Learning Issues for SWD: Classroom Impact, Informal ...



Learning Issues for SWD: Classroom Impact, Informal Assessment & Strategies

|Information Processing |Classroom Impact |Informal Assessment: What to look |Specific Strategies for Instruction |

| | |for in the classroom | |

|Visual Deficits |Spatial Perception: |Does the student lose her place on |Separate items on a worksheet, text, or test |

| |Difficulty in accurately perceiving objects |a page? |Use a placemarker when reading or working with text; create a template to isolate sections on a page |

|A visual processing or perceptual|in space with reference to other objects | |Use highlighters |

|disorder refers to a hindered | |Does the student have difficulty |Use larger print sizes for reading materials and when writing |

|ability to make sense of |Reversals: |copying numbers and letters? |Use color coding to identify important parts of the information (also when writing on board) for both|

|information taken in through the |Reverses digits or letters | |student work and teacher instruction |

|eyes. This does not include | |Does the student reverse numbers |Cloze notes and note taking checks with buddy or teacher |

|difficulties seeing or the |Figure Ground: |and letters? |Use multi-sensory approaches to learning |

|functioning of the eye. It refers|Difficulty identifying an object from a | |Use mnemonics |

|to problems in processing visual |background of other objects |Does the student have difficulty |Provide verbal and visual instructions for assignments: precise & clear verbal description |

|information by the brain. | |reading multi-digit numbers or |Use stencils, finger trace, or verbalize corrections to mirror-image reversals |

| |Visual Discrimination: |longer words? |Use websites for more information (text book websites, etc.) |

| |Difficulty discerning similarities and | |Use books on tape, or prerecorded tapes made by the teacher |

| |differences when comparing letters, numbers, |Does the student have difficulty |Use pictures, artifacts and/or manipulatives |

| |and other objects. |discriminating between operation |Use graph paper for math |

| |* See “Motor” section for “Visual Motor” |symbols for math or other written |Turn lined paper horizontally |

| | |details? |Use technology & computers for demonstrations, tutorials, etc. |

| | | |Introduce Menus and Learning Contracts that involve “choice” and student responsibility for learning;|

| | | |oral reports or presentations can be substituted for written |

|Auditory Processing Difficulties |Figure Ground: |Does the student have difficulty |Verbal explanations/directions simplified and supplemented by visuals (pictures, symbols, or written |

| |Difficulty making out the teacher’s voice |paying attention in class? |supports) |

|An auditory processing disorder |against the background noise in the room and | |Concrete representations of concepts |

|refers to an individual’s ability|from other students |Does the student have difficulty |Seated where sound is clear (not near distracting sounds such as the pencil sharpener or heating/air |

|to analyze, interpret, and | |with oral drills? |vent, etc.) |

|process information obtained |Auditory Discrimination: | |Slower rate of speech; changes in tone and pitch |

|through the ear. This does not |Difficulty discriminating between sounds of |Does the student have difficulty |Tape recordings of lectures in class |

|include what is received by the |spoken numbers or letters |with dictated assignments? |Use of websites for more information (text book websites, etc.) |

|eardrum, or to deafness, or being| | |Quiet class environment when giving directions |

|hard of hearing. | | |Gain student’s attention with visual cues when presenting key information or directions |

| | | |Have student verbally repeat/summarize directions back to you |

| | | |Have student highlight/underline key words in directions while teacher reads aloud |

| | | |Teach student pre-reading strategies to help with comprehension |

|Information Processing |Classroom Impact |Informal Assessment: What to look |Specific Strategies for Instruction |

| | |for in the classroom | |

|Motor Disabilities |Fine Motor: |Does the student have difficulty |Fine Motor: |

|Fine Motor: |Writing letters and numbers illegibly, |writing words or letters? |Orally assess the student or use alternative assessments |

|Motor skill deficiencies |slowly, and inaccurately | |Provide copies of notes |

|interfere with the ability to use| |Does the student’s writing appear |Introduce copying exercises slowly, gradually adding more material to be copied – cloze note forms |

|and coordinate small body muscles|Fitting writing into small spaces |to be normal size? |Use technology integration for written assignments (AT assistance) |

|in order to move and manipulate | | |Xerox copies of other student’s notes |

|objects. |Difficulty cutting and pasting |Is the writing accurate? |Minimize the number of written problems to demonstrate proficiency |

|Visual Motor: | | |Use of a tape recorder for notes and any missed material |

|Involves eye-hand coordination |Difficulty with keeping pace, neatness, and |Does the student have difficulty |Use of websites for more information (text book websites, etc.) |

