Learning disabilities or lack of interest?
How can an instructor discern between a student's inability to grasp a concept or general lack of interest in the subject?
Hi Geoffrey,
The first step is to "read" the body language. Is the student engaged in the process of learning the concepts and applying the principles and not able to or is that student just coast along. You can quickly tell if that student is really engaged or not.
The second step is to ask the students a number of questions about the core concepts of the field. Do this is a one on one situation where the student feels comfortable and is able to give candid answers. Again it will be easy to tell if they just don't get it or if they are skating.
The third step is to directly inquire of them about their interest in succeeding in the field. Their answers will tell much as well.
Good luck with the effort.
Gary
Good question. Lack of effort means lack of interest. A student may have difficulty grasping a concept, but they can still put forth a decent effort.
Dan
Hi Dan,
You are correct about the effort part by students. Those students that try hard and give their best effort are those that are trying to get a return on their investment, meaning training and study. Even if their are slower in getting the concepts they are putting forth time and effort to acquire the skills needed for the field. They are worth the investment of time by the instructor.
Gary
I too find it difficult to determine if a student actually has a learning disability or not. The student may have dyslexia or a similar disability and it may not be evident right away. They may have Attention Deficit Disorder and it could be seen as not interested or disruptive. I would like some more suggestions on how to figure out if a student really does have a disability or a mild form of the disability and how to assist that student.
Thanks, Norma
Hi Norma,
If a student is coming into your class that has been in school in the last 10 to 15 years and has been diagnosed with a disability there will have been an IEP developed for that person. The IEP gives information about the disability and the kinds of instructional supports needed for student success. The student should self advocate and let you know that they have a disability and let you know what needs they have. Most often they are things like more time to take tests, guided notes, and recorded notes. Things that do not take a large amount of instructor time.
If the student has problems with reading for example then I would suggest that your college administer a basic literacy assessment such as the TABE. This will let you know what their reading level is. Also, it will start to show you if the person truly has a learning disability such as dyslexia (reading recognition and comprehension).
Due to time constraints you will not be able to do a comprehensive assessment or to have it done. That is not the job of the career college. Students come to post secondary settings voluntarily so they are not longer under the secondary law that says they must be accommodated not matter what. On the adult level they are covered by ADA which speaks to reasonable accommodation in the classroom. You can make certain modifications in you approach or support but you do not have to compromise on the standards of the field.
ADD/ADHD is another subject entirely. Attention Deficit issues should be addressed by the student services office in your college. They should give you some guidance as to how you work with these students. As this is an area that is still developing in terms of instructional strategies that will work for this group. I would suggest that you go back to the IEP content for help with these students. There is a difference between an active student and a student with ADD/ADHD. Many students self declare they are ADHD when they are not. It is rare for a true ADHD person to get into post secondary training and not have had their disability noticed and worked with. Use the resources of the secondary training programs to help you with them as adults.
I will be glad to address in additional issues you might have with either of these groups more indepth is that will be of help to you. Just let me know how I can be of help to you.
Gary
Hi Margie,
Could you expand on the words learning disabilities so I can develop a response to your forum?
Thanks.
Gary
Hi Gary,
Thank you for the information. The main problem we have is that several student are coming to us from Mexico and do not have an IEP. Often it seems that the issue is a language barrier, but then we realize that is not the case. I will look at the e-mails that were sent and do some more in depth reading on the subject. However, I would still like to consult with you in the future.
Thanks, Norma
Hi Norma,
I will be glad to work with you. Maybe a phone conversation will help and then I can also refer to you some printed materials on assessing students with learning disabilities. This will give you an idea of the kind of instructional supports that these students will need, since you aren't able to refer to their IEP.
Gary
I have found on some occasions that a student with an accomodation starts out motivated enough but then learns that the accomodation can be a crutch. You then find that the student starts to broadcast that he has a disability, and... talk about a difficult situation. They think of it as a reason to just throw up their arms in surrender. These are the students that are hard to get remotivated.
I had a student that had done poorly on a test but had done fairly well every well else. Had I just let it go I would have not found out the student was reading on about a 3rd grade level. he was graduating out of my class so he had been here for 58 weeks and had somehow managed to just skate by in every class with out anyone taking the time to find out why he did poorly on written exams
Hi John,
That is a tragedy for both the student and the college. These academic deficiencies should be diagnosed as the beginning of a student's training so instructional supports can be given or suggestions made on how the student could increase his reading ability. Once he enters the field and doesn't have the reading ability to keep pace with the work or the changes that are occurring in the workplace he is going to be let go. Need to identify and work with these students early on so this won't happen on a regular basis.
Gary
