Understanding Diverse Learners
Communicating directly with the student can give you an idea of where they are in their language and vocabulary abilities. A simple question inquiring about how and why they came to school. In addition to this it is helpful to give a pretest to the entire class. The design of the test should have some short essay and knowledge focused questions so the instructor can gain information into the student's retention thus far in the program. The first question would lead into what motivates them as well.
What are some ways you can learn about the needs of diverse learners?
At the beginning of a semester, give a get to know you project in which the student has to write about herself/himself, what his/her major is as well as career goals. This will give you an idea of your student body and their educational needs.
Working with the student to teach to there ability and not to push them or frustrate them. It is important to be in tuned to the students learning level.
Listening is a big part of learning a students background and understanding their needs.
Understanding the needs of your students are very important. Individually, they are unique and different.
by researching, taking extra time to become familiar with their needs.
Understanding diverse learners can present a few challenges for the instructor. The instructor needs to determine the level of reading and comprehension the student is currently performing at. Some challenges can be language barriers, culture differences and just learning a new career (which alone can be difficult). When teaching diverse students, it's important to reiterate vocabulary words and concepts to ensure the information is actually being retained by students. Also, distributing a course outline will also assist students in staying on track with assignments, readings and assessments.
M. Allen
Needs can be best learned trough investigation. In order to investigate needs of diverse learners take time to know what makes them diverse and ask questions that they relate too. I would ask a diverse learner in the kitchen for instance their favorite food in order to investigate how they may prepare foods in my classroom. Active listening is also an important part of learning the needs of learners. They will let you know their needs if you treat them with the respect you treat all learners in the classroom.
Thank You,
Byron
I have a student currently who is a diverse learner and i find myself at the end of class going over the material a bit slower for them. It not only helps them to retain what was taught, but allows me to break down the bigger picture into smaller bits for better memory retention.
At the top of the list should be becoming an effective monitor. Know your students. Develop a rapport. Make every student feel equally important. Encourage students to communicate their needs. By developing a trusting, encouraging, and acknowledging relationship with each student, the students will feel more comfortable communicating needs.
We can not ask if they have a learning disability, but I offer additional help or tell the students some helpful pointers if I feel they need it.
just by getting to know your students you have more of an advantage.
I think you can learn about the needs of your students by making your stance on ensuring their success known and make it an everyday practice. When you notice a student struggling with a concept you have reviewed and gone into detail on the expectations, I would email/contact the student personally. When you take the time to contact the student, you’re expressing concern on their lack of improvement and you’re also assessing their views, learning style and other techniques that can help with their success. Some students will struggle through a class, because they don’t want to “burden†the instructor or may feel as if the instructor is not concern. Once they understand your role as the facilitator and in their path of success, I believe the communication and opportunities for improvement will open.
I've found that giving ELL students some time to write a few paragraphs about themselves and then reading it to the class (as along as they are comfortable with this) is a good source for evaluation.
I have a son with many learning disabilities. I went through training (from his teachers to going to seminars) to learn how to deal with them so I could help him at home. With adult learners, it is important to make them feel accepted as a person and valued as part of the class.
I like to have students in my communication classes present themselves by bringing in items from home that define them as an icebreaker. Secondly, I like to give a word search on the vocabulary from the chapter. Thirdly, I give a PowerPoint presesntation of the chapter. Finally, I give out an outline of the chapter with key words missing that they need to fill in.
I try to use repetition, repetition, and more repetition.
1) Use a pretest.
2) Have an introduction exercise and have each student introduce how they best learn (what their preferred learning style is).
3) Conduct a written survey which addresses life experience and education background.
Thru keen observations,verbal questions, short writen projects,asking and actively listening.
I've also found that asking the student directly what would help them to be helpful in assisting in their learning.
