1.
FS 1
FIELD STUDY
The Learner’s Development
and Environment
Episode 4
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND LEARNER’S
INTERACTION
(Focusing on differences in gender, racial, religious backgrounds)
Name of FS Student NOEL JABAGAT PAROHINOG_______________________________
Course Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education major in English Year & Section II- C__
Resource Teacher Mrs. Flerida Lawrence Demegillo, M.A. Signature _____________
Cooperating School Binalbagan Catholic College - High School Department _____ ____
Your Target
At the end of this activity, you will gain competence in determining teaching approaches and
techniques considering the individual differences of the learners.
Your Map
The learners’ individual differences and the types of interaction they bring surely affect the
quality of teaching and learning. This episode is about observing and gathering data to find out how
student diversity affects learning.
To reach your target, do the following task 1. Observe a class in different parts of a school day
Step
(beginning of the day, class time, recess, etc
Step 2. Describe the characteristics of the learners in
terms of age, gender, social and cultural diversity.
Step 3. Observe the interaction that transpires inside
and outside the classroom.
Step 4. Interview your resource teacher about the
principles that she uses in dealing with the diversity
inside the classroom.
Step 5. Analyze the impact of individual differences in
learners interaction.

2.
Your Tools
Use the activity form provided for you to document your observations.
An Observation Guide for the Learners’ Characteristic
Read the following carefully before you begin to observe. Then
write your observation report on the space provided on the next page.
1. Find out the number of the students. Gather data as to their
ages, gender, and racial groups, religious and ethnic
backgrounds.
During class:
1. How much interaction is there in the classroom? Describe how
students interact with one another and with the teacher. Are
there groups that interact more with the teacher than others.
2. Observe the learners seated at the back and the front part of
the room. Do they behave and interact differently?
3. Describe the relationship among the learners. Do the learners
cooperate with or compete against each other?
4. Which students participate actively/ which students ask for
most help?
5. When a student is called and cannot answer the teacher’s
question, do the classmates try to help him? Or do they
raise their hands so that the teacher will call them instead?
Outside class:
1. How do the students group themselves outside class?
Homogenously by age? by gender? by racial or ethnic groups? Or
are the students in mixed social groupings? If so, describe the
groupings.
2. Describe how the learners interact with each other. What do
they talk about?

3.
OBSERVATION REPORT
Name of School Observed Binalbagan Catholic College – High School Department ___
School Address San Gregorio, Village, Binalbagan Negros Occidental ___
Date of Visit September 16, 2010 ___
September 16, 2010 marks the day of our observation in Binalbagan Catholic
College – High School Department. Our target on this activity is to gain competence in
determining teaching approaches and techniques considering the individual differences of
the learners in terms of age, religious setting, social and cultural diversity.
I observed the class of Mrs. Amandoron in fourth year Almaciga. She discussed
about the communicative skills in English as their main focal point because they were
presently reviewing for the incoming NCAE – National Career Assessment Examination Test.
In the room, the learners who are occupying the classroom were approximately 40
students. There are 23 males and 20 in females. Most of them are Roman Catholic in terms
of religious setting. They ages 15 and above. Some of them are came from minority level
and there are others also who were reared by an average level family.
During the class hour, I was terribly impressed with students speaking about their
interaction, for the reason that they are very participative and instantly responds to the
question which asked by their teacher. I saw that there are group of students in the
classroom who act as a leader and a little teacher; for they are the one who volunteer to
make right the mistake of their classmates though they already know that the teacher is
responsible for that. But I admired them not because of being a corrector in the classroom
but for helping their classroom a good and interactive way so as to help the teacher
achieved a better classroom interaction.
Furthermore, the students who seated at the back and front part of the room are
exceedingly supportive, cooperative, and participative and they show positive behavior
inside the classroom. The interaction is still the same in terms of a students arrangement
whether it is at the back or in front of the classroom.
In addition, as what I have perceived, when their teacher called and asked them a
question concerning about the topic they are being discuss, the student who previously got
the wrong answer was helped by his classmates by merely raising their hands to call the
attention of the teacher. He tried to help his classmate who are standing and currently think
for the answer. This is only shows oneness towards the learners and the teachers wherein
the students participate actively.
Before their class ends, their teacher told them to study their lessons and ended it
with a closing prayer.
The class had ended already but still my eyes don’t stop staring at the learners. I
tried to grappled on my mind what should they next to do. After a short time of watching on
them, I have already an idea on how they grouped themselves based on my observation.
They used to form a grouped in terms of gender and by racial group. Gender and racial
group because one student told me that they favor to choose a group by racial because they
wanted to have a group accompanying person in school which is there remote neighbor in
there place already. While grouping themselves they quickly talked more on their earlier
topic, their group activity and even there assignments on the next day. *

