Hello,
I agree. Students who have learning disabilities simply need more time. Also, working in conjuction with a tutoring is also helpful.
Hello,
The greatest challenge is motivating students with learning disabilities. Some students with learning disabilites have put up protective barriers, and a teacher has to work past that barrier to help them to learn.
The best method that has worked for me is blocking off some time to spend with the student who has the learning disability.
One of the greatest challenges I have is to keep the student with the learning disability motivated while acknowledging that they may need an accommodation and then doing all of this without “singling them out” or making them feel “different” from the rest of the class.
I often find that it helps the students to see or hear real examples of how other people who were struggling to learn the same subject or skill overcame their difficulty. For example, explaining to the student that when I was first learning what they are learning now, I used memory trick xyz to help remember the correct order for the procedures. I also remind them that not every tool will work for every student and that they should feel comfortable working with whatever method helps them.
It sometimes helps a struggling student to know that someone who is skilled at something today, may have had significant difficulties acquiring those skills and also struggled during the learning process.
In my experience, it can be a motivational one. Helping the student understand that just because they have a learning disability does not mean that they are not capable of learning.
At a trade school, so many of our students rejected "traditional" education as they were made to feel inferior. Thus, many have the view that they are unable to grasp the same concepts as others.
Building that confidence is key. For example, I teach an Intro Psychology class. Psychology can seem overwhelming for many students due to unfamiliar terminology. So, the first day I do a lecture on the history of Psychology, based on Philosophy. I ask the students tons of guided questions and ask them to make their own conclusions. Then, I tell them what they are discussing was no different than the thoughts great philosophers and psychologists have had for thousands of years. Many of them are surprised they are learning Plato and it gives them confidence to go forward. you, it helps to evade some sticky legal questions.
Hi Kathleen! Thanks for your comments! Even though I taught Accounting (perhaps less creative than fashion illustration - smile), I would have students that had difficulty following the accounting cycle when working on assignments outside of class. I would give them examples as well as a "guide sheet" (I called them cheat sheets) as a resource. Taking the extra time for explanation and assistance, as you reference, is really the key.
Jay Hollowell
ED106 Facilitator
I teach fashion illustration and many students feel that when they start their project at home they have difficulty with techniques learned in class. I allow students to take pictures of my work and give them extra time for writing notes.
Extra time is the key to working with learning disabilities.
The greatest challenge I have with working with students with learning disabilities is knowing what appropriate method to use. There are many learning disabilities and no one method is good for all types.
I have found that spending more time with the learning disabled and finding the right way to convey the information to them has been successful for me.
Using the tutors has been a real assistance. The tutors can provide the time to individually work with the student.
Of course not all the students take advantage of this assistance, or can not attend due to other time constrants.
I have yet to experience working with Learning Disabilities within my teaching experience. I have worked with learning disabilities as a volunteer and it is interesting and challenging. The biggest virtue, in my humble opinion, is patience. The ability to take time and understanding to work with and through the student to ensure they are capable of receiving and retaining the education and information. A teacher must also keep in mind, the student may be far more critical of themselves and we (teachers) must be prepared to work through this.
Asking student what kind of support will help to learnrequired materials and make sure to see if the suggested help is being effective
I thank you for this module. Although I have learned how to accommodate students with disabilities,I get caught up in the day-to-day operation of the classes and may forget to address all of these. I do not usually have students who identify themselves as those with learning disabilities but this course has helped bring back to the forefront methods that I can utilize to help all students. I have used the audiotapes with my studntes before and I encourage them to listen to the lectures on their drives home or to school.
The biggest challenge for me is keeping them positive and keeping their attention span. I give them praise and teach in 15 minute segments so they can keep focused.
I think students with disabilites need to have both auditory and visual learning styles persented in the classroom.
The greatest challenge that we get from this type of student, is the coordination problem. Since we are teaching them how to used knife properly, at the same time we have to assure that the saftey of this student is first and foremost priority.
Well, we used a simple guidelines, and we focus on their action more than on their assesment of learning in the beginning and as we continued monitor the student seems help a lot of their dissabily problem. Contant guidance and monitoring.
The greatest challenge was to except that it takes them more time to complete the task at hand. We are always pushed for time and tend to go very fast in our presentations. By slowing down a bit and discussing with the students while doing the presentation, I have seen an increase in the learner's abilities to preform the task at hand.
I have been working with PI students for many years and have come to give them additional instruction and time while not slowing the pace for the average student.
I have not personally had any experience in working with identified learning disability students. However, I design and conduct my courses in a way that provides success structures for all students. If you follow the premise of "universal design", it is about access/success for all students. As mentioned within the presentation of Mod 4, many of the aids mentioned help all students so can be designed in deliberately from the beginning. From a researcher perspective, assessment instruments must be valid, reliable, and scaleable regardless of the audience. If they are well created based on the measurable objectives of the class, students with LDs will already have an instrument in place that highlights specific questions, provides large and clear print, and uses methods of highlighting for emphasis. The extreme benefit of the online environment in the embedded addition of time.
Dr. Jeannette K. Jones
It depends on the type and severity of the disability. They need to be looked at on an individual bases. With the time schedule we have in class it is difficult to allow for extra time with all students, inturn you have to try and help them after class.
I always have benefitted from referring students to the office of ability services and cooperating with them.
finding new techniques to teach them.
The greatest challenge for me has been to get myself to devote the extra time with the student. In the past I've recommended that students contact one of the tutors that our college provides and that has helped. This summer we didn't have a tutor for computer courses, so I setup special fixed office hours in an open classroom, so students could come in for additional help. I wish I would have offered an alternate testing process as well for one of the students who did great in the labs and homework but poorly on the tests.
I feel there are three other challenges that become learning disabilities, which require additional intervention and guidance.
1. ADD and ADHD seem to be as common as dyslexia.
2. English as a Learning Language (ELL) is even more common.
(Fortunately by the time they are seniors they do much better.)
3. Procrastination is definitely the most common.
