Selected Aspects of Individualization as a General Principle: Teaching Aids, Illustrations and Support Tools for Students With Deficits in Individual Areas of Learning ...

Darja Plavčak

Summary:  Individualization is a general pedagogical principle that is important for all students. Educational work should always be planned with the idea that each student has unique biopsychosocial characteristics and related strengths and weaknesses, interests and needs. For children with special needs, the needs are even more outstanding, making individualization even more important. It is reflected primarily in the individualized program developed for each student by school professionals in collaboration with parents and students. This paper focuses on three selected aspects of individualization: (1) teaching aids, illustrations, and support tools for students with deficits in individual areas of learning, (2) the personality traits of a professional, and (3) teamwork. Teaching aids, illustrations, and support tools help students either bridge their deficits or replace them with an area of strength. Professionals using an individualized approach to students face the challenge of how to achieve both expertise and empathetic personality traits for this type of work. We emphasize the latter because a teacher who has a positive attitude and mindset toward diverse students will find it easier to create learning communities in which he can be responsive to each student and provide opportunities for student‘s active participation. This is also helped by good cooperation within the school‘s professional group, striving for common goals and thus becoming a team that has each student‘s best interests at heart. We connect all three selected aspects of individualization with the starting points or the interpretation of the starting points of Dr. France Strmčnik.