I believe that as instructors we have to have an understanding that in each classroom setting students come with their own learning "abilities" AND "disabilities". The courses that I teach are normally only five to six weeks in length. So, the greatest challenge to me then is having enough time to develop instructional support systems. I have to help each student see how they can maximize their abilities and minimize their disabilities.
Michael,
this is definitely a challenge & difficulty. I find that if we show we are open to helping & make ourselves available this sometimes helps the students to open up more.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Michael,
this is definitely a challenge & difficulty. I find that if we show we are open to helping & make ourselves available this sometimes helps the students to open up more.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
The biggest challenge I face is getting the students to admit to the struggle and work with me to develop a plan to overcome their disability.
The biggest challenge to working with students with learning disabilities is keeping them on pace with the rest of the class so they don't fall behind. If a student requires more time than the rest of the class to read, the teacher should make reading assignments outside of the class. This way, the student can have more time outside of class to complete the assignment and not fall behind during the class time.
The most greatest challenge to working with students with learning disabilities is finding a way to help them understand the materials without making them feel like they are not part of the class.
Not defining these student by their disability. Individuality in class planning helps and offering different experiences to promote learning.
While I've only been teaching a short time, I find a lot of students that have learning disabilities use it as an excuse. So far in my experience, it appears that they tend to "feel sorry for themselves" and let their own learning slack off. While I try to encourage them, sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. I feel so far, it all depends on their own personal motivation.
I agree with this. It's hard sometimes to weed out which is which though.
getting them to admit it and try to overcome it instead of just accepting that they will do poorly.
I often hear "I'm a hands on guy" in response to a poor academic performance.
I think lots of people with reading comprehension issues, be they disabilities or poor skills, automatically think themselves, and want everyone else to think, that they are tactile or experience learners. They may very well be a visual/written learner, if they just had the ability to prove it!
Dustin,
this is so true & I believe we can be most successful in doing this when we demonstrate that we care & are willing to take the time to help them.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
A big challenge would be the frustration that the student encounters during the class not understanding what is being taught. Pulling them back into the light is a must for the success of their future.
This is one area of learning I have no experience, but I learned a lot from the course in regards to the matter. I definitely have a better understanding of how to engage with students that have disabilities if I ever have to work with them in the future.
I think the greatest challenge is to figure out what exactly the disability is, and then figuring out some way to work with them, so they get the same education as their peers.
The balance of delivery between the whole of the class and the learning disabled individual must be maintained. Students without a disability tend to be less understanding, therefore animosity may develop. An instructor must be perceptive not to allow this situation to arise. Private mentoring before or after class can subdue this problem, therefore allowing the student to gain self confidence. However, this course of action may tend to allow the student to use his disability as a tool to lessen his responsibilities necessary to complete the course adequately. As an instructor, be perceptive to this type of behavior.
We have classes of 30 or more. Sometimes I notice that these students do not get the extra attention that they need during class because it slows down the rest of the time. It seems our biggest challenge is giving them the extra support they need and the time that goes along with that. I have also noticed that many students with disabilities are ashamed to let us know that they have special needs. Sometimes because of this, their success is hindered because we simply do not know that they need extra support.
Angie,
it's true that we need to be very sensitive to their appearance in front of the rest of the class. The more we can help them privately, the more likely they are to receive our help.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think the hardest part is as a teacher you want to assist them, but you do not want to treat them as a child. I also find they are very aware of their disability and do not want the class to know about it.
The lack of time in the accelerated programs
I completely agree with you. It is very challenging to try and work within a policy under a very short deadline.
