The document summarizes an observation of a classroom with students of varying abilities. The observer identified 4 target students to observe - Margie, Arwin, Pritz, and John. Margie was very active and confident while Arwin seemed behind and had a sprained wrist. Pritz was shy but performed well while John needed to improve. The teacher validated the observer's findings and used games to encourage participation. There were clear differences in ability levels, with gaps between high and low performers. The teacher addressed these differences through review questions, focusing on low performers, and using games at different difficulty levels tailored to each student's abilities. Students responded positively to the teacher's methods.

1. The Learner’s Development
& Environment
Episode 4: Individual Differences & Learner’s Interaction
Name of FS Student: Ma. Cristina D. Panganoran
Course & Year: BSE-2 English
Resource Teacher: Ms. April Joy
_________________
Instructor: Mrs. Gloria A. Silva
Cooperating School: Holy Cross College (High School Department)
Date of Submission: February 11, 2011
Date Submitted: February 11, 2011

2. Name of Students: Margie Anne A. Balatbat
Arwin A. Mallari
Pritz Angelica C. Cargamento
John Thomas Z. Pangilinan
Class Observed: 1-4
Name of School: Holy Cross College (High School Department)
School Address: Sta. Lucia, Sta. Ana, Pampanga
Date of Visit: February 03, 2011
Observation Report
After carefully observing and really paying attention to all of the students,
the differences in their abilities became very noticeable. I was able to pinpoint the
level of performance of the target students to be observed. Some were active
participants and some were shy and too quiet.
One of the active students I observed was Margie Anne A. Balatbat. She is
a very confident girl and never fails to raise her hand every time the teacher asks a
question. Margie is a 13 year old girl who lives in Sta. Lucia, Sta. Ana, Pampanga.
She described herself and said that she is a helpful and honest person. Her father is
a manager of a company while her mother stays at home to take care of their
family.
Arwin M. Mallari is a boy who lives in Sta. Maria, Sta. Ana, Pampanga. He
is the same age as Margie. His mother is a teacher while his father is currently
looking for a job. He is one of the students in class who seem to be behind. He
recently sprained his wrist during P.E. class, so he could not participate in the class
activity for that day which involved writing on the board.
Next is Pritz Angelica C. Cargamento, a pretty 12 year old girl who lives
in San Nicolas, Sta. Ana, Pampanga. Her father is a businessman and her mother is
a saleslady. Despite the fact that she is shy and a bit reluctant in reciting during
class, she is one of the students who performed well in the class activity. She can
improve her confidence with the teacher’s guidance and encouragement.
John Thomas Z. Pangilinan is a 13 year old boy who, lives in Buas,
Candaba, Pampanga. His father is a farmer and his mother is a caregiver student.
He is an honest person who admits his weaknesses. Since the teacher knows his
weaknesses she can guide him to develop study skills and strengthen his weak
points. John also needs to show extra effort to improve his performance in class.
My prior observation was validated by the teacher and also with the help of
the four students who were kind enough to fill up the piece of paper I provided
where they can express the kind of values and attitudes they possess. Since
Arwin’s wrist was sprained, his seat mate helped him fill up the piece of paper.
The teacher used a method where all the students except Arwin can
participate and be observed. The teacher anticipated this that’s why she prepared
other activities where everyone can participate thru speaking. It is a good choice to
use games to entice the students to participate. Students will develop socialization
among classmates plus they are having fun while learning.

3. Analysis:
1. Did your observation match the information given by the teacher? Were
you able to correctly identify who among the learners performed well and
who did not? What learner’s behavior helped you identify them?
My observation details matched with the information given by teacher. She
confirmed my findings by answering a few questions about the students’
background. She was very accommodating and found time to help me. All teachers
should be aware of all his/her students’ background like my resource teacher.
I was also able to correctly identify who was performing well and who was
not. When the teacher asks a question, mostly girls would raise their hand. Margie
usually raises her hand and gives correct answers. Arwin can barely speak when
the teacher talks to him. Some of the students are reluctant to answer even if they
are aware that they are being observed. The teacher does not always call on Margie
even if she always raises her hand. She gives other students a chance to answer and
encourages everyone to participate.
Though all of the students liked the idea of games as a form of a quiz, the
students who perform well in class are more enthusiastic than the others. Even if
they were playing a game, their total performance as a group is graded. It’s really
great how they all learned arranging adjectives and gain knowledge of new
vocabulary words during the activity while having fun. The learning took place
naturally and with ease. I admire the teacher for smoothly handling a lower
section as her advisory class.
2. Describe the differences in ability levels of the students in the class. Is there
a gap between the students who are performing well and those who are not?
These comparisons include the students’ attitudes in and out of class. These
are combined information from my observation and from the teacher’s perspective.
Yes, there is a gap between the good and not so good students. The students that
perform well have a faster speed in absorbing the lesson because they are focused
and attentive while the ones who are behind pick-up the lesson slowly because they
are easily distracted and they are not taking their studies seriously.
The ones who are not performing well have a narrow attention span and
have difficulty in expressing their ideas. Though they are well-behaved in class,
some of them are a bit unruly and tease each other outside the class. Most boys in
puberty stage are left behind because they are not putting their studies as the main
priority in their life. In other words they are late bloomers while the girls in the
same stage mostly perform well because girls mature faster than boys.
When it comes to the 4 language arts the top performers have gained
mastery of these skills while the others have them but need more improvement.
Enthusiasm in class can also be observed in those who perform well in class while
the slow learners are quiet and seem to avoid reciting in class.
The teacher is able to encourage them to participate in the main activity
which is to be considered an achievement for that day. None of the groups received
a failing mark. The objective for that period was successfully accomplished.

