Psychological Learning Disability
I was hoping this class would discuss more on how to engage students with certain types of psychological learning disabilities. Does anyone know what web sites would offer good advice on what different ways of encouragement an instructor can give a student and how to keep them focused on what they are trying to learn?
That is difficult to answer, Christopher, because students with psychological disabilities are so varied in both their symptoms and their needs. I am not sure what you are looking for when you speak of "engaging students'. If you are looking to individualize your teaching to reach a single student in class, I would caution that you may need a great deal more information than you have (or will have access to) in order to effectively individualize in that way. If you are looking to get a better understanding of certain types of disabilities so that you can help students manage their own needs more effectively, I might be able to help. For example, there is a great resource on supporting students on the autism spectrum available for download here: http://www.autism.org.uk/studentmentors
well what i was mainly asking for was certain strategies to take when trying to figure out what steps might be best per student to help them learn.
At the postsecondary level, Christopher, we try to focus on providing information in the SAME way (and for the same reasons) whenever possible. Things are complicated by the fact that creating individual "steps" is very difficult when individual *needs* are so varied. The same diagnosis doesn't mean the same needs for two different students. Remember, too, that much of the difficulty for students with psych disabilities generally comes in the form of concentration and focus, rather than in the basic understanding or access to the classroom materials. I suppose the best overall hint I can give is to try to establish personal connections to such students, so that you represent a "safe" environment, and thus they are more likely to come and tell you when they are having difficulties. Then you get to explore those difficulties individually.
The safe environment, I like that, thank you
I think this course help to better prepare me to help a student with a disability
David,
Glad to hear it. Just remember that you don't have to (and shouldn't try) to figure out all the appropriate issues and responses yourself. There should be resources available to you through the institution to sort out your questions.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
