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slow-learning child

by Alan Haskvitz

Fellowships Its no surprise children learn at different rates, and, according to some published Lesson plans research, only when they are ready. Other research stresses intrinsic rewards, differentiated curriculum, and motivation by personalizing lessons. However, the bottom New teachers line Scholarships/Awards for many educators is that some children are slow to learn, but dont have a learning
deficiency. Perhaps the greatest challenge to an educator is a child who is a slow learner. These children do not fall into the category of special education, do well outside the classroom, and show no evidence of having a medical problem. They simply do not do well in school or a particular subject. In the days before formal schooling, these students would carry on productive lives working at tasks that did not require extensive reading, writing or math. However, today the emphasis is less on occupational learning and more on academic preparation. Thus, there is a growing need for help to remediate these children and provide them the best possible opportunities in a changing world. Having successfully taught for nearly 30 years in several states and countries, Ive seen two commonalities emerge with slow learners. First, they need extra time to complete tasks. This means parents must be willing to augment what happens at school regardless of how fruitless it might appear. Secondly, the child must be offered appropriate incentives. Depending on the child, the best incentives are family projects or activities, such as building a model or attending a concert or game. The incentives should require delayed gratification, so the child learns patience. The next area is proper nutrition. Children need breakfast. Period. Every study done points out a quality breakfast and proper sleep are the two best ways to improve student performance. Finally, a teacher or parent must seek lessons and other resources that make it easier to differentiate the curriculum and make learning more vital and relevant. To this end, special education sites on the Internet have some great ideas. Although slow learners do not qualify for special education classes, the concepts teachers use with special education students are ideal for helping a slow learner once the students weaknesses have been diagnosed. In any one of my classes, about 10 percent are slow learners, so having a slow learning child is not unusual. One of the best places to start looking for help is at Reach Every Child, Special Education, where you can find a wide range of helpful sites. Also at Get Help Teaching Special Needs Students. Characteristics of slow learners In general, slow learning students may display some or all of these characteristics,

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depending on their age and degree of problems acquiring knowledge at school. First, slow learners are frequently immature in their relations with others and do poorly in school. Secondly, they cannot do complex problems and work very slowly. They lose track of time and cannot transfer what they have learned from one task to another well. They do not easily master skills that are academic in nature, such as the times tables or spelling rules. Perhaps the most frustrating trait is their inability to have long-term goals. They live in the present, and so have significant problems with time management probably due to a short attention span and poor concentration skills.

Remember, just because a child is not doing well in one class does not make that student a slow learner. Very few children excel in all subject areas unless there is great deal of grade inflation at that school. So its essential the parent or teacher examine in depth standardized tests scores to look for trends. Also, slow learners differ from reluctant learners. A slow learner initially wants to learn, but has a problem with the process. A reluctant learner is not motivated and can also be passive aggressive, creating more problems for teachers and parents through noncooperation. Reluctant learners seldom have learning disabilities. Proven ideas to help slow learners Provide a quiet place to work, where the child can be easily observed and motivated. Keep homework sessions short. Provide activity times before and during homework. Add a variety of tasks to the learning even if not assigned, such as painting a picture of a reading assignment. Allow for success. Ask questions about the assignment while the child is working. Go over the homework before bed and before school. Teach how to use a calendar to keep track of assignments. Read to the child. Use my Three Transfer form of learning, in which the student must take information and do three things with it beside reading. For example, read it, explain it to someone else, draw a picture of it, and take notes on it. Be patient but consistent. Do not reward unfinished tasks.

Challenge the child Have the child do the most difficult assignments first and leave the easier ones to later. Call it the dessert principle. Dont be overprotective. Students whose parents frequently intercede at school are teaching that they do not respect their childs abilitites. If you do call a teacher, make sure you seek a positive outcome. Remember most teachers have worked with numerous slow learners and have plenty of experience. However, sharing your childs strengths and weaknesses could make the school year more beneficial for all concerned. Contact the teacher if there is a concern. Calling an administrator solves nothing, as the teacher is the sole legal judge of academic success. Take your child to exciting places where they can see academic success is important. A trip to a local university or community college, a walking tour of city hall, a visit to the fire station or a behind-the-scenes tour of a zoo are highly motivating. Examples of interventions for slow learners

