Students with disabilities
How do you adjust your teaching methods for students who are considered to have disabilites when there are 1 or 2 in a class of 12? I am having trouble with this since I know in the end they all need to know the same material and have the same skill set to get a job after college.
Hi Jason,
Thank you for sharing this example of how students with disabilities can be successful. The key is that instructors once they know how to work with such students can provide quality instruction and support on a continuing basis.
Gary
I've had a few deaf students in classes, both on-ground and online. I have found my school to be very good about providing resources for these students. It takes a bit of getting used to, but was not an issue at all after the first week or so.
Hi Nancy,
You are right on with your discussion of the different stages of planning for the education of students with learning disabilities. As there are some many different kinds of learning disabilities it is a challenge for the student and instructor to identify what will really benefit the student.
Gary
Before you can adjust your teaching methods, you must know what the learning disabilites are, and who has them. Otherwise, how can you determine the appropriate accommodations?
Once you have that information, it has been my experience these students do not need the bar lowered, they just need additional steps put in under the bar to enable them to reach it. In a face-to-face class, additional one-on-one office time may be indicated. An online class would require the same - additional office hours time, one-on-one, to insure good communication between you and your student. What you think you are teaching may not be what they are hearing. Or they may have trouble testing in one format, but can test well in another.
In a classroom, you must "teach" to the middle, while being very aware of those students you have at the very top - and the very bottom - of the grade scale. Learning disabled students whose disability is getting in the way of your instruction will be at the bottom of the grading scale. If a student is doing all that is asked of them, and still failing, it is the instrutor who has to find the answer because the instructor is the professional.
If a learning disability is ultimately too severe to allow the student to be successful, the "answer" may unfortunately be the instructor needing to follow the steps of his/her institution to re-assign or release the student from the class.
Hi David,
I would suggest that you talk with your school officials and see if they have been in contact with Vocational Rehabilitation and the Commission for the Blind or Visually Impaired. Both groups can give you information about how you can quickly and efficiently set up the students for the lessons of the day in a safe manner. They have skilled career coaches that can come to the class and show you how this can best be done.
Gary
I have deaf and blind students in a culinary lab kitchen, so I need to think about the dangers they face every day. I must first focus on safety, then I can begin to tackle the objectives of the days lesson. How can I make this more efficient?
Dear Cassie,
As Dr. Gary Meers and others have mentioned having students with disabilities who choose not to disclose these to an instructor is extremely challenging. However, I have found that reminding students on the first day of class that mistakes made in the classroom are not negatives, but valuable learning experiences which actually improve instructor/student interaction is a great way to establish a environment in the classroom that encourages students with disabilities to come forward. It also generally helps with the learning process.
I taught a class of 20 students, one of whom self-identified with cognitive processing issues and a diagnosis of bi-polar disorder. I asked her what kind of assistance she needed in each area of the course - practical labs, reading assignments, projects, tests, etc. She promised to let me know. We met each day and reviewed her understanding of the material in each course area. To her credit, she worked hard, taking extra notes and participating often. Through our combined efforts, she got the second best score on the final assessment.
The key, in my opinion, is to set students at ease, make them feel relaxed so that they really enjoy the learning process. This is equally true for students with diagnosed cognitive processing issues as it is with the rest of the class.
Hi Patria,
Once a student with a disability graduates from high school or turns 21 they are no longer under the regulations of the Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA). They are covered against discrimination under the ADA act. Other than that the college is not obligated to provide any services to these students. Thus, these students have to self advocate and disclose the instructional supports they need based upon their disability. It they don't then they receive the same instruction as all other students. The most common situation I see is similar to yours. The students come into class and think they are going to make it on their own. They start to fail and then they realize they need help. This requires a lot of time and effort to fix. If only they would let the instructor know of their needs from the very beginning of class instead of getting in crisis before they disclose.
Gary
I really like the approach you took with the student who has a disability, but think that the school should have an obligation to disclose any lower than average results on a student assessment.