|and can interfere with writing, |copying |copying notes? |Use grids for math problem solving or computation |

|copying from the board, and | | |Use manipulatives to demonstrate problem solving |

|drawing. The student may have |Visual Motor: |Does the student have difficulty |Visual Motor: |

|difficulties with visual, motor, |Difficulty copying from the board, overhead |understanding visual |Use computer for written work |

|or coordinating the two together.|or book |representations? |Use graph paper for math |

| | | |Use lined paper turned horizontally for columns |

| |Writing is slow and laborious | |Individualize written outlines with fewer steps to fill in |

|Memory Problems |May understand what they learned in class, |Can the student recall information |Connect learning to real life |

| |but not sure how to proceed when they have |easily? |Use emotional “hooks” to give information |

| |left class | |Present information in small pieces, have the student practice what they have learned, and connect |

|Difficulty remembering | |Does the student easily retain |it to prior knowledge |

|information: keeping information |Difficulty placing information in short-term |information taught previously? |Rehearse, chunk, and create visual images to keep information active in short term memory |

|in short term memory, placing in |memory |(within the last day, month, |Have student verbally repeat/summarize directions, steps or stategies |

|long term memory, retrieving from| |yearly?) |Use graphic organizers to strengthen information, organize it, tie new information to previously |

|long term memory. |Difficulty retrieving information from | |stored information, and move it into long term memory |

| |long-term memory | |Increase vocabulary through a variety of reading sources, reapeated readings and reading “think |

| | | |alouds” |

| |Unable to remember new information | |Provide cues to make students aware of important features/tasks |

| | | |Use pictures, manipulatives, and/or artifacts to introduce difficult/abstract concepts |

| |Forgets steps in directions and has | |Use multiple representations and pair oral instruction with visual information |

| |difficulty with time | |Teach mnemonics and have students create their own |

| | | |Help students organize information in a notebook where they can keep rote memory & key information so|

| |Difficulty completing multi-step assignments | |that they can learn to look up and review information and use to respond to higher order thinking |

| | | |tasks |

|Information Processing |Classroom Impact |Informal Assessment: What to look |Specific Strategies for Instruction |

| | |for in the classroom | |

|Attention Deficits |Difficulty sustaining attention to tasks; |Does the student maintain attention|Use of self-monitoring techniques (checklist, timer, etc.) |

| |fails to give close attention to details or |through out a lesson in a manor |Teach using active construction of meanings (hands-on, manipulatives, tactile stimulation, etc.) |

|Poor sustained attention to tasks|makes careless mistakes |that is age appropriate? |Verbal teacher interactions with the students to assess and simulate problem-solution strategies |

|– distractibility. | | |Use strategies under reading comprehension and memory |

| |Often does not seem to listen when spoken to |What other learning issues may be |Use attentional cues for focus (visual cues, tap on desk, signal, etc.) |

|Impaired impulse control and |directly |impacting the student’s ability to |Provide checklists to help students organize information or steps to completing an assignment |

|delay of gratification. | |attend? |Novel instructional activities to facilitate overlearning, provide stimulation and variety in lessons|

| |Fails to follow instructions carefully and | |(games, websites, etc.) |

|Hyperactivity (students |completely | |Speak to student individually to see if he/she is aware of attention problems |

|identified as ADHD) with | | |Have student tell you strategies that work best to focus their attention |

|excessive activity and physical |Often loses or forgets important things | |Be consistent, ordered, and seat them with students that are not easily distracted or distracting to |

|restlessness. | | |others |

| |Difficulties with impulse control – may blurt| |Vary voice tones and maintain frequent eye contact |

| |out answers or has difficulty awaiting turn | |Provide clear directions visually and verbally |

| | | |Provide clear and consistent transitions from one topic to the next |

| |Hyperactivity (students with ADHD) – often is| |Use color highlighting |

| |restless, fidgets with hands or feet, | |Provide a structured environment with a given place for materials and books |

| |squirms, talks excessively | |Provide structure for instruction (lessons follow the same format, i.e., activator, presentation of |

| | | |content, guided practice, summarization at end, etc) |

| | | |Introduce Menus and Learning Contracts that involve “choice” and student responsibility for learning |

| | | |(use contracts to set goals) |

|Expressive Language Difficulties |Problems with rapid oral drills |Does the student have difficulty |Use pictures and visuals to support communication of knowledge |

| | |explaining ideas, retelling events |Provide pictures/symbols/cues to help student relate information sequentially |

