What might the group as a whole need? What special characteristics does it have which would necessitate using a particular process?

Physical, mental, social, and emotional needs will be identified as ideas for a lesson emerge. If an assignment involves many new learnings a need for reassurance and security will be evident. Positive support and encouraging statements will be crucial.

Time will be a definite need if creative products are desired.

Opportunities to share are important after work has been completed. people naturally want appreciation for time and effort spent on a task.

Good ventilation, lighting, and space may be needs for large group projects.

Resource people or resource materials might be needed in order to work on special projects.

Examine the assignments and envision completing them. What might individuals need? Look at names on the class list. Think how individuals might respond to work planned.

People of all ages learn at different rates and in different ways. They have different strengths and weaknesses and need to support each other. People can assist others by helping them accept their own limitations, by trusting them, and encouraging them to develop strengths. Successful experiences encourage and motivate people. Learning linked to individual needs and goals encourages success and enhances retention. People do not need all the knowledge available in the world. Throughout life they make choices concerning languages to learn, systems to explore, skills to perfect and philosophies to pursue. Teachers need to use many ways of helping people meet their individual needs.

Individual needs can be met in large groups and on a one-to-one basis. Special needs can be met as a person works alone or with others.

Throughout history people have experimented with ways of organizing groups of people, instructors, content, materials, the environment, time and the specific needs of individuals so that the greatest number of individual and societal needs could be met. The following lists represent some of the ways attempted.

Lancaster-Bell System Nongraded schools Multi-age groups

Dual Progress Plan Homogeneous groups Alternative schools

Voucher plans Graded schools Mainstreaming

Heterogeneous groups Self-contained classrooms Cooperative learning groups

Socio-economic groups Individually Guided Education

Lancaster-Bell System Dual Progress Plan Tutors

Self-contained classes Special speakers Specialists

Differentiated staffing Team teaching Recorded speakers

Using aides Using volunteers Departmentalization

with specialists

Separate subjects

Dual Progress Plan

Departmentalization

Categorizing related ideas

Using organized resource centers

Grading difficulty of materials

Using scope and sequence charts

Sequencing from easy to difficult within one lesson over a long time period

Organizing according to students' expressed needs

IEP - Individual Education Programs

Mini-courses

Open schools

Laser disks with easy access to information anywhere on them

Data banks with ready access to material

One text/one group

Different texts/different groups

Bibliographies for enrichment

Matching material to learning modality

Multiple sources

Computer assisted instruction

Rewritten materials

Programmed materials

Kits

Multi-sensory media

High interest and low vocabulary materials

Learning stations

Learning packages

Contracts

Task cards and activity cards

Self-checking materials

Games and simulations

Special areas -- tables, corners, booths, mats

Open spaces

Circles

Semi-circles

Groupings of desks

Rows

Mobile classrooms

Computer work stations

Organizing Time

One time block/one subject

Students organize own time schedule

Giving extra time to students needing help

Helping gifted students feel challenged during time available

Regularly scheduled radio or television schools

Taped lessons used when time is available

Parents teaching children at home when time is available

Interest

Background

Learning styles or modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic)

Ability

Previous test scores

Health needs (vision, hearing, special needs of other types)

Personality (verbal/nonverbal, loner/popular, leader/follower)

Social interests

Disciplinary needs

Needs for remedial work

Needs for advanced work (gifted)

Skills needed

Reading ability

Sex

Growth characteristics

Listening ability

Needs for peer teaching

Teams

Terms associated with the movement toward individualization seem to tell the teacher to "divide and conquer." Educators will continue to divide students, instructors, content, materials, space, time, and the long list of needs of each specific student in order to individualize.

Observation, children's own statements of needs, teacher-made tests, standardized tests, medical reports, and family recommendations provide information for determining individual needs. Consider the following when working with each child.

Environmental Needs Mental

Temperature Left-brained

Light Right-brained

Sound Stage of development

Space General intellectual ability

Governmental Emotional

Needs structure Secure

Self-directing Insecure

Easily tempted

Conscientious

Sociological Spiritual

Works for others Secure

Works with others Insecure

Depends on others

Uses others

Physical Anthropological

Impaired senses Culturally alike

Limited mobility Culturally different

Chemical and dietary needs

Love in the classroom means showing concern for these needs. Each is different! Begin with who students are and where they are and adapt, adjust, alter, and accept. Get to know the students so they can be freed to know and help others.

Often people equate individualization with small-group work. Individuals in a large stadium at a ball game can feel that their needs are being met. People who faithfully perform needed tasks at the game provide for common needs such as hunger, comfort, and entertainment. The person leaves a crowd of fifty thousand commenting that it was a "great afternoon."

How can a teacher meet individual needs in a large group?

1. Work with topics an individual and/or the total group needs.

2. Answer questions from individuals in the group. These may very well also reflect the needs of other individuals.

3. Help students feel secure in sharing individual ideas with a total group.

4. Keep records of who has or still needs to share. Rotate responsibility.

5. Present the same basic material to all but differentiate on the written assignment.

6. In one lesson, plan a large-group activity for one type of learner. In the next session choose an activity for another type of learner.

7. Encourage students to accept responsibility for meeting their own needs by reading additional materials on a bibliography or pursuing topics related to material presented.

8. Eye contact -- focus on individuals while speaking.

9. Let children answer with a gesture such as raising their hands, standing up, or by holding up some type of symbol so all must answer as individuals.

10. Establish routines to meet common individual needs.

11. Establish cooperative learning process in which individuals assume specified roles.

12. Let a gifted reader prepare a marginal gloss, a simplified version of more difficult material, or tutor others one on one.

Many ways of dividing and conquering were listed earlier. Commercial groups as well as classroom teachers work continuously to develop materials which meet individual needs.

Self-checking devices are often used. Link puzzles, electronic matching boards, flash cards, peek and pokes, hidden pictures, answers under a flap, CAI (computer assisted instruction), puzzles forming a pattern or picture when the answer is correct, and programmed learning books are motivational devices which provide immediate reinforcement. Games of skill and chance enhance learning. Many of these materials are "interactive" in the sense that the learner actively responds to the materials.

Task cards and activity cards containing bite-sized jobs can be purchased or created. Directions are written so children can use them independently and often check their own work. They are not the same as an idea file a teacher may have on the desk for use in lesson planning. Task cards are written for and used by the children.

Audio-visual materials used with earphones allow many types of lessons to go on quietly in one classroom at the same time and thus meet needs of individuals. For more detailed directions on the preparation of such materials see the section on self-checking devices.

Contracts can be used for all regular work or as a means of providing enrichment. They can be written by the student, the teacher, or preferably both working together. The basic components of two types of contracts are shown here. When these are applied to specific content much detail will be added.

Lesson Date Student

Grade Teacher

Objectives:

Things to Do:

Vocabulary:

Materials:

Criteria for Evaluation:

Time to Complete:

Signature

Extra Work I Will Do

Name

Work I Will Do:

Date Started:

Date I Think I Will Finish:

Date I Actually Finished:

Comments: