Students Who Learn Differently
Overseas
TIPS FOR TEACHERS AND
ADMINISTRATORS
There are many techniques that can be used, most at all levels, to
help the learning-differently student in your classrooms and in your schools. Some of these are listed below. Many others can be found in the material
in Resources and
in the Appendix.
·
If you suspect one of your students might have a
problem, check with the administration to see if the student has ever been
assessed, and if “yes”, ask to see the results.
·
The administration should see that each teacher
concerned is notified of any prior special needs assessment; this includes
coaches and extra-curricular teachers.
·
Match the student to the teacher whenever there
is a choice; we learn better from people we like, and we probably like certain
teachers because they are teaching us in a manner from which we can
learn; we might have the same learning styles.
·
Sit the student at the front of the class so
there are fewer distractions.
·
Exempt the student with linguistic problems from
taking more than one language. While
other students are studying a second language, the learning-differently student
can be receiving specialized help or taking an advanced class in his or her
area of interest. Exceptions can, of course, be
made if the student has a strong desire to learn another language.
·
In so far as possible, make your presentations
multisensory in nature; this will be a great help for your students who learn
differently and will not harm the performance of the other students.
·
Give more time for exams.
·
Give oral instead of written exams when
indicated.
·
Permit the use of computers with grammar and
spell check to take exams.
·
Allow the use of tape recorders for lectures.
·
Provide calculators for math.
·
Have lecture notes photocopied either by the
teacher or a friend who takes good notes.
·
Allow lap top computers to take lecture notes.
·
Permit assistance from an "amanuensis"
or scribe during exams ( a person who reads the questions
and writes down the dictated answer).
·
Always stress strengths over weaknesses.
·
Be very positive when correcting work; an
exercise that is returned covered in red marks is most disheartening.
·
Work together with the parents so homework
requirements are realistic and clearly understood.
·
Don't make the child read aloud in class unless
he is comfortable doing so.
·
Permit the use of spelling dictionaries and/or
hand-held, electronic spell-checkers.
·
Have the exam questions available in audio form so
the student can listen to them on a personal listening device while also being
able to see them.
·
Educate all the students about what
learning-differently means. In so
learning, they will not only learn why some of their classmates get special
dispensations, they will also learn more about themselves. Some schools offer "Theory of Knowledge"
courses which might be a good place to start, or perhaps a special section in
the Biology course could deal with differences in perception.
Of course, not all these interventions are appropriate for all
students. But even very young
students should be taught the use of assistive technologies as soon as
possible.
This is by no means a complete list. Also recommended is the teacher checklist that can be found
on pages 51-53 of Dyslexia: A Teaching Handbook by Thomson &
Watkins (see Resources/Books).
To find many more just Google teaching
tips for students with learning disabilities.
THE
USE OF THE COMPUTER AS A TEACHING AID
Practically daily new computer programs are coming on the market
designed to help the student who learns differently. Some are for home use (see Resources)
and others are to be used at school with the supervision of a tutor. The British Dyslexia Association has a
computer subcommittee on the use of computers by dyslexic students that puts
out a bulletin with reviews of the latest software from the point of view of
teachers of dyslexics.
Thomson & Watkins remind us in Dyslexia: A Teaching
Handbook that, "What is important is for software, and teaching
programs, to be based on sound educational principles. In the case of the dyslexic,
this means based on teaching procedures that are used to overcome the
dyslexic's difficulties. For example, overlearning
and over teaching, structured and systematic teaching, immediate reinforcement
and feedback, and multisensory learning." Those who are in the business of
developing these types of programs would do well to ask the help of the
students themselves.
Many learning-differently students respond well to working and
learning with computers because:
·
There is an instant response that can correct or
reinforce the right answer so that the right connections get made in the brain;
the repetition (or overlearning) is continued until
the correct response is learned.
·
The learning is student-led; the student works
at his own speed.
·
The student competes against himself rather than
others.
·
A computer is non-judgmental.
·
It is predictable; learning-differently students
don't like surprises.
·
Computers by their nature are sequential and
logical and this helps to reinforce these skills in the user.