|Impaired use of oral language |Difficulty communicating ideas |or explaining how he/she solved a |Help student summarize information |

|including function and form | |problem? |Redirect student when rambling and return to main topic |

|(morphology, syntax, semantics, |Difficulty in verbally explaining a problem | |Model correct grammatical forms and have student repeat when appropriate |

|and /or pragmatics). | | |Have student construct oral sentences with targeted grammar structures |

|Communication skills that differ |Problems with sentence structure and grammar | |Have student practice daily oral language sentences (DOL) & provide feedback |

|significantly from that of peers.| | |Encourage students to use complete/complex sentences when answering |

| | | |questions |

| | | |Encourage use of relative & subordinate clauses, i.e., but, and, or, either, if, |

| | | |whenever, however, etc |

| | | |Allow extra “think time” when responding to questions |

| | | |Have student use specific vocabulary to relate information, rather than using |

| | | |words such as thing, stuff, that, it, etc. |

|Information Processing |Classroom Impact |Informal Assessment: What to look for|Specific Strategies for Instruction |

| | |in the classroom | |

|Receptive Language Difficulties |Difficulty relating words to meaning; |Does the student have difficulty |Pre-teach vocabulary |

| |learning new words; understanding words|relating vocabulary words to their |Teach vocabulary in context |

|Impaired use of receptive language |with multiple-meanings |meaning? |Activate prior knowledge before introducing a new topic or lesson |

|including function and form | | |Use summarization to help student get the main idea and most important information from a lesson |

|(morphology, syntax, semantics, and |Difficulty following directions |Does the student have difficulty |Use concrete and pictorial representations as much as possible, i.e., vocabulary journals, |

|/or pragmatics). Language | |writing words from dictation? |pictionaries, word walls, etc. |

|comprehension skills that differ |Difficulty drawing inferences and | |Teach using active construction of meanings (hands-on, manipulatives, tactile stimulation, etc.) |

|significantly from that of peers. |identifying the main idea of a passage |How does the student respond to |Teach concepts with real-life applications |

| | |written and verbal directions? |Present information in small pieces, have the student practice what they have learned, and connect|

| |Difficulty solving problems | |it to prior knowledge |

| | |Does the student take in information |Use visual/graphic organizers to group information/concepts (i.e., story maps, word sorts, erc.) |

| |Difficulty identifying parts of a story|in an age-appropriate manner? |Provide checklists to help students organize information or steps to completing an assignment |

| | | |Have student verbally repeat/summarize directions, steps or stategies back to you |

|Cognitive and Metacognitive Issues |Difficulty identifying and selecting |Does the student have difficulties |Organize information by providing concept maps, graphic organizers, outlines, etc. |

| |appropriate strategies |identifying and selecting appropriate|Pre-teach vocabulary |

|Cognition refers to “understanding” | |problem-solving strategies? |Use concrete and pictorial representations as much as possible, i.e., vocabulary journals, |

|and the ability to comprehend what you|Organizing Information | |pictionaries, word walls, etc. |

|see and hear, and to infer information| |Does the student have difficulties, |Teach using active construction of meanings (hands-on, manipulatives, tactile stimulation, etc.) |

|from social cues and body language. |Problems self-monitoring learning or |generalizing, organizing information,|Scaffold information and provide visuals/auditory supports |

|Metacognition emphasizes |problem-solving process |and evaluating problems for accuracy?|Use checklists & timers to help student self-monitor work |

|self-awareness of how one approaches a| | |Provide opportunities to generalize strategies to appropriate situations and reinforce them |

|task in order to plan and monitor |Evaluating own work for accuracy |Does the student appropriately |Model “think alouds” |

|progress – or – “thinking about your | |monitor her ability to solve |Explicitly teach learning strategies |

|thinking”. |Generalizing strategies to new |problems? |Provide more repetition, practice with over learning |

| |situations | |Provide information in multiple modalities |

| | | |Relate new information to background knowledge |

| |Difficulty moving on to a new type of | |Build concept knowledge: compare & contrast, key concepts, etc. |

| |problem | |Teach highlighting for key words, operations for math, problem solving and directions |

| | | |Introduce Menus and Learning Contracts that involve “choice” and student responsibility for learning|

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Silva, J. (2004). Teaching Inclusive Mathematics to Special Learners K-6. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Thomlinson, C.A., (2007). Maintaining Fidelity to the Model of Differentiation. ASCD Summer Conference on Differentiating Instruction. Salt Lake City, Utah.

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