I have had students who clearly have a learning disability in my classes before, and was more than frustrated (and I'm guessing they were too) to find out after the first one or two assignments that there was an issue.
Are schools obligated to inform an instructor if they know that a particular student has a learning disability or does that responsibility fall to that particular student?
Hi Catherine,
Thank you for those points about working with students that don't self identify as having a disability where they need some type of accommodation. One the main reasons for students with disabilities failing in post secondary settings is that they don't declare that they need assistance. I teach course on Transition processes for students as they are leaving high school. We work hard on self determination and self identity. In spite of our best efforts many of these students feel that they can make it on their own or as a result of high school graduation they no longer have a disability. They go onto post secondary settings and before they know it they are failing because they don't have the supports they need.
With instructors like yourself that take a personal interest in their success and try to provide the supports they need they can be successful. We just need to get to them before it is too late for them to succeed in the course.
Thank you for all that you do for your students.
Gary
Good Evening Cassie,
I fully understand where you are coming from. Dr. Gary Meers brought up some valid points, but many times students don't come out and tell us their disabilities, and we end up quickly discovering them.
What has worked for me in the past, was to sit down with the student and personally review the lesson with them, and assist them with their skills application. This does take up some extra time in class, but it gives the student confidence and motivation to move on. When available, I have a student tutor come in and assist. I have found that other students like to help those who need more assistance, and often they will pitch-in and help.
I am not a professional counselor, so I just do the best I can, and go through the proper channels at my school to get help. The bright side is, that I have seen these students eventually graduate and obtain jobs in the field.
Hi Cassie,
I would ask for assistant in order to set up your classroom that would fit the needs of the students with disabilites.
Hi Ellen,
I haven't used the online assessments because I have developed my own over the years but I am sure they are very good. I would suggest that use some of these as samples and then see which ones give you the most helpful information.
I have been doing research for many years in the area of learning preferences and multiple intelligences. I have developed an assessment that can be used to identify the three most dominant intelligences of individuals. This is really helpful when it comes to planning course delivery.
The other area I have worked in extensively is the area of learning disabilities. There are 6 major categories of learning disabilities involving reading, writing and computation. Knowing that you have students with such cognitive processing problems in your class will help you to provide instructional supports when needed.
If you have any questions about any of these areas please let me know and I will be glad to provide you with additional information.
Gary
There are online assessments of students' learning styles which might be useful to students with disabilities. To some extent, we all have learning disabilities...for example, I certainly am a visual learner and have trouble only using auditory learning methods. Has anyone else used these assessment tools effectively with students with disabilites?
Hello Cassie
I have the same problem. I think it is the responsibility of the college to advise professors when they have students with certain challenges. This was faculty can prepare in advance how to deal with different situations. Students all learn differently and we need to help each type of learner. But, you are not alone. I think we all have the same troubles.
Hi Cassie,
First I try and determine what the disabilities are. Talk with the front office and see what type of assessments were done in the areas of reading comprehension. Talk with the students and see if they had IEPs (Individual Education Plans) in high school. The students as adults need to be advocates for themselves and tell you what accommodations they need for success in the classroom. Their IEP can give you some specifics if they want to share them with you. Often it may be something like them taping the lectures or you sharing your lecture outline with them so it is easier for them to take notes and follow the lecture. Often they need additional time to take tests. I am talking about students with general learning disabilities or cognitive processing issues.
Since in career colleges we are preparing students to enter into and be successful at specific careers the students must acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for success. If their disabilities preclude this from happening then they may need career counseling into another career choice. If they cannot pass the state or national boards/tests it is unfair to them and the college for them to take the courses. If these students are allowed to "pass" the courses without the basic knowledge base then the college won't be in business long because it is turning out students that are not prepared.
The biggest thing is to talk with the students and see what they see as the instructional supports being. Try the supports out with them and see if they are successful. If they are problem solved, if not then the above steps should be followed.
Gary
