Richard,
this is a great idea as it helps them get the information in a way they can understand.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
When students are struggling with reading, I find it best to give the students text on a lower reading level. Since I teach computers there are a variety of different texts that are available online for free. I direct students towards materials that are written like lower level tutorials to help supplement their learning.
I agree the one on one and extra time helps. My students are not dealing with difficulty with English but medical language for some students might as well be a different language.
Bill,
this is great & shows your dedication as an instructor. I would add that the more open we show ourselves to be, the more likely the struggling students will be to seek our help.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I personally dont mind sitting down with a student that has a reading problem and helping them and teaching them how to read. I have learned that there are many more adults in the world that don not know how to read or have troulble reading on a certain level. I am more than willing to assist in any way.
I try and help students with reading deficiencies several ways. One way is to get them reading I assign reading and writing homework early in the week and give ample time to complete assignments. (usually the week). My goal is to get the student reading the chapter we are covering in tandem with my lecture/lab work. Students who can read/write well don’t complain because they can complete their work in plenty of time and not “worry†about my class. Those who may struggle have time to get it done without being put on the spot. I have the benefit of working in the computer lab where a majority of students come to work on papers and assignments for other classes. This gives me the opportunity to identify students who may need additional support with reading/writing assignments. When I see a problem I am able to relay that info to the students dept. head and offer help where I can.
Daniel,
these are all great suggestions & one of the best ways to help them is to ease them into the more challenging reading assignments.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I don't really have a lot of experience with this but I do know several very successful people who have reading / writing deficiencies and have found a way to work with it (and you would never know). The obvious challenge though is that it's an important tool that we should try to improve while that student is with us. Small reading assignments with a comprehension check and review may be good at exercising that part of the brain. in the short term however, the real reason for them to be in your class is for that specific knowledge. if the students reading deficiency is hindering that, possible utilization of recorded material may be useful along with the reading work.
I believe you should introduce new vocabulary words and have quizzes over spelling and definitions. Also, take the time to sound them out and use in a sentence. Maybe referring to a paragraph and reading it to the class would help the students with reading deficiencies.
Karine,
both the longer time & the one-one conversations are great ways to provide help & support to our students who may be struggling somewhat.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I also give mu students a longer period of time and have one on one conversations and appoaches as well.
Having gone through some reading difficulties as well in my past. I would say time is really important. Giving them more time on the test so the tests can more accurately reflect the students understanding the material is important. In lecture try to include any terms that you know they might struggle with as they are reading the book on there own. When writing test questions try to avoid lengthy or tricky questions (as to confuse the student on purpose). I myself never saw the point in making questions like that, yes i want to range the questions in difficulty levels putting students to a certain challenge in the level of depth i want them to retain from the class, but i do this without trying to trick them.
toni,
I agree that this seems to be a rather systemic problem that we are facing & we must do a better job of screening this from a capability standpoint.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
By accessing their reading level prior to allowing entry into the higher learning institution.
The institution needs to have a Saturday class (8-4p) that goes over and highlights as well reviews basic reading skills.
In the medical field we have a LOT of medical terminology words that need to be understood and pronounced correctly.
I have had students who dont even try to break the word up by: prefix-intra-suffix. They mumble something incoherrent and keep going. Not even asking what the correct pronunciation is. How, blind and embarrassing it is to graduate students (politically) who does not speak the language of their career profession effectively?? Very!!
So, please we need to help our student(s) to be as successfull as they possibly can, and to have that student represent their graduating facility in a positive light.
Donna,
these are all great strategies for working with students who may be struggling. As you pointed out, the key is to have them admit they are struggling & seek our help.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Sometimes students can hide this situation so well I do not notice the problem until the phase is almost over. And most of the time their grades are C average which is passing.
But I am always willing to work with anyone who comes to me for help. I recommend tutoring, provide additional study guides and worksheets, and allow the student to determine if they want to take any tests with a reader or in a quiet place.
ivy,
these are all great suggestions & we definitely want to be enlisting the help of other departments if they are available to us.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
ways to help students with reading deficiencies is to first, enlist the assistance of another support department on campus for the student to contact in lieu of yourself. The next step would be to assign the student small segments or chunks to read each night that would make more sense to the student. then I would meet with the student to discuss their reading and how they understood it
I have seen more test anxiety than reading or learning disorders. It's difficulty to tell if these are true learning disabilities or not because some of these students have never been tested they are just accommodated based on their own word. Giving them more time seems to help but placing them in a quiet environment that lacks visual and audible distractions seems to help more than increased time.
I agree. I teach in dental hygiene and find instructors who just expect students to say complex dental and pharmacological words correctly. I try to help all the students learn to say them correctly as we learn their meanings. Even those with no reading challenges have difficulty saying erythematous.;-)
I am not a good reader and tell my students I often have to read out loud. Not to embarrass them, I explain how I need to hear, say, and write the words several times to put them into my working memory.
