Bibi,
you are right that while this is not a diagnosed disability, it can definitely impede their success.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
One of them can be English as a second language. This can be more of a situation than a disability, but it prevent students from understanding basic information.
Philip,
unfortunately this is definitely a common problem in many of our classrooms.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Dyslexia seems to pop up the most. Slower comprehension and the need for some extra time to complete assignments are the most common characterostics.
Richard,
this is a very common disability & this is a great method to help those students who struggle in this area.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Most students are too ashamed to mention they have a known learning disability. I have had only one student approach me with a problem. I was glad she did. We worked togther to prepare a plan (for leacutes, tests, etc.) that worked well for her. I did go to the administration with her learning disability and they said we do not any policy on special needs individuals. Somewhat dissappointing.
The most common that I see is Dyslexia. I try to make the course outline more helpful by using capital letters or roman numerals in the over outline. This seems to help.
Michele,
this is a great point & a great reminder to be as patient as we can with these students who may be struggling to catch up, but they are truly working to do so.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
The most common form of learning disabilities I have come across in my classroom is dyslexia. Students have a hard time understanding the textual content of the material presented. I have overcome some of this by presenting materials with lots of pictures and diagrams showing the concepts in action or in function. There is still the challenge to help the student with a reading or comprehension problem when more than 50% of the material is based on textbook comprehension. The amount of time you have specified in this course that it takes to modify a course to assist a learning disability, in my opinion, is way underestimated. It takes about 2 hours to re write, graph and diagram a 5 hour class session. I find that with a short term period and the amount of material that needs to be covered sometimes the time constraints and lack of compensation for the extra time it takes leads to a non-action to help the student with a learning disability.
I also am not given diagnosis of the disability. Students are responsible to complete the necessary documents to receive accommodations. The most common accommodation is tests being read to them, and extra time to complete tests
i too see student that dislike reading in class, because their reading skills are below level. It is hard to watch this but even harder for them to do this in a class setting. Sometimes for educators we forget that the student is not at our education and reading level.
Paul,
I find this to be true as well & unfortunately this is still a disability that goes undiagnosed too often.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
The most common form of learning disability encounter in my classes, class is dyslexia. It is evident when the students are required to read and comprehend the information in the passage.
Dyslexia is the most common form that I encounter in my nursing school. It gets very tricky to manage when teaching medication calculation and use of syringes. There is an extra pressure on both the instructor and student as transposition of numbers does not just mean a failed test but a gross medication error. I definitely consult with them before any clinical rotation and investigate what has worked for them in the past and take advantage of what tools are already in place. Next, I try (but am not always successful) to allocate more time to prepare medications. It can be very difficult and frustrating for both. I definitely need to learn more about this.
In my class, the learning disabilties are always rlated to reading and the comorehension. Students will find it helpful to have a list of words and terminligy before they do there required reading so they can recognize and understand what those words mean within the context.
ivy,
this is definitely the situation with many of our students.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Liset ,
flash cards are a great, inexpensive tool that can help all students to ensure success.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I would have to say the most common form of learning disability would be delayed cognition. With the poor preparation many students receive in grammar school today, venturing into post secondary poses to be a such a far fetched dream, that if they do conquer fear and seek entry, they struggle consistently with comprehension of the standardized text material used.
I have found problems in reading skills, it takes time for them to memorize the words and the meaning , I found the use of flash cards helps them incorporate the new material in an easier way .
Dyslexia seems to be the most common on our campus. Extra time for tests and recording equipment seems to be the most common accommodation. Some do require tests to be read to them. I do find that when it comes to actually working on the bikes, these individuals are as good if not better than someone without an accommodation because they seem to pay closer attention and strive for perfection.