Environment: Reduce distractions, change seating to promote attentiveness, have a peer student teacher, and allow more breaks. Assignments: Make them shorter and with more variation, repeat work in various forms, have a contract, give more hands-on work, have assignments copied by student, have students use three transfer method. Assessment: Use shorter tests, oral testing, redoing tests, short feedback times, dont make students compete. What to avoid: Dont use cooperative learning that isolates the student and places him or her in a no-win situation or standardized tests. Definitely dont ignore the problem. What to encourage: Grouping with a patient partner. Learning about the childs interests. Placing the student in charge. Mapping, graphic organizers, and hands-on work. Using Blooms taxonomy of tasks to make the assignments more appropriate. Applying Blooms Taxonomy [ Top of page ] Articles Reach Every Child Links Resources for slow learners ADD -- a general site about this disorder Special Education Websites Articles ERIC: Reading and the Slow Learner ERIC has a great many articles on slow learners. Simply use its search engine. ERIC Search -- Slow Learners Helping Slow Learners Ideas for working with slow learners School Offers Help to Slow Learners Slow Learners Need Lots of Support An interesting plan from India What is the difference between a person with LD and a slow learner? [ Top of page ] Reach Every Child Links Assessment Accomodations Enhancing your Childs Success in School: Homework Help Get ESL and ELL Help Get Help Teaching Special Needs Students Motivating Students Phonics and Teaching Reading More Phonics and Teaching Reading Strategies for Motivating Young Readers Teacher Liability and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Working with Parents Writing IEPs [ Top of page ] Resources for slow learners Autism-PDD Support Network This site offers information on treatment and law, with a parent guide -- quite complete. The Behavior Home Page, Kentucky Get intervention ideas, jobs and a forum. When a slow learner is frustrated, they can become behavioral problems. These resources provide suggestions to cope.

Born to Explore! [ Top of page ] ADD -- a general site about this disorder The Council for Exceptional Children This site has most everything from a job bank to resources. Start here. Disability Accommodations in Science Education Strategies for varied disabilities, including speech, hearing, behavior, ADD and learning disabilities Jillenes Disabilities Resource Page With parents information KidSource: Disabilities A large link site with ratings of those that are the most helpful National Center for Learning Disabilities Reading Rockets: Learning Disabilities Resources for Early Childhood Special Education Robert LaSalle -- Special Education Teacher Slow learners greatly benefit from yoga This article may be of interest in that Yoga calms the mind and body. The Special Education Home Page Special Education Resources on the Internet TeachingLD Disabilities information and resources [ Top of page ] Special Education Websites Computers, Software, Education, Special Education Misunderstood Kids Outside the Box Find special education articles, resources, news and other features. Special Education for Special Children Special Needs Ontario Window SNOW is made specifically for special education teachers. This site offers discussion, bulletin boards, a listserv, events and resources. Wrightslaw Two attorneys go over the law and special education -- a nice reference site. [ Top of page ]

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Struggling (Slow) LearnersQ: What does it mean to be a struggling learner or sl ow learner?

A "slow learner" is not a diagnostic category; it is a term people use to describe a student who has theability to learn necessary academic skills, but at rate and depth below average same age peers. Ino r d e r t o g r a s p n ew c o n c e p t s , a s l o w learner needs more time, more repetition, and often m o r e resources from teachers to be successful. Reasoning skills are typically delayed, which makes newconcepts difficult to learn. Q:What are some of the characteristics of a slow learner? Some of the characteristics of a slow learner are as follows Functions at ability significantly below grade level. Is prone to immature interpersonal relationships. Has difficulty following multi-step directions. Lives in the present and does not have long range goals. Has few internal strategies (i.e. organizational skills, transferring/generalizing information.) Scores consistently low on achievement tests.

