I had a particular student who required approximately ten minutes of one-on-one time with me after each class. This was a small price to pay for this student's success.
Students with learning disabilities are usually not very open about it. Students who are should be given extra help and be allowed to have extra time to take tests as well as more material to read.
I think patience and constant encouragement is good. This will keep the student feeling motivated. I also try not to allow the student to feel his disability is a crutch, but a acheiveable obstacle.
USING A TAPE RECORDER HELPS A LOT. BEING ABLE TO HERE THE LESSON AS MANY TIMES AS THEY NEED TO COMPREHEND. WRITING IN BIG PRINT, AND JUST LIKE THIS SESSION STATES DON'T RUN WORDS TOGETHER. I KNOW THIS WORKS MY BROTHER AND MY DAUGHTER BOTH HAD THESE PROBLEMS. LEARNING DISABILITY ALONG WITH DYSLEXIA. I AM HAPPY TO SAY THEY ARE BOTH ADULTS AND HAVE THESE PROBLEMS UNDER CONTROL.
Patience is one characteristic that every instructor needs to possess when the student hsa a learning disability or not.
Motivating students is one of those tasks that occurs in every class. If we do not constantly encourage, praise, assist students, we fail.
Whether or not a student has a defined learning disability,I believe one-on-one supplemental instruction is very advantageous and I encourage it.
From my experience, I find it especially helpful to provide additional handouts, diagrams, and exercises at varying levels of difficulty in order to gradually introduce the student to certain instructional areas.
Sample completed projects for guide in how to interpret the directions would be effective in that it provides visuals.
For the most part, accomodations are made for students while taking tests or exams. Besides lecture or powerpoint presentations, which other methods/accomodations may be pertinent to the classroom environment for students with disabilities?
An important item to know is what helped the student in the past. This way you can start the learning process from day one. In addition attending all lectures should be emphasized. Reading the assigned text and doing the written assignments is also very important.
I like the idea of giving the student more time. Giving the student seating preference in the front rows of the class is also very important. I believe that this will help the student to be more engaged with the teacher and the subject matter.
I like everything that you said. The only thing that I can add is that if the student is having trouble they can request a tuitor. I would also recommend that the teacher can make themselves available before and after the class for a few minutes to help with any questions.
Jay as a person who suffers from this, i find that the more time i give them the better, i also share with them what works for me.
I highlight key points while using games as learning tool. Students have been known to request more games to help them learn the material better.
I'm always giving support with students with disabilities telling there doing good. I believe they try even harder when you tell them u want them to be the best in class.
In any class I teach I try to provide three different ways to present a concept... for example - spoken word... written word in the form of a powerpoint slide... and graphic/picture illustration...
I started coaching youth athletics when I was 15 years old... I had a great mentor... one of the guiding principles for teaching/coaching was - anytime we had a specific direction we were trying to communicate - we were told to try to say the same thing three times - in three different ways...
35 years later I still try to present specific concepts/lessons three different ways... I will make a statement and then repeat it it in a sightly different way two more times...
Additionally I will pause for a few seconds between each statement to let the students have a moment to process the thought...
You see examples of this speech patterns by many great public political & religious speakers..
I think that this module will be very helpful whhen there are students in my classes with disabilities.
I also feel that I can take rephrasing in different ways so that the student has more references in which to draw a conclusion from.
This module has given me a different view of the learning disabilities that a student may have. I think that the student who has a learning disability--usually will share with the instructor because they want to learn. I do agree that it is important to learn the school policy on assisting students with bonafide learning disabilities.
Our position of instructor, means our goal is helping each student individually reach their goals. This module has been informative.
Instructional support for students with learning disabilities are usually assigned according to the disability. Most of the time in education the student may require more time be allowed in testing. new sitting arrangement may be necessary.
I find that encouragement on a regular basis can be one of the most helpful tools for a student with a learning disability. I think the hardest thing about these disabilities is often that the student does not really know which problem they are experiencing. Most of the students that come to my classes with an obvious obstacle to reading, writing and math skills are not able to put into words what they need help with. These students are usually very frustrated with the material in the class and when asked what they need help with they frequently respond "I don't know, everything, nothing makes sense." I teach a fairly difficult curriculum of sciences which includes high levels of reading comprehension, excellent writing skills and lots of math calculations. I believe these students are just overwhelmed but at the same time it can be very hard on the instructor who is left to solution for these students with no direction. Not having a background in learning disabilities it can be easy to view their frustration as a lack of wanting to try. I usually want to hear from a student what they need help with and then I would be more than happy to spend time with them. When their class materials are disorganized and they can't even put a finger on what help they need, it is hard to find a good place to begin. This module was helpful in pointing out that the frustration on the students behalf is not intentional and the strategies provided will give me a good place to start with these individuals.
I think it is helpful if after you talk to the student about their learning disability, help them learn how to learn in your class and future classes they are going to have.
It is important to identify the disability first. After identiifying the learning disability, the instructor will have a better concept of how to make accomodations for the student. If it a reading comprehension issue, be sure that you offer recorded audio of the course material for the student. Modifications can be made to meet the needs of most students - if teaching adults, ask the student what has worked best in the past.
More one on one time outside of class.
