I believe the greatest challenge to working with students with learning disabilities is to identify if they have learning disabilities. I recently found out a student in my class had some form of learning disabilities after I gave out a writing test. I could not read any of the answers he wrote. But when I gave him time to type what he has written everything was right. I found out that he has writing disabilities. From that time I gave him some extra attention. We should therefore find a way to identify if students have learning disabilities because most of them do not communicate their disabilities to their teachers.
My greatest challenge in working with a student that has a learning disability is trying understand their stuggles in learning a concept that I would consider somewhat easy.
Keeping them motivated and not afraid to be venerable. They already feel different and do not embrace that everyone learns differently. It is important to provide an educational environment that supports a diversity of thought and respect.
Billy,
this is an excellent point & really is the great way to help them be successful in our classes.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I like your comment. What are some of the ways you find effective for balancing the additional time given to students with disabilities?
The biggest challenge is the recognition of a disability (if the student doesn't self-reveal it) then the identification of the disability type. Once these bits of information are obtained, you can make a plan (IEP if required) to assist that student in your class.
It is a balance, at some point I usually team them up with another learner as a coach.
Helping them figure out how best to help themselves..also giving suggestions that are shot down or excused by student immedicately yet they cannot give reason or suggestion to self.
Understanding their learning style.
They generally need more, especially with tests. We had a student that needed more time for tests, and she gained confidence with taking exams that she no longer needed Accommodations.
Maintaining a sense of fairness, in the eyes of the students in the classroom, is often challenging. When continual review, re-direct, or re-adjusting is happening the other students must be allowed to progress at their expected rate of learning also, which is often to proceed faster than the learning disabled can do. We, as instructors, see the big picture, are in charge of grading, are motivated to see all students progress; however, every student must feel respected that the are just as valued as the next student.
The greatest challenge of working with students with learning disability is not knowing that they have a learning disability. Sometimes they go undiagnosed.
I found that the greatest challenge is the student themselves not believing they can be successful. I had one student drop out of the class and it broke my heart, she as doing so well. In spite of my constant encouragement and the proof of her test grade she did not believe in herself enough to keep going.
Time management and balancing the needs between all different types.
On the college level, we are not allowed to approach a student who we know has a disability. In some colleges we are told which students have disabilities, but they must approach us before any discussion can occur. In other colleges, we are not told in advance. In both cases the students must approach the instructor and show a card that they have a disability and get accommodations. It was frustrating for me this semester when I knew a student had accommodations, but he did not use them. He was struggling for half a semester before he reached out to me and told me he wanted to use them. I repeatedly asked throughout the semester that if anyone needed accommodations they should see me. I wish there was a way to encourage disabled adults to use their accommodations.
It is really a challenge for an instructor, you have to have time, actually, extra time for them. What I do is conduct a tutoring session every two days, early in the morning before the class starts. Their minds are fresh and I give them time to ask questions, clarify the topic that they didn't understand or got confused, and give examples in the way they could understand.
From my prospective, the greatest challenging is identifying that the student has a learning disability. Seldom are students forthcoming with this information, in fact, they often go out of their way to hide it. This tells me that those students that I encounter have not had good support systems from instructors in their past learning experiences.
Having said that, once the problem is identified, then I believe the greatest challenge is one of time. It takes time to re-design instructional methods that adequately facilitate the learning process and it takes time to examine and re-design the delivery of new techniques. An instructor can look at this as a hindrance, or a challenge. I believe it is a challenge because it will enable the instructor to develop into a better instructor.
I also think another challenge that is just as critical is one of compassionate implementation of the new teaching/learning techniques. The change-up in the delivery and teaching techniques needs to be seamless and transparent to the students so that no one feels singled out as "different". This too, will take time, but it is just as critical to the student's success. Students with learning disabilities need to be respected and encouraged to be successive just like every other student that we teach.
Antonette,
you are right it really does take that extra level of dedication & willingness on the part of the instructor. I like your idea of the early morning tutoring before class as that helps them be fresh & the material is fresh going into class.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Antonette,
you are right it really does take that extra level of dedication & willingness on the part of the instructor. I like your idea of the early morning tutoring before class as that helps them be fresh & the material is fresh going into class.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Making sure you are listening and clearly understand the problem. Once you can grasp the student need, you should be able to adapt.
