Using Students to help
Using Students to help and work with students with learning disabitilies is also instrumental. They tend to support those from their generation and know where they should be in a course.
This a definitely a great idea coming from a clinical background. Students like to help other students even if they don't realize they are helping themselves also!
Thomas,
this is a good approach & if we can use those students who do get it to help the others, it's that much more successful.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I concur. I find that the troubled student feels more comfortable talking to another student as oppose to admitting to me that she/he does not understand and/or needs help. I always offer additional assistance if the student still appears to be confused or lost.
However, sometimes it makes matters worse because the student they confided in also does not really understand but doesn't want to admit it either. I'll usually keep a watchful eye and see how things are going and then step in if they are not doing something correctly.
I also find that students tend to ask more questions from each other than from the instructor. When a challenged student has another "buddy" to assist them, the benefits work both ways. The one getting more direct help and the the other "helper" gets to review the learning matter again and therefore retian it better.
Robert,
this is a great example of how we can explore alternative learning & assessment methods.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
UNFORTUNATELY,TOO MUCH CLASSROOM LEARNING AVOIDS HANDS-ON LEARNING. I HAVE SHIFTED IN ONE COURSE I TEACH TO CREATING PROJECTS THAT DEMAND HANDS-ON WORK AND ASSESSMENT FOCUSED ON RESULTS THAT DO NOT HAVE THE STUDENTS CREATE AN END PRODUCT. SIMPLY TESTING THROUGH QUIZZES AND FORMAL WRITTEN EXAMS CAN BE AVOIDED. SINCE ART PIECES ARE RESULTS, THEN IN AN ART HISTORY COURSE
Linda,
yes, this can be a great & supportive way to help these students & encourage them along.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree that allowing other students to get involved with students that have challenges really is a great thing. It creates team building, helps the challenged student not feel left out, allows the helper to feel important and is great for everyone!
The classes that I teach are usually full of adults. So this could work out very well for me while teaching my classes. This could be challenging if the students were younger.
Jason,
yes and often the students who understand can do a better job of explaining the concepts in a way that helps other students understand better.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I use this in my classes all the time. I totally believe if you have one student who understands it better then others he is a toll that you can use when ever needed.
Very true on both accounts,one student gets the bennefit of a different explanation,the other gets the understanding of the subject by talking and explaining it.
Paul,
and this in turn also helps the helper students to retain even more of the information.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
