learning disabilities
The students with learning disabilities need more help from the teachers.Also they should be self motivated to over come the problem.
David ,
I completely agree & our role as instructors is to help our students succeed.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
As a former student with a learning disability, the best thing a teacher could do is give more time and support when the student asks for it. I can't tell you how many teachers didn't want to hear the fact that I really did need more time on tests. They would tell me to suck it up and finish on time or else. That is not the way to work with a learning disabled student.
Anna,
good question. The biggest thing to do is demonstrate your willingness to help the student & to listen to him/her as they express their struggles. From there, if a student discloses a disability, work with them to get the resources they need.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree that these types of students do need more help from instructors and maybe some tutoring services if provided by the school. Also, in an earlier module there was the topic of learning groups and this could be a sitution where more group activities can be allowed in the classroom Lastly, I have noticed that when I give test, there are students that finish quickly (20-30- minutes) and some may take as long as an hour. One thing that I announce on the first day of class, when going over the course syllabi, is that I don't give timeframes for test completion and students do not have to rush through any test. The main thing that I have to do is make sure that my students that finish early will have other assignments to complete which will take the focus off of the students who need extra time to complete the test. This method will also minimize boredom and other distractions.
I have never had to teach a student with disabilites - are there certain things I should know?
The truth of the matter is as humans we all have some type of disability in one way or another, if we could be more tolerant of each other inside the classroom and out it would be beneficial to us all.
I find this topic to be very interesting. How the instructor teaches clearly plays a role on a student's success when they have disabllity.
I have had many students in my class with a disability and I did not know as they did not inform because they are doing well. By teaching in manner that ALWAYS address those with or without I am good to go.
The same students that were in my class then start to struggle in other classes. As the Lead, I meet with them only to find out that they indeed had a disabilty and wasn't notifying the instructor.
