The question that occurs to my mind now is how do American teachers deal with low achievers and students with learning difficulties (might entail slow learners)? Do these students sit in the same classes with distinguished and average students? If so, what remedial programs do the teachers use in order to improve their performance? If not, where and how?
It is highly appreciated if you tell us about the procedures of implementing remedial programs, if there are any?
More importantly and maybe this should come at the very beginning is that what tools do teachers need to identify these students and what weaknesses that have got? Do they use diagnostic exams, for example or exams set for such purposes...:)
This is a great question(s). This subject is near and dear to my heart. I have studied learning disabilities for twenty years, as I work with at-risk students, low-literate students, and under-represented populations of students, many of whom suffer from learning disabilities. I got so interested, I read about the early stages of the research, going back to WWI and brain-injured soldiers. From there, I learned more about the brain and cognition. Sometimes it is useful to study how the brain doesn't work to better understand how it does.
When discussing learning disabilities, it is important to know what they are not! They cannot be physical or organic issues (from injury), they cannot be from diminished IQ (that is a different type of disability), and they cannot be a cultural difference. The best indicator of a learning disability is that nagging notion that a student isn't working to her potential in a specific area. So when a students actual performance lags well behind her potential performance, that is a good indication of a possible learning disability. I won't go into the various kinds of LDs, but I have included a link to a checklist for LDs that is also connected to a good organization for more information. You can always ask me individually for extra information as well.
In the USA, we didn't have a good plan to deal with students with LDs until the 1970s when we passed laws that schools had to do more. But even up until the mid 1980s, we excluded most of the students from the regular classrooms. Eventually though, we came up with a plan called "inclusion" where we would "mainstream" these students as much as possible - it is interesting to know that we were also doing the same things with ESL (English as a Second Language) students. Some schools practice complete inclusion, others practice "least restrictive environment" where the students get the right combination of regular classroom and extra interventions. Most schools practice this, where students spend most of their time in the regular class. Students must have psychological assessments to be given special accommodations in our classes. If they are deemed to have a LD, then the teacher must grant the accommodations - these can include more time on tests, a quiet place to test, a note taker, etc. Finally, each student must have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) that details these accommodations.
There are informal tests that can be given by teachers to detect LDs and other learning problems. If you are interested, I can tell you more about these. The best lesson we have learned about LDs is that an environment that uses a lot of learning styles is beneficial to all students, not just those with LDs. I will provide more good web resources for those of you who are interested. This is just the beginning of a discussion on this topic, I am interested in what the rest of you have to say :)
http://www.montoursville.k12.pa.us/webpages/specialed/files/ldchecklist.pdf
It is highly appreciated if you tell us about the procedures of implementing remedial programs, if there are any?
More importantly and maybe this should come at the very beginning is that what tools do teachers need to identify these students and what weaknesses that have got? Do they use diagnostic exams, for example or exams set for such purposes...:)
This is a great question(s). This subject is near and dear to my heart. I have studied learning disabilities for twenty years, as I work with at-risk students, low-literate students, and under-represented populations of students, many of whom suffer from learning disabilities. I got so interested, I read about the early stages of the research, going back to WWI and brain-injured soldiers. From there, I learned more about the brain and cognition. Sometimes it is useful to study how the brain doesn't work to better understand how it does.
When discussing learning disabilities, it is important to know what they are not! They cannot be physical or organic issues (from injury), they cannot be from diminished IQ (that is a different type of disability), and they cannot be a cultural difference. The best indicator of a learning disability is that nagging notion that a student isn't working to her potential in a specific area. So when a students actual performance lags well behind her potential performance, that is a good indication of a possible learning disability. I won't go into the various kinds of LDs, but I have included a link to a checklist for LDs that is also connected to a good organization for more information. You can always ask me individually for extra information as well.
In the USA, we didn't have a good plan to deal with students with LDs until the 1970s when we passed laws that schools had to do more. But even up until the mid 1980s, we excluded most of the students from the regular classrooms. Eventually though, we came up with a plan called "inclusion" where we would "mainstream" these students as much as possible - it is interesting to know that we were also doing the same things with ESL (English as a Second Language) students. Some schools practice complete inclusion, others practice "least restrictive environment" where the students get the right combination of regular classroom and extra interventions. Most schools practice this, where students spend most of their time in the regular class. Students must have psychological assessments to be given special accommodations in our classes. If they are deemed to have a LD, then the teacher must grant the accommodations - these can include more time on tests, a quiet place to test, a note taker, etc. Finally, each student must have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) that details these accommodations.
There are informal tests that can be given by teachers to detect LDs and other learning problems. If you are interested, I can tell you more about these. The best lesson we have learned about LDs is that an environment that uses a lot of learning styles is beneficial to all students, not just those with LDs. I will provide more good web resources for those of you who are interested. This is just the beginning of a discussion on this topic, I am interested in what the rest of you have to say :)
http://www.montoursville.k12.pa.us/webpages/specialed/files/ldchecklist.pdf
I am very interested in this topic. Because I am the student program coordinator at the Greenbrier Valley Campus at New River, all students with documented disabilities come to me for services and accomodations. Unfortunately, I have not been professionally trained in this area,and I merely get by. Although, I have adopted most of my students and taken them under my wing, but I want to give them more. My door is open to them, always, and they know this. I even have one of my girls come to my office 4 hours a week, and she volunteers her time and shreds documents for me. We hang out, and this is really what she needs. I give them extra time on their tests, and a quiet area to be tutored and to study individually. I print out assignments and enlarge them as needed for my students. I advise them on their career plans, and guide them to their next semester.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really need are resources. I need ways to get textbooks in an audio format, as cheap as possible. I need to know what other resources are out there for my students. This is something I need to work on, and would appreciate any help and advice you could give me. Thanks for addressing this topic. I encourage you to get involved with us, program coordinators, at New River.
Very interesing ,Michael.My questions how far would you go with Gardner's theory of Multiple Inelligences in relation to low achievers & students with disabilities ? To what extent can they improve ?Above all,what practical teaching procedures can be given to our colleagues in this context?
ReplyDeletevery urgent topic indeed
ReplyDeletewe do have a special class for teaching Arabic and maths, but sorrowfully none for English
these students , when given real attention really improve..we can all touch the difference but we have never been taught the proper way to deal with them in English.. we usually address the average students in our courses and workshops, this is the first time to address the weak ones
what we really need is some practical steps to help them
( by the way ive got some bad news: some of the description applies to me: i'm always losing things, i am bad at directions and puzzles and i'm terrible at maps!!!!!!
We are going to talk about this in January Osama. I always try to remember that if I am not harvesting fruit right at the moment (teaching them what I want), I might at least be planting some seeds!
ReplyDeleteThis is the first year I teach elementary students since I asked a transfer to another school.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing about this new school is that I had to teach science to fifth graders to complete my allotment. "I'm not complaining", don't get me wrong. The thing that terrified me is not science teaching, rather is that student with special needs who happened to be in this class. He often go in and out whenever he wish and acts like 5 years old kid. I had I hard time controlling his behavior, not to mention involving him in the class. Luckily, my wife is a special needs master's graduate who is used to deal with such cases. She advised me to involve him in activities such as drawing or controlled playing!!. I came to the class and there he was chewing on his bag!!! Before I start the class I asked him if he could draw trees!! He replied yes… I gave him a piece of paper and a pencil. It worked!!! He draw five trees. I asked students to give him a round of applause…. But what was shocking is the sight of other two students approaching me with pieces of papers filled with trees… now I have three in my class!!!