The needs of Students
Students have many needs. I work as a people with disabilities program manager and I get students who have special needs in the classroom. These students sometimes have learning disabilities, which require more attention and extra time. We must allow these students to have extra time to complete their assignments. The students with disabilities are able to learn but need additional time to complete their work. I wonder has anyone else has had students with disabilities and how you handled them.
AL
Gary, thank you. It says a lot about you working with student with disabilities. I want to thank you personally, as we need more instructors who have the patience and understanding to know that students with disabilities can be great students as well. I will keep your offer in mind. It is also a pleasure to collaborate with fellow instructors on such a sensitive matter.
Al
Hi Terry,
Thanks for your comments on learning pathways for students. Your point about repetition in learning points the way to our teaching strategies. We need to plan so our students can use their newly acquired knowledge immediately, help them to repeat the content through activities and let them see the relevancy of what they have been taught.
Gary
I like the idea of giving students more time. I often "out run" my students and I have to remind them to tell me to slow my teaching speed down to their learning speed.
One of the things I do with all my students, and sometimes is a big help with LD students, is to make sure I hit all the possible learning paths I can. Where possible I want them to read it, write it down, see it demonstrated, and do it their self. If I see that one or more learning technique works for a particular student I try to give the student a little extra of what works best for them. Example: English as a second language students often respond well to handouts. Taking notes may be hard for an ESL student but a handout can be studied at length, translated, spell-checked, etc. It can also be shown to someone else, such as a tutor, for their input. I can think of at least three types of learners, the rule based, the theory based, and the hands on learner. Hit their hot spot.
A technique I learned in the Army that also may help: Tell them what you are going to tell them (Preview, let them know what to expect), tell them (Lecture, demo, etc. The main body of the lesson), tell them what told them (Review).
Repetition, repetition, repetition!
Lastly, have your students practice retrieving information. I feel we spend too much time poring information in that students never learn how to retrieve that information.
Regards,
Terry
Hi Al,
I have spent the last thirty years working in the area of helping people with disabilities secure post secondary training/education and employment. I really appreciate your comments about the need for more time as they process information. There are six major categories of learning disabilities and it is important to know which type of learning disability the student has and how he/she works through it in an educational setting. As a person comes into our program we ask permission from him/her to see their high school IEP. This really helps because from the IEP we can get a picture of what type of supports help them with their learning. If they are a student without an IEP we do an interview and intake assessment to learning how they process information. It is from this we can create an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) for them. This is not required by law as the IEP is for students in high school or under the age of 21 under the IDEA Act of 2007. We share this plan with all the instructors and have the student explain in his/her own words about the supports, adaptations or modifications that are needed. This approach greatly enhances the success factor.
We are seeing a dramatic increase in traumatic brain injuries and autism in addition to the students with LD. We use the same general approach in working with them.
If you have any questions or if I can be of any additional help to you please let me know.
Thanks.
Gary
Al,
We require students to submit authenticated information concerning physical or learning disabilities and then our campus Dean works with the instructors to develop learning plans (IEPs) for each student's needs. Sometimes we need to provide specific technology (screen readers for vision impaired) or allow extra time completing assignments and assessments (learning diabilities) or rearrange classrooms (physical disabilities).
