include:
- Adapting Teaching Methods: The teacher has to adopt different types of teaching methods, such as the playing method, project method, and lecture method, considering the individual differences related to students’ interests and needs.
- Customising Curriculum and Activities: The curriculum should be designed according to the interests, abilities, and needs of different students. Co-curricular activities like drama, music, and literary competitions should be assigned based on each child’s interest.
- Using Appropriate Teaching Aids: The teacher should use specific teaching aids that will attract children towards learning, considering their varied interests.
For differently-abled students, the teacher has specific roles and responsibilities:
- Providing Sympathetic Support: The teacher should consider the adjustment problems of specially-abled children sympathetically and treat them with care. For children with speech defects, for example, the teacher should provide training and repeat words patiently.
- Acting as a Counsellor: The teacher can be a sympathetic but objective counsellor or a friend in whom the physically deviate has confidence. This helps in morale-building and encouraging self-confidence.
- Observing and Cooperating: For emotionally and socially handicapped children, the teacher must be alert to symptoms of emotional disturbances, recognize the underlying causes of abnormal behaviour, and cooperate with the home, school, and other agencies.
- Making Practical Accommodations: The teacher is responsible for granting appropriate privileges. This includes permitting pupils with impaired eyesight to move freely to see the blackboard, seating a hard-of-hearing pupil in the front row, and providing partially sighted pupils with the services of classmates as readers.
- Paying Special Attention: For mentally retarded children, the teacher should pay special attention and adopt special teaching methods, as normal methods can be harmful to them.
Extra MCQs: Knowledge-Based
1: Which ancient philosopher is credited with the statement, “No two persons are born exactly alike; but each differs from the other in natural endowments”?
A. Socrates
B. Aristotle
C. Plato
D. Confucius
Answer: C. Plato
40: For children with defective speech, it is important that everybody should behave with them __________.
A. strictly
B. normally
C. formally
D. sympathetically
Answer: D. sympathetically
Extra MCQs: Competency-Based
41: Assertion (A): Education is considered a significant factor in creating differences among individuals.
Reason (R): Educated individuals tend to be guided by reasoning power, while uneducated individuals are more often guided by their instincts and emotions.
A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
B. Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
C. A is true, but R is false.
D. A is false, but R is true.
Answer: A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
107: In a developmental psychology class, students learn that girls typically reach physical maturity a year or two earlier than boys, while boys, on average, tend to be stronger in physical endurance later on. These observations are examples of individual differences arising from:
A. Education
B. Environment
C. Sex
D. Nationality
Answer: C. Sex
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