Hi Timothy! Thanks for your comments! Adjusting the pace of your presentations and activities is very important to student learning. I also try to vary my instructional techniques to help address the different learning styles. Slowing down a bit may be quite helpful to students who may have an auditory challenge, but with other students (for example, some attention deficit disorders), slowing down may actually be counter productive. Perhaps the key is to try to know as much about challenged students as possible, without, of course, making it an issue or violating privacy, then adjust our teaching techniques accordingly.
Jay Hollowell
ED106 Facilitator
i will tend to break things done in alot more detial. Also i will slow the pace down for those that need it.
Thanks, Manuel, yes tutoring definitely helps us further determine and relate to students' diverse learning styles, and more importantly, their challenges. Sometimes I have found that not only helping a challenged student with the topic at hand, but also with tips on how to actually assimilate, review and study material can be very valuable, but the tips have to be in concert with each student's most effective way of learning.
Jay
ED106 Facilitator
I have found that individual attention through tutoring really makes a difference. With tutoring I am able to focus on there particular learning style and also focus on a particular topic or subject that may be troubling them.
Hi Chris, thanks, yes repetition is a key teaching strategy, and talking one-on-one and tutoring are optimum.
Students with learning disabilities, even undiagnosed, tend to know how best they can assimilate subject content and applications. If we can adapt to that without over-compensating or over-accomodating, then learning is enhanced. I think it's OK, for example, to read a question to a student who may be challenged with visual reading, or have a student demonstrate an activity or procedure if he or she cannot verbally explain it, yet at the same time realizing that the workplace may not be as understanding.
It's a balance.
Jay Hollowell
ED106 Facilitator
If I find that a student is having a hard time understanding, if he has a learing disability or not, I try to find time to talk to him one on one. I ask the student what I can do I as an instructor to help him. The most common answers I get back are tutoring, and more time. With these students, just like others, I find that repeating myself right up to the point that they are tired of hearing it is the key.
Hi Ben! Tutoring is always helpful and reading test questions out loud can help with students who may be challenged visually.
Curious, when working with learning disabilities, what happens if a student is both visually and auditorily challenged?
Jay Hollowell
ED106 Facilitator
I find that tutiring is helpful and readingthe test questions to them outloud.
Thanks, Ken, wording things differently can make a world of difference.
I have found additionally that when students perform poorly, particularly on a written test, giving them the chance to explain how they interpreted the questions and attained their answers (and even sometimes giving them credit accordingly)can be a powerful learning tool - in that sense, the test is a resource as well as an assessment.
Jay
ED106
Sometimes a student has difficulty understanding a test do to the way it is written. Although we cannot change the test questions we can ask differant things to prompt the students memory. We can word the question so that he or she can understand it better. By doing this the student can pull on his memory bank of what he learned and give correct feedback or answers
Hi Harry,
You're right, research is very important. I also have privately and appropriately asked a physically disabled student how best I can work with them without drawing undue attention to the situation and without positioning it as just an accomodation.
For learning disabilities, it is more of a step-by-step process in discovering the best way for a student to master a concept or application. In many circumstances, the learning disability was never diagnosed or addressed, and studnets with the same type of learning disability, still react and assimilate information in different ways.
Thanks,
Jay
ED106
I try to find out what has worked for them in the past or what has worked for others with the same situation.
Providing more time
Differentiated assignments
Technology-Audio/Visual,Computers, Permethean Boards
Graphs/Pictures
The thing that works really well for me is if I think the student knows the answer on a test but is having a difficlt time putting it into words I will let them answer the question verbaly
Very good, particularly following up by checking for understanding with, of course, balancing the out loud reading with active learning activities to support the outcomes. Try adding a visual element and, if possible, a hands-on activity for those whose learning styles challenge them when trying to absorb information solely by listening.
Jay Hollowell, Center for Excellence in Education
I often use designated readers in class. The students are accustomed to this practice from earlier school (I instruct in Barbados). I choose someone who is not only a good reader, but has a voice that carries well. While the student reads aloud, I observe for students' attention level and do not choose blocks of reading that are too large. After each section, I ask questions and have students write down the answers. This method does not intimidate the students who are slower to learn. I pay special attention to their answers, reiterating in class any information that students have not grasped.
Hi Paul! Yes, early intervention is the key. Ironically, many adult students come into the career college setting without ever having a learning disability identified. Since we, as career instructors, are not necessarily versed in working with learning disabilities, perhaps our recourse is to be innovative and flexible in our teaching strategies and instructional delivery so that we can reach across as many learning styles as possible.
Jay Hollowell
Identifying the learning disability as soon as possible is imperative to a student's success.
Many learning disabilities can be perceived as a lack of motivation or complete disinterest in a topic.
We try various exercises in class early in the course that are designed to identify any learning abilities. If anyone shows up on the radar, we address that issue with the student outside the classroom atmosphere.
--paul
I have worked with many people that have had learning disabilities. I am fortunate that in class I have not had many with organic learning disability, only an occasional ESL (English as a Second Language) student. However because of the level of courses that I have instructed, all of these students were highly motivated and well self-accommodated. I did notice that I did have a tendency to speak slower and to ask for feed-back more often about their understanding of the concepts being taught.
verbal test taking and separating them from taking exams to allow for more time and disallow distractions.