4.
Your Analysis
1. Identify the persons who play key roles in the relationship and interactions in
the classroom. What roles do they play? Is there somebody who appears to be
the leader, a mascot/joker, an attention seeker, a little teacher, a doubter/
pessimist?
The persons who play an important roles in the classroom interactions are
the teacher and the students. The teacher acts as facilitator and the student as
learner. There are students who are attention seeker; they tried to caught the
attention of their teacher as well as their classmates. There are students who
appeared to be the leader and a little teacher; they are the one who teaches their
classmates who have less knowledge on the subject matter. The teacher and
students are also jokers in the classroom. The teacher jokes to break the monotony
in the room.
2. Are students coming from the majority group accepted or rejected by the
others? How is this shown?
There are situations wherein the students that belong to the minority group
(e.g. poor, black complexion, etc.) are bein
g rejected by some of their classmates. This is manifested through group activity
and class discussion and even during and after class hours. Some of the students
who belong to the average group don’t want to have a groupmates who are in
minority level. Others are also laughing their classmates when somebody commit
mistake like for example wrong pronunciation of words. Probably, these kind of
cases are found in every institutions in which this could affect the deterioration of
self-possession of every students.
3. How does the teacher influence the class interaction considering the individual
differences of the students?
The teacher influence the class interaction considering the individual
differences of the students by manifesting a fairly values inside the classroom. The
teacher doesn’t discourage her students whenever responding her wrong answer
from the question. The teacher doesn’t show biases according to her students
performance and routine when they were inside the classroom.
4. What factors influence the grouping of learners outside the classroom?
“Birds of the same feather, flocks together”. This is comparable to the
groupings of the learners outside the classroom. The persons having common
interest with one another are in one group. The factors that manipulated the
groupings of learners outside the classroom are there gender, racial, ethnic and
religious background. For instance, one student has a preference to choose a friend
who has the same gender and racial group with him.

5.
Your Reflections
1. How did you feel being in that classroom? Did you feel a sense of oneness or
unity among the learners and between the teacher and the learners?
While I am seating at the back of the classroom, observing, watching the
learners, I feel an optimistic feelings that as if I am already a teacher of them.
Within my mind I could sense the oneness and unity among the learners and the
teacher because the learners intermingled positively to their teacher, when their
teacher ask a question they responds it instantly without any hesitation and qualm
to themselves. This is shown by the student who have a full self-confidence and
trust to himself.
2. In the future, how would you want the learners in your classroom interact?
How will you make this happen?
In the future, I want that the classroom interaction to be very interactive
and participative wherein the learners could express their ideas in varied modes
and participate actively in every classroom activities. As a prospective teacher, I am
the facilitator of the learning process, providing direction and feedback to the
students rather than just instruction and I will focus instruction on the needs,
preferences and interests of the learner.
3. How will you encourage the learners, regardless of religious, ethnic or racial
background, to interact and participate?
As a future educator, most likely I will treat my students fairly. I will
inculcate in the minds of them the value of being just and respectful. If ever I ask
them a certain question and respond me with a wrong answer. Ofcourse I will not
discourage them so that they could feel the so called unity towards each other
regardless of their religious, ethnic or racial background. Further, I will initiate to
them that there religious, ethnic, and even their racial backgrounds are not the
major concern of education and it is not a gigantic blockade to there success in
participating within the classroom. The total achievement lies on their hands not
on the system they have on their background.