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The “Ideal” Student

by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D.

Traditional classrooms tend to favor students with the following characteristics or strengths:

Red Square Dominance profile: Left-brain dominant, full sensory access: dominant right hand, eye, ear and leg. Note: Students who are right-brain dominant, full sensory limited (all functions right-dominant) may be at the greatest disadvantage.

Red Square Strong in linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences

Red Square Academically on grade level (not too far ahead or behind)

Red Square Learning Preferences:

Red Square Prefers working in a quiet environment
Red Square Best time of day: Early morning, afternoon
Red Square Social: Prefers working quietly alone or in a group (limited need for interaction)
Red Square Can handle highly-structured environment (seated in chairs, sitting up straight, not rocking or fidgeting)
Red Square Limited intake needs while working (food, drink, gum, snack)
Red Square Low mobility needs

Red Square Modality Strengths: High auditory, high visual; low kinesthetic

Red Square High verbal skills; ability to respond immediately when called on (low need for time to process quietly, internally, before responding)

Red Square Attending behaviors: Eye contact, little talking or movement (note-taking OK particularly in linear, traditional form)

Red Square Temperament traits:

Red Square High in adaptability, persistence, regularity
Red Square Low in distractibility, intensity, sensory awareness (sensitivity to sound, light, smell or touch)
Red Square Low to moderate in activity/energy levels

Red Square Personality Traits: Concrete thinking, logical, rational, organized, prompt, able to follow rules and procedures.

Red Square Studies show other factors (gender, culture, socio-economic status, appearance, popularity, membership in highly-valued groups or teams, for example) to be relevant in certain instances

Excerpted and adapted from Creating Emotionally Safe Schools, by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D. © 2001, Health Communications, Inc, Deerfield Beach, FL.

What people are saying about Creating Emotionally Safe Schools.

Buy Creating Emotionally Safe Schools.

This handout is also available in French.

Related handouts:

Ways to Reach More Students

ADHD Look-Alike Conditions

Multiple Intelligences

Working With Different Sensory/Modality
Strengths and Limitations

Water and the Body

Survey: Is Your School (or Classroom) an Emotionally Safe Place?

Supporting Kids in Crisis: Non-supportive patterns to avoid!

Alternatives to Non-Supportive Responses

Industrial Age Classrooms vs. Information Age Classrooms

Examples of Some New Ways of Thinking

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