Works well with "hands-on" material (i.e. labs, manipulative, activities.) Has a poor self-image. Works on all tasks slowly. Masters skills slowly; some skills may not be mastered at all. Q:What are some of the challenges educationally for slow learners? A slow learner has difficulty with higher order thinking or reasoning skills. This suggests that it will be more challenging to learn new concepts. New skills need to be based upon already masteredconcepts. This can be difficult when the majority of the class has already mastered a concept and ismoving on while the slow learner needs more time. This can lead to gaps in knowledge and basicskills. The more gaps in a content area, the more challenging it is for anyone to learn new concepts.It's also important to recognize that these students are typically keenly aware they are struggling andself confidence can be an issue. They are prone to anxiety, low self image, and eventually may beq u i c k t o g i v e u p . T h e y o f t e n f e e l " s t u p i d " a n d s t a r t h a t i n g s c h o o l . T h e y s p e n d a l l d a y d o i n g something that is difficult for them and it can be very draining. Finding other activities that thestudent can be successful in is very important. There should be emphasis on strengths as well.

Q:Why are they often not eligible for Special Education? Special Educatio n servic es are provided for students who have a disab ility . Slow learners typically do not have a disability, even though they need extra support. Cognitive abilities are too high to beconsidered for an Intellectual Disability. However, the abilities are usually too low to be consideredfor a Learning Disability. Slow learners tend to perform at their ability level, which is below average. Q:What are some classroom recommendations? Some recommendations are as follows: i. Repetition, repetition, repetition. You might feel like you are saying the same thing over andover, but it helps make a concept more concrete. Encourage other activities in which the childcan experience success and keep them connected. ii. Differentiated Instruction: Tutoring. T h i s h e l p s f i l l i n g a p s i n b a s i c s k i l l s a n d i t h el p s a student stay caught up. Teach study skills to help them become more efficient in studying. Teach important concepts and leave out some of the less important details. i i i . P e e r t u t o r i n g :

It is of the most effective strategies for slow learners. Q: Suggest few ideas to work with slow learners. Some ideas to work with slow learners are as follows:

Reduce distractions by providing a quiet, private place to work. Emphasize strengths. Use lots of praise and reinforcement frequently. Make lessons short. Limit working time. Have several short work periods rather than long one. Add variety to the academic routine. Do active things and use educational games, puzzles, andother techniques as much as possible. Work on material that is somewhat challenging but allows success. Work that is too hard or tooeasy is a turn-off; avoid them. Make learning fun and comfortable. Your positive attitude is very important. Encourage child to talk to you. Ask what he did in school. Ask what the best part of his /her daywas. Ask questions about the TV shows he/she watches. Talk about what he/she has heard, done,and plans to do. Go over his/her daily work to reinforce the learning. Slower learners need repetition.

Provide meaningful, concrete activities rather than abstract. Give short specific directions and have your child repeat them back to you. READ! Set an example by reading yourself. Read to your child and have your child read to you.

Parents should work closely with the teacher. Encourage your child to explore areas of interest to him/her. Q: Suggest few Interventions to meet the needs of the Slow L earner. Some interventions to meet the needs of the Slow Learner: E n v i r o n m e n t M a t e r i a l s A s s i g n m e n t ManagementTechniquesMi scellaneous

change seating reducedistractions(e.g. studycarrels) use parentvolunteers

 cross-agetutors, aides,and peer-tutors allow for grouping withother classes compensate for physical problems of classroom reduce thelength of schoolday give the studenttime out of hisseat to let off energy cross-classroomgrouping use a variety:calculators,typewriters,learning games,etc. incorporate alllearning styles(auditory,visual,kinesthetic) use materialsavailable fromChapter I andother sources incorporatecomputers as atool for instructions,drill, andreinforcement use advanceorganizers

 useheterogeneousgrouping use cooperativegrouping provide guided practice for skills taught simplify and/or shorten makeindividualcontracts try alternativeinstructions andtesting (e.g. artwork, use of tape recorder,verbal vs.writtenresponses,"show me"techniques,mapping andclustering) require shorter tasks give specificinstruction have studentrepeatassignmentdirectionsorally employ direct, positive contact provideimmediatefeedback

 circulatearound theroom call student'sname or touchthem beforegivingdirections write directionson board or give eachstudent a sheetof directions provideopportunity for built-in success refer to theStudent StudyTeam for alternativeideas discuss ideaswith other school personnel review cumfolder restructureexpectations

Slow Learners
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