Students with learning disabilities quite often suffer from fear of failure, learned helplessness and face schoolwork with a negative attitude. You will notice that teachers of SLD children often use positive reinforcement and are supportive in a child's efforts. The efforts are not incorrect although the answer or process used might be. Many SLD children need to be praised for their efforts and given strategies to help with the learning process. They may need additional time to complete an assignment. Perhaps, an assignment needs to be broken into segments for a child to work on as some find 'a project' overwhelming. They simply do not know where or how to start.
Giving a reason for a reading assignment is more palatable than simply reading. People read for a variety of reasons; to solve a mystery, to uncover new facts and for enjoyment. Some SLD students find it useful to read the questions for an assignment before reading the text. They need be told the bold print above paragraghs gives a clue to what the following passage concerns. Predictability is important. Students can learn to self-monito as they read by asking, "Did I undertand what I just read." If not, they need to read again. Maybe, they need to look a word up in the dictionary. Teachers need to provide enough time for information to get into short term memory and practice to get it into long term memory.
Chunking information includes giving students a certain amount of information to remember at a time. When introducing new concepts, "hook" the new concepts to previously learned concepts. When giving directions, give them in steps (first, second and last). Various students could be called upon to repeat the directions. Teachers should watch for visual or auditory overload in their SLD students. Let them check their own papers and make corrections. All students need strategies for learning. Study skills are not inate but need to be taught. SLD students often need additional strategies for studying.
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