Yes, giving them more time on assignments. Also I have found that talking about the topic more, and asking questions, having them explain their answer rather than write it, helps them to understand the topic more.
Sandra,
and when we take the time to do this we demonstrate our care & desire to see them succeed so they are more likely to seek our help.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Sandra,
and when we take the time to do this we demonstrate our care & desire to see them succeed so they are more likely to seek our help.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Being supportive is very important. I try and let them know that they are not alone and that each one of us may have difficulties with some word or words. I let them know that I am there to support them and help them in anyway that I can. I offer time after class to any student who feels that they need extra help with any of the materials that we are covering.
Melissa,
your strategies are great as it enforces the personal responsibility while also providing many ways for the students to take in & process the lingo/terms.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
use the different styles of learning , Help them see it, make them taste it or smell it. or if needed show them the picture, big or small and then work to gauge understanding. The reading will have to be enforced at some point, but the skill sets and terms can be readily advanced.
Having students with reading and writing challenges can be difficult. Several methods, I use have to do with writing terminology on the board at the beginning of class, along with the agenda for the day. I have the students draw from my hand a term and try to tell me what the term means without knowing it. (The next classes, they know to skim over terminology before class). I use real life examples of the topics, which helps. I then make them reflect upon these topics in a writing assignment. By typing these assignments up, they get the chance to use spell checker. By doing this, it helps them to identify the word spellings. My tests are essays, multiple choice, and fill ins. I am able to access their reading and writing. Those students that I find to have deficiencies. I discuss these issues with them, and give them time to recheck over their work for competency.
I just recently had a student from Vietnam, English as he was learning, a 5th language for him. He recorded classes and listened to them several times, took notes, had note cards, he tried hard to get the language and terminology, but at times connotations of the English language can got difficult for him. But I gave him extra time on tests, he always had his assignments done and never missed a class. He had motivation to want to learn, it was nice to see. This helps.
Katina,
these are both great suggestions for helping those students who may be struggling so they can really understand the material.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
One way to help students with challenges is offer tutoring for students. Also you can do role playing in which the students act out different scenarios.
I have also given students written instructions for a lab assignment and then checked their individual progress during the lab to gauge their reading comprehension.
Teach them proper note taking techniques, such as making outlines out of the information, putting it into their own words but in a structured layout.
Number one they need more time. I have concentration and comprehension issues myself as a student. So the longer time didn't even help sometimes because I just couldn't concentrate. If ever possible maybe they could take an exam individually, maybe less distractions or read allowed. Also use a one on one approach, I have even read back a question just so they could hear it.
By reviewing important content in class, and having the students themselves read certain paragraphs with words that they may not be familiar with is a great tool to helping students in the classroom with reading challenges. By going through certain parts of the reading, I am able to pinpoint certain words or phrases that students aren't comfortable with. I can gauge through their pronunciations of certain words, and their ability to read the given content how accustomed they are to the reading that they should be continuing at home when not in class.
Jessica,
these are all great strategies as it really helps them develop their reading skills & can set them up for future success in reading the materials for their other classes.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I teach a Developmental Reading college course and we tend to focus on pre reading and during reading strategies so that the students can activate prior knowledge and apply their life experiences to things they read in order to engage more in the reading passage and therefore get more comprehension out of reading it. I also focus on vocabulary, but would like to focus it more holistically and content oriented. I usually give the word to them in the sentence and have them use context clues in order to figure out what the word means, then have them write the actual definition down. I then have them use it in their own application and hope that it gets stored in their long term memory.
Sandra,
these are all excellent methods. And really just think of a time when you learned a new subject or skill that wasn't in your strength area & how these methods did help or would've helped you learn the material.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I picked up some good points from this module on helping students with reading challenges. First, relate the subject-matter to life experiences which can help them with a point-of-reference which will build their confidence up so they feel that they will be able to learn.
Second, introduce small groups of words, with their meanings, so the student is not overwhelmed with too many words at once. Then repeat them multiple times with examples of how they relate to the material. Repetition is critical.
Finally, think of teaching methods which slowly introduce topic and then layer on the learning of the subject by building on the subject complexity at the speed they are able to learn.
Pauletta,
always going back to the basic building blocks of vocab is a great way to help those who may be struggling with reading & new terms.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Some ways to help students with reading deficiencies is to present course content in it's simplest terms. The basic terms can serve as a foundation to build vocabulary. Provide concrete examples of the terms to help with retention. Using the terms repeatedly also helps with retention. Give students new words to increase their vocabulary.
Irving,
this is so true & we need to start a term or quarter or semester by demonstrating our willingness to work with the students & help them as much as possible.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
