The good news is that the recommendations for supporting veteran students and students with TBI and PTSD are instructional practices that are good for ALL students. Establishing routines and predictability, prioritizing tasks and chunking information, providing multiple ways to access course content and demonstrate learning, reinforcing oral instructions with written instructions, etc. are all great ways to engage any learner and, in particular, our most vulnerable student groups.
I think the important consideration for working with veterans is that they will be entering the classroom with lived experiences and knowledge that may be quite different from the other students. The challenge for the teacher is to connect the content to ALL students lives and for each student to be able to see the real-world application of their learning. For teachers of veterans, this may mean using different examples, scenarios, or illustrations than they typically would.