·
Computers can be used in any class:
o
to correct grammar and spelling errors in any
written work, such as note taking and exams
o
to
correct deficiencies in handwriting.
In some countries if the student is properly assessed, they can
get grants to help defray the purchase of this equipment, or they might have
the equipment loaned to them.
A device put on the market in 2009 by Intel might also be a great
benefit to many of our students.
The following description taken from the British Dyslexia Association website
(http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/news/latest-news.html) :
Intel have introduced an innovative product that takes
pictures of printed words then reads them back to users. Intel Reader is a
handheld device that helps people with Dyslexia read printed text, and is now
available in the UK.
Approximately the size of a paperback book, it converts
printed text into digital text, using a high-resolution camera allowing users
to point, shoot and listen to printed words. Large amounts of text, like a
magazine article, can also be stored for reading later.
Intel Reader could transform the lives of people who
struggle with reading, including those with specific learning difficulties
(SpLDs), partial sightedness or blindness.
Ben Foss, director of access technology at Intel’s
Digital Health Group, suffers from Dyslexia and originally came up with the
idea because he wanted to help people who have the same reading difficulties as
himself.
To
view the brochure on this product, go to:
http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/files/UK%20Intel%20Reader%20Brochure.pdf
CONTINUING
EDUCATION FOR TEACHERS
Any teachers who would like to continue, or begin, specialized
training in how to teach children who learn differently via distance learning
are advised to contact The Hornsby International Center, Correspondence Course
Division (see Useful
Addresses.)
In addition to actual courses for credit, there are many web sites
available to teachers containing current articles, lesson plans, worksheets,
and interactive question and answer pages. One such site is ProTeacher
(http://web.archive.org/web/20071007213242/http://www.proteacher.com/040009.shtml)
for K-6 elementary and special education teachers.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Richard Lavoie at Riverview
School on Cape Cod when he held the position of president of this residential
facility for adolescents with special needs. He holds three degrees in special education and is perhaps
best known as the creator of award-winning videos for PBS. In the course of our conversation I
asked him if he thought that dyslexics make good teachers, and he replied,
"I actively recruit them." He went on to explain that dyslexic teachers have a special
insight that makes them very effective teachers for learning disabled students.
Recently there was an article in The Times Educational
Supplement entitled, "Read this carefully: dyslexia can make you a
better teacher":
Every
public performer suffers a variation of the same nightmare. You stand there before a sea of
expectant faces but you just cannot deliver. Louise Anderson . . . says that's how it is when you're a
dyslexic teacher and you first get your class list.
"I got this list with all these names," she says. "And I couldn't read and pronounce
them."
It's
not that she can't read. It's just
that a page of text is daunting, and something she'd rather tackle in her own
time in private. Now, with
confidence in her ability to do her job, she gets one of the pupils to help her
- someone who is delighted and empowered by the knowledge that this excellent
teacher, capable of the most exquisite work and with a gift of passing it on,
has learning problems of her own. [1]
Her colleagues have been a great help. One teacher, Steve Wells, got her to build up a bank of
sentences that would describe her student's attainment. "I gave her frameworks for
writing."
Now in her second year, Anderson continues to be well supported. For example she's been given
voice-recognition software. "The
special needs department have been so supportive . . . last year when I was
struggling to write my reports, our special needs coordinator said I should
have come to her before."
The striking thing about both these teachers is the empathy they
have with children who have differing learning needs. Wells sees it in terms of
realizing that children learn in different ways.
You
have in front of you lots of children with lots of learning styles. That means
you have to teach in different ways. The less able children are particularly dependent on the kind
of teaching they receive. If the
teacher is not sympathetic to their learning needs, they are not going to fulfill
their potential.
Anderson,
too, talks of trying to present material in a range of ways, "making it
easier and accessible, so children are using all their functions and not just
sitting and listening.” [2]
|
Students Who Learn
Differently Overseas by Susan van Alsenoy, AWC Antwerp
Website: http://www.studentswholearn.fawco.org Email: swl@fawco.org Page created 10/29/99 EvE. Last
updated 03/01/11 SvA Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas
|
