The greatest challenge when working with students with a learning disablility is making them feel comfortable and open up about their disability so that the insructor can provide proper assistant. Most students with disabilities are ashame or shy about their learning disability. An instructor cannot provide help if they do not embrace the disability and be willingly to open and learn.
The greatest challenge is when students don't tell you that they have a learning disability and you have to figure it out as the instructor.
diana,
and the more we show we are open & willing to help the greater the opportunity to help them & have them seek that help.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
give them suport in their own way. let them Know that you care about their learning progress.
It can be tricky to walk the fine line between not doing enough and showing favoritism. A good instructor desires to maximize learning for their students, and when a student is struggling because of a disability (rather than not doing the work), then the temptation is to compensate knowing that the student likely knows the material but has difficulty in expression. This cannot be done! All students need held to the same standard. Tutoring and altering classrom content for everyone is what is needed instead.
Students with learning disabilities can be very challenging, expecially if it is the student whom is too proud to inform you of the issue.
It can lead to a great deal of frustration on both the part of the student and the instructor.
The greatest challenge to students with Learning disabilities for me as an Instructor would be probably not having enough time to actually work one on one with this student and at the same time try and help the remainder of the class.
I would really need to seek resources or other counselors that will help and not exhaust the remainder of my time solely to that particular student and their learning disability.
Students with learning disabilities need more time and attention
The greatest challenge was gauging comprehension and retention.
Greatest challenge would be to keep the student motivated. If they are not motivated then he or she tends to give up.
I would say identifying it. Many students in the massage field are kinesthetic learners so they did not do well in high school anyway. When they reach me most have dropped out of college and have decided they are dumb or can’t learn. It was always difficult to sort out the ones with learning disabilities versus the ones who were just kinesthetic learners and had never been in an environment where they could thrive. Of course in massage they soared and a large proportion of them finished with me and went on to regular four year schools.
as far as working with students with learning disabilities is a real changleg here with welding, we have worked with them but you have to slow everything way down and try to explain thing every carefully and very slowly so they can understand. i would say most will not get through are school. the one that do we have to really hold their hands and work with them none stop.
Noel,
sadly many of these students have been criticized for so long that they have built up these walls & defense mechanisms.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree with all your points; Some students appreciate the extra work done by instructors, and some others use their learning disabilities a an excuse for their poor performance.
I would say the greatest challenge with them is their sensitivity. A student of mine who has a learning disability tends to be over sensitive. In several similar incidents I have observed this fact. To relate, once, after grading the class for a quiz, this student was the only student who did not get a 100% grade (A+). He was apparently so disturbed and for a good period of time he kept telling me he was truly disappointed and frustrated with a B (or at another time an A-). After a series of the same scenarios took place, he had inidcated to me that he no longer likes me as an instructor because of his grade being consistently lower than an A+ or an A at best. This takes me aback though I told him he has to just earn his grade like the rest does.. and I encourage him by telling him he will be fine and will eventually get a 100% grade.
Kathryn,
this is true & I believe that the best way to accomplish this is by opening those channels of communication.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Kathryn,
this is true & I believe that the best way to accomplish this is by opening those channels of communication.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
If you are unable to figure out how to work with them and their needs it could be difficult for both sides.
A very significant challenge is that at our college and many others, the programs are very accelerated. Traditionally, semesters (or terms) were 15 to 16 weeks; now they are 11 weeks, 9 weeks, 8 weeks and some as short as 5 weeks. And as some students need more time to be truly successful, there is this built-in conflict: the reality of the disabiity versus the reality of the college format.
Also I believe on-line courses are not for everybody since many need to have that support and discipline that is readily available on-ground but not always on-line!
So accelaerted formats are certainly not for everybvody
Larry,
yes, it does not have to just focus on the academic subject at hand, but we have the chance to really help them in many areas.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
