I learned the central 'challenge' related to learning challenges is the processing of information, which is different for different students and has nothing to do with intelligence. Which means it's not concerning the basics skills, but the more advanced, and unfamiliar ways of approaching and learning new tasks. We, as instructors sometimes forget what we didn't know before. We must conceptualize the meaning of what we want students to learn and practice.

I learned that, according to the language learning theory, a person's "mother tongue" should be used when learning other sets of vocabulary or terminology. Therefore, I will remind students to consider the concepts first, in their own way of thinking, native language, or past experiences, before applying it to contemporary practice. Furthermore, a student can be literate in English but maybe not in a particular study or literate in a certain science but not so much in English. I am surprised at how we sometimes assume things, even though our motives are sound, that can mislead and disrupt our outcomes. 

I now realize the difference between communicating "inter" rather than "cross" culturally by validating a student's uniqueness as opposed to trying to ignore it and lumping them all together as 'nursing students'. Fortunately, I have always been fascinated by people's different backgrounds and experiences - I, not only learn new ways to care for patients, but the other students learn also. So, I will continue to have others share and reflect. I will also attempt to better assess learning, understanding, and tolerance among individuals and groups.

I learned teaching to each student seems daunting or more time-consuming than effective, but evidence-based research has shown that there are several methods that will encompass the different learning styles. I also learned that we should be focused more to those who are NOT laughing at my humor or NOT nodding in understanding, rather than appreciating the 'majority rules' and assuming that several 'lightbulbs' is still not inclusivity. Therefore, I plan to give students as much access to the material as they need to then, apply that knowledge in a variety of forms, so learning occurs.