Difficulty with learning

When dealing with a pupil who has learning difficulties, the learning environment must always meet the needs of the individual.

Learning difficulties often manifest themselves through poor notetaking skills, a poor examination technique and a general lack of confidence in one's abilities. Such students may also be badly organised and have a poor memory. 

Inter-departmental consultation is vital in providing a picture of the circumstances in which pupils function well or have difficulty, and common strategies should be employed across subject departments for the teaching of language and numeracy skills to make sure pupils with difficulties are identified and monitored. 

The key is to tackle pupils' self-esteem and self-motivation. This can be a particular problem when the pupil faces a jump in the educational process: for example, in the move from GCSE to A-level and a shift away from rote learning. 

Here are some pointers for staff in handling pupils with learning difficulties: 

• be available to talk with the pupil and take an active interest in his/her work
• offer praise whenever possible, using 'competition' occasionally to motivate
• never put the pupil in the embarrassing situation of having to read aloud in class
• try to help unobtrusively (ie sit the pupil at the front of the class)
• if extra coaching is required, this can be done in outside of lesson time, reducing the student for the pupil to be embarrassed
• try to give information in class more than once and give instructions clearly, both orally and in writing
• check that all pupils, and not just the pupil with difficulties, understand what has gone on in the lesson
• try to avoid using unnecessary graphs or symbols, which the dyslexic pupil, in particular, will find difficult to interpret
• encourage pupils with writing difficulties to use a free-flowing fountain pen that will glide over the page - a biro is never a solution for the pupil who finds handwriting difficult
• avoid lessons that are all 'chalk and talk' - use a multi-sensory approach, which encourages participation in the lesson
• set a variety of shorter tasks, as concentration spans are likely to be limited
• consider peer mentoring with 'fast track' pupils offering support to weaker members of the class (eg in paired reading)
• consider taping lessons and providing these tapes for the pupil
• provide a subject-specific glossary of terms for specialist vocabulary - when technical terms are first introduced these should be explained in context and the relationship to familiar terms pointed out
• give time for pupils to organise and complete work but eliminate the dead time that leads to indiscipline (some pupils with learning difficulties 'finish' quickly, so have something for them to do next)
• try to encourage good home/school relations and, if necessary or possible, seek parental help in the supervision of homework tasks
• teach study skills as an integral part of your course and revise key points from the lesson, remembering the pupil's short attention span
• of major benefit to all pupils in the examination years are school departments that give both a summary of the curriculum and the course plan at the beginning of a course
• the use of study cards (which, for a dyslexic pupil, should contain only one word) can help to jog the memory.   

Use handouts wherever possible - such handouts should be in larger print, using short sentences written in the active voice. Instructions, questions and assignments must stand out from the main body of the text (ie box them off). Avoid cramming in too much information and, if diagrams are used, make them simple and uncluttered

Apart from the basic problems associated with spelling, sentence structuring, punctuation, expression and handwriting, pupils with learning difficulties will also require assistance with planning, organisation and sequencing of written work. Such pupils should be given tasks that they can complete to their own satisfaction and from which they can therefore derive a sense of success. Most of all, remember that pupils blames themselves for their difficulties and often feel they work under extraordinary time pressures due to the fact that they work slowly. The provision of an individual teaching programme should be a last resort. 

Taken from ATL's Report magazine, January 2006. Written by William Glover, literacy researcher for the School of Education at Birmingham University

Further information

• ICT and special educational needs
• Special educational needs

Resources

• Achievement for all - 2010, Pdf document, 1425 KB