4. 3. Describe the methods used by the teacher in handling the learners’
differences in abilities. How did the learners respond to the teacher?
The teacher conducted a review to refresh the class of their previous lesson.
The review started with asking the class about what they know about adjectives
and the proper order of adjectives in sentences. Even if Margie, the top student in
class, always raises her hand she only called her twice to recite and when she
raised her hand again she did not make her feel ignored and said, “Class can
anyone else answer the question aside from Margie?” the teacher asks easy
questions to those students who do not perform very well in class.
The teacher is more focused on the slow learners because they need more
attention and guidance while still balancing the lesson for the top achievers to still
be challenged. An example of this is the game that they played. First the teacher
made the mechanics of the game clear and emphasized that the score they get
corresponds to a certain grade. This boosts excitement, enthusiasm and challenge
among the students.
Next, the teacher took out her prepared jumbled words in a piece of cartolina
then asked each group to pick a representative for each round of jumbled words.
When the representatives are slow learners she picks the easy jumbled words for
them to arrange in a sentence. When the representatives from each group are good
performers in class she lets them answer the harder jumbled words to be properly
arranged.
Given that the groupings are heterogeneous, this method works well because
the students know how their classmates perform so they know who to pick as their
representative for each round once they see who the representative from the
opposing teams are. The students all passed the game quiz, so it’s okay to say that
they responded positively to the teacher’s methods whether during recitation or
board work.
Since the teacher knows each student’s level of performance, she knows
when to flash the hard category for the fast learners and vice versa. She also
touched the 4 types of learning styles with the help of the game. For the Mastery
Learners, this game was a form of a drill and hands-on experience. For the
Interpersonal Learners, the game is a group experience and it allows them to
receive personal attention because their group mates cheer for them and the teacher
can observe six students at a time. The Understanding Learners are allowed to read
and think logically on how to arrange the adjectives in a sentence, it does not
include a lot of memorization and relies on the application of their knowledge. The
Self-Expressive Learners will learn best from human achievement planning and
organizing his/her work.
I must say the activities for that period are very well structured and well
thought of. The teacher considered all the types of learners, their likes and dislikes
and integrated various methods in which the students learn best from. As future
teachers we should know how to adjust our teaching styles to accommodate the
learners’ learning styles for effective teaching. She is one dedicated teacher to be
able to devise such a fruitful activity that everyone enjoyed.

5. Reflections:
1. Recall the time when you were in Elementary or High School. Recall the
high and low achievers in your class. How did your teacher deal with the
differences in abilities?
When I was in Grade 2, my teachers used rows as a label. Row 1 pupils are
the fast learners; row 2 pupils are the average learners, row 3 pupils are the slow
learners. We were usually grouped by how well our reading skills are. The teacher
gives the fast learners one paragraph to read while the slow learners where given 2
or 3 sentences to read.
When I was in Grade 5 it was compulsory to watch the T.V. Show, Battle of
the Brains every Saturday in Channel 9 and take down questions and answers and
review. During Monday all students prepared questions from the show and ask
each other as a form of a game. Mrs. Dizon was our adviser then.
My teachers in Elementary were very strict and I remember corporal
punishment was still practiced back then. I do not remember clearly the other
styles that my teachers used to deal with the differences.
Back in high school, each section in 1st year was grouped homogeneously
based on the result of our entrance test. So I didn’t see a big gap among us in our
section. Most of our teachers used discussion, lecture, reporting and role playing
procedures. All of us took the same activities together. Maybe one of the main
characteristics of meeting every type of learner’s needs is the fact that the learners
do not notice that they are differently treated by their teacher because everyone
wants to be treated fairly.
2. With the principle of individual differences in mind, what methods and
strategies will you remember in the future to ensure that you will be able to
meet the needs of both the high and low achievers in your class?
First of all, I must get to know my students well. I can determine the correct
method to use depending on the characteristics and abilities of my students. An
alternate use of different types of methods such as deductive and inductive, project
and inquiry methods and reflective teaching will ensure that I will be able to meet
the needs of all my high and low achievers. I will make sure to organize a teaching
procedure that can adapt to all learning styles and make use of activities that will
fit the needs of my students. I will encourage peer coaching during certain
activities depending on the weakness of the student.
I will also keep data about my successful and failed attempts on a particular
class and what method was successful and what was not. I will also take a good
idea and make it great for effective teaching. Aside from that I will make the
activities they engage in inconspicuously fit their level of ability without being
obvious that they are the weak ones in class so they won’t lose their confidence
and enthusiasm during class activities. I also plan to utilize different types of
motivational techniques because this is one of the main parts of my procedures in
teaching. If I am successful in motivating my students then I am successful in
letting them engage in learning.