instructional advice

There’s no easy answer to that question especially without knowing something about the student. What are this student’s issues? What classes is the student not successful in?

I suppose the flippant answer would be to rewrite the IEP but a flippant answer would not help this student or any other. Would you be able to share more information to enable the BB readers to better understand the situation?

Sara’s flippant answer and mine are about the same, sigh…

If a student is not making progress, then you need to look for the reasons why. There may be a number of factors that impact the development of skills which have little or nothing to do with school- but chances are there is something which can be adjusted. The reality is that the only thing we can control in schools with regard to students’ progress is the teaching…

Robin

The student has specific trouble in history class. Even with extra time for test taking he can’t seem to finish tests. His knowledge of the subject matter seems like he can’t follow my lectures. What can I do to help him better understand what I am teaching?

What are his issues? What does his testing show?

From what you’re saying it sounds to me as if this student has some auditory processing issues perhaps. Is there a textbook in your class? Is there written material that might offer him support to help make the lectures meaningful?

You could also try giving him an outline of what you’re going to talk about that day so he has visual reinforcement of what’s being discussed.

History is rife with details and sometimes the concepts are lost in those details. Offer him a discussion or a list of the concept. The Revolution is a breaking away - rather like a teenager running away from home. But that concept often gets lost in the details of the Stamp Act, the Currency Act, the Virginia Resolves.

Ld kids can have trouble finding a “hook” in their brains to hang the details onto.

I’d also ask - what’s the format of your tests? Short answer questions and certainly essay questions can be the wrong format for Ld kids to fairly demonstarte their knowledge of the subject matter.

Does he read well? Are we certain he can read the tests independently? That also deserves to be considered.

Good luck.

Kids with auditory or language based LD’s have a hard time with lectures. Some kids don’t know how to take notes during lectures, some kids even though they “appear” attentive have just left the classroom in their mind while their body is still sitting there.

Do you preteach the vocabulary before you present the material? Do you spend time conversing with students in a socratic style of teaching? Kids need to be able to visualize the concepts and tie the new information to something they already know. If you have a kiddo with a low vocabulary chances are he doesn’t understand what is going on in the classroom and lectures. It is up to the instructor to be flexible and willing to think out of the box with these type of kids.

My daughter has a science teacher who is just steam rolling the kids, covering new material everyday and she can’t keep up with the pace. I have to spend an hour or more every night reteaching and trying to make sense of the notes she has from the lectures. Perhaps this kiddo doesn’t have a parent who is willing to do this.

What about a history “club” before school, afterschool or during lunch for those kids that aren’t getting it? If it is fun and multisensory they may surprise you.

What about recording the lectures and the textbook, sending them home so that he can listen to them again and providing an outline or study guide for what needs to be remembered for the exams?

The ideas posted above are good. I would also supplement the lectures with video tapes. Perhaps, doing some role-plays of different events that took place.

I have found that having another student take notes for the LD student helps. Make sure you are presenting the material visually as well and auditorily. Suppling the students with an outline is a great idea (it sure helped me in College!) Assign a study partner. Give the tests auditorily, have an adult write for the student. Use a computer voice recognition program to record the test answers so the student doesn’t have to think about how to write rather than what to write….