Teaching Students With Learning Difficulties: Ideas for Discussion

(These notes do not have any particular author - they are ideas designed for discussion and have been gathered from several sources.)

Index

Identifiers of students having learning difficulties

Points to consider when evaluating material for L.D. students

General suggestions for teachers of L.D. students

Identifiers of students having learning difficulties

• Lack of interest in the work
• Poor test/assignment results
• Misbehaviour
• Little or no preparation for lessons
• Getting behind in prac. work, book work
• Work not handed in
• Non-participation in class activities
• Low self-esteem
• Forgets quickly
• Inability to transfer a learned skill or concept
• Repeated complaints about work (eg. 'boring', 'don't understand', 'why do we have to .., ...)
• Inattentiveness
• Doesn't try - won't have a go
• Impulsive - doesn't stop to think

Points to consider when evaluating material for L.D. students

• Are the skills well sequenced?
• Is the material clearly presented?
• Are enough opportunities provided for practice?
• Is the level of interest adequate?
• Is the language at an appropriate level?
• Is assessment built in?

General suggestions for teachers of L.D. students

• Tie in new content/concepts to what they already know - ie., start from where they're at.
• Pre-teach vocabulary to be encountered in new units.
• In teaching new material, try to integrate all aspects of language - listening, speaking, reading and writing.
• Demonstrate (as opposed to telling) as often as possible. Provide concrete experience in teaching concepts.
• Work should be divided into limited objectives and should have a well-defined structure.
• Break work into smaller chunks.
• Written text should not be over-used and should be linked with visual material wherever possible.
• Ensure the student overlearns, ie. beyond the point of apparent success by additional practice and reinforcement/revision.
• Consider greater use of group work and allow groups to be fluid, not fixed.
• Give more examples than you think you need.
• Encourage students to monitor their own understanding and progress (eg, by checklist/ learning journal, ...)
• Provide constant feedback - indicate success and reward learning.
• Do NOT punish failure to learn.
• Use imaginative practical tasks to create involvement and help overcome weaknesses in understanding.
• Monitor pace of presentation - as a rule of thumb, the pace is about right if students can accurately identify 95% or more words in the text being used and can answer 80% of your questions. Below these figures you're going too fast or the material is too hard.
• Visual:
  • use typed/word processed notes rather than handwriting;
  • use LOWER case for body text - use caps only for emphasis;
  • do NOT justify word processed notes;
  • use a serif font rather than sans serif;
  • use larger font size / fewer words on a page / increase line spacing;
  • use cues to emphasize special features (eg, stars for starting points/arrows for directions, colour cues to stress differences and similarities);
  • keep work sheets simple, clear and uncluttered;
  • always check, rather than assume, that 'hand-outs' are understood.
• Auditory
  • precede verbal instructions by cue words (eg, 'listen', 'ready now', ...);
  • reduce your rate of oral presentation;
  • allow students opportunities to discuss topic;
  • avoid verbiage;
  • stick to your main points;
  • keep your instructions clear and simple;

Above All - Teach More, Not Less.

End of document.

This page was last updated 25 July 1996

mteach.IT@alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au