Hi Todd, thanks for your examples! I might add that along with additional time for test completion we also might look at providing options for the assessments that we use to evaluate student progress in the forst place. Though in some senses we may be limited in the types of tests we use, any way that we can adapt how they are presented may help the challenged adult learner.
Jay Hollowell
ED106 Facilitator
Hi Tanya! I appreciate your question because career school instructors, working with so much diversity of adult learners, are not necessarily professionally trained in addressing learning disabilities, yet we, of course, must face the challenge.
I think one difference between a student who is not a skilled writer and one with a learning disability is that the less skilled writer is challenged with simply presenting information in written form, whereas the student with a learning disability may be challenged with actually processing the information, connecting so to speak thought with output. For the student with poor writing skills, practice, vocabulary and basic grammar exercises may help; for the learning challenged students, we may have to rethink how we present information as well as the best way for them to demonstrate application.
Fortunately, strategies such as tutoring, allowing more time, and varying both our delivery techniques and the assessments we use, tend to help both of these examples.
The real challenge is that we are usually hard pressed for time to cover a great deal of topics and applications in our courses, and as we make a special effort to help those especially challenged students, when they enter or re-enter the workplace, it is a far less-forgiving environment.
Thanks again for your response!
Jay Hollowell
ED106 Facilitator
I agree, how do you tell the difference between a student who truly is learning disabled and one who is just not a very skilled writer. I don't have enough experience at this point to determine this all of the time. I appreciate these courses and these discussions so I can learn more about how to help these students.
A few methods that have been successful are using audio and video presentations with large font sizes. Allowing several breaks and longer test times have also worked pretty well.
working with the student one on one then when the student feels comfortable have them make thier presentation to the rest of the class.
I had one student who had PTSD (he was a war veteran). He had a hard time focusing for extended periods of time. I now do several things that I think help not only students like him but all students. For each exam that I give a class, part of it is in class and part of it is take home (typically equal parts) - so instead of one long test, it becomes two shorter tests. For those students with memory disabilities, the fact that half of the exams are take home is beneficial. I also try to change my presentation typically each 10 minutes - by introducing a question, showing a video, completing an assessment, doing a group assignment, taking a break, etc.
Thanks so much for your teaching strategies, Leeta! As you mentioned, they are applicable to any learner and any environment. It's really just good advice!
Jay Hollowell
ED106 Facilitator
I think some of key strategies for instructing learners with disabilites include:
1. Building respect and establishing two-way communication with all students.
2. Creating and developing grading rubrics, templates and examples so that students have an idea of what every assignment should look like and how they will be graded or assessed.
3. Being flexible and available as much as possible, especially before and after classes.
3a. The majority of students are less likely to show that they do not understand during the class time.
I truly believe that my strategies could be used in any learning environment; remote and/or online.
Designing all course modules in an online environment with learners with disabilities in mind is just a good teaching technique. It benefits all learners, without singling out those with special needs. Of course, this is not enough. Small groups, individualized attention, and being proactive to see that needs are being met along the way--these are all approaches that have worked well for me.
I am still challenged by special needs students, and wonder how to reach them more effectively. How can I distinguish between a borderline special needs student and one that just lacks basic grammar skills? In the end, every student is unique and it's our job to figure out how to address their needs.
Have the students working with each other, one on one when avaible,have the students reading out loud in class.
Using visual aides in my lectures,performing live demo's of tasks,repeating key points in lectures,giving ample time for note taking,reviewing information that will be included in a test or quiz,allowing ample time for test taking,giving small breaks in long lectures to allow a change of state. J.P.
this seems to work for me as well!!! great post! :)
Thanks, Kathy, for this excellent suggestion. By having a student volunteer take notes and providing the resources that you do, there is more of an opportunity for enhanced learning - students are not so busy trying to get everything down, that they lose the concept.
Jay Hollowell
ED106 Facilitator
Recently I had a student with a learning disability that required large print copies of my lectures, hand outs and tests. This particular class happened to be in a computer lab and I noticed that many of the students were typing lecture notes as I was speaking. I asked for a volunteer each day to type the lecture notes in a specified font size and distribute to all students. In addition, I distributed hand outs to all students with this same larger font. All students benefited from this process and all had the same tools.
One method is to have the student sit up front. If posssible, I schedule time for tutoring after class. Our school offers an 'educational resource lab' where students can receive tutoring and or mentoring. The student can also take an exam there (after class) so they can be alloted extra time to finish.
Some instruction al methods that have been successful for me when working with students with learning disabilities are: provide more time when they take a quiz or test and repeat the same procedure over and over until they get it.
I have only had one student thus far; they asked to record the lectures.
The material presented here is helpful should this arise in the future, I will know how to handle.
The average age of the students in my classes is about 50. For many of them it has been years since they have taken a course, a quiz, or a test. This can make it difficult to determine whether any of them are LD or just "rusty". I try hard to live up to our school motto of "We make lernin' fun n' easy! " I try to keep the class atmosphere light and unthreatening and can usually find LD students by class questioning and poor test scores. Offering "one on one" help after class seems to work best by asking "how can I help you?" They can usually tell me how.
I agree not to bring too much attention to them in class. These stucdents have learned how to hide it well, because they feel uncomfoertable with their disabilities. Adding the different types of learning to your lesson plan gives you a chance to see which way is best for them
Often, in my particular environment many students are not only deficient in usderstanding English, but have additional learning disabilities on top of that. I try to teach in different manner by offering less exams and more group projects. this allows others in the groups to colllectively assist the learners with my oversight.
