Specific learning disability is one of the most pervasive disabilities among learners most especially in the regular classroom setting. The sad fact about this is that most individuals having this disability are labelled as slow or dumbfounded. With the lack of proper diagnosis and assessment, learners with this disability might end up being lagged behind academically and the worse, might fail schooling. For this, teachers must be aware and must have the knowledge to design the curriculum to suit the needs with individuals having specific learning disability.
Specific learning disability as defined by IDEA is:
- a disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken
or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think,
speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including
conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain
dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
- does not include learning problems that are
primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental
retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or
economic disadvantage. [34 CFR §300.8(c)(10)]
Common learning disabilities
·
Dyslexia – a language-based
disability in which a person has trouble understanding written words. It may
also be referred to as reading disability or reading disorder.
·
Dyscalculia – a mathematical
disability in which a person has a difficult time solving arithmetic problems
and grasping math concepts.
·
Dysgraphia – a writing
disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write within a
defined space.
·
Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – a neurological disorder which originates
in the right hemisphere of the brain, causing problems with visual-spatial,
intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions.
Principles in Curriculum
Development
Universal Design of
Learning
UDL
principles guide educators in finding innovative ways to make curriculum
accessible and appropriate for individuals with different backgrounds, learning
styles, abilities, and disabilities in various learning situations and
contexts (Rose & Meyer, 2002). This paradigm for teaching, learning,
assessment, and curriculum development focuses on adapting the curriculum to
suit the learner rather than the other way around. UDL guides teachers and
curriculum developers toward creating flexible materials and methods before
they are put in students’ hands, rather than waiting until students arrive and
trying to retrofit inflexible materials to each learner.
Principle I: Provide Multiple
Means of Representation (the “what” of learning).
Students differ in the ways that they perceive and comprehend information that
is presented to them. For example, those with sensory disabilities (e.g.,
blindness or deafness); learning disabilities (e.g., dyslexia); language or
cultural differences, and so forth may all require different ways of
approaching content.
Principle II: Provide Multiple
Means of Action and Expression (the
“how” of learning). Students differ in the ways that they can navigate a learning environment and express
what they know. In reality, there is no
one means of expression that will be optimal for all students; providing
options for expression is essential.
Principle III: Provide Multiple
Means of Engagement (the “why” of learning).
Students differ markedly in the ways in which they can be engaged or motivated
to learn. Some students are highly engaged by spontaneity and novelty while
other are disengaged, even frightened, by those aspects, preferring strict
routine. In reality, there is no one means of engagement that will be optimal
for all students; providing multiple options for engagement is essential.
Goals
Goals of a Watered-up
Curriculum for Individuals with Specific Learning Disability(Ellis,1999)
1.
More emphasis on students' constructing knowledge
·
the role of the teacher is to
facilitate students' constructing (and reconstructing) of understandings so
that their thinking becomes increasingly clear.
2.
More depth, less superficial coverage.
·
more concerned with
facilitating in-depth understanding and developing deep knowledge structures of
essential concepts or "core ideas" than they are with content
coverage (e.g., addressing all the topics in the book).teachers strive to focus
both their own and students' energies on understanding core ideas of the
curriculum, how they interrelate, and how these core ideas help us understand
the current world and solve real-world problems (Cushman, 1994; Newman &
Wehlage, 1993).
3.
More emphasis on archetype concepts, patterns, and strategies.
·
enabling students to recognize
how some concepts, patterns and strategies are manifested throughout many
dimensions of life, and how to use these as tools to enhance their own
comprehension of complex ideas and ability to communicate them to others.
4.
More emphasis on developing relational understanding and knowledge
connections to real-world contexts.
·
instruction is designed to
facilitate students' connecting new knowledge to their background experience
and knowledge (Wansart, 1995).
5.
More student elaboration.
·
requires the learner to
interact with the information, relate it to background knowledge in some way,
and convert it in some manner while retaining its essential meaning (Newman
& Wehlage, 1993; Pressley et al., 1987).
6.
More emphasis on developing effective habits of the mind, higher order
thinking and information processing skills, and learning strategies.
·
learners
learn how to "be smart" as they learn
the content-area subjects. Thinking skills are considered as an integral part of the curriculum that
is of equal importance to the content being taught (Marzano, 1988).
Content
The question of which content should be taught in resource rooms has
remained a hotly debated issue over the years. Some practitioners stress
tutoring students with learning disabilities in subject matter content from the
general education (e.g., US history or language arts), while others stress only
remediation in basic skills (e.g., reading or math). Others feel that students
with disabilities should receive a functional life-skills curriculum, with an
emphasis on things like making job applications, balancing checkbooks, and so
on. The table below lists the advantages and criticisms of each of these
curricular approaches.
Type of Approach
|
Advantages
|
Disadvantages
|
Basic-skills remediation
|
1.
Stresses basic reading and
math
2.
Emphasizes only skills
necessary for school and life success
3.
Easily modeled on elementary
curriculum
|
1.
Turns the special educator
into a basic-skills tutor
2.
No difference between special
class and reading/tutoring programs
|
Tutorial subject matter
|
1.
Complements the regular
education class curriculum rather than just basic-skills areas
2.
General education teachers
appreciate the help
|
1.
Forces special educators to
teach subjects in which they are uncertified
2.
Attends to state graduation
requirements more than child's needs
|
Functional skills
|
1.
Stresses life-survival skills
(checkbook skills, job forms, etc.)
2.
Requires mastery of essential
skills and provides the time to master them
|
1.
Is a pessimistic view of the
child's learning potential
2.
Presents little opportunity
for learning of many important topics
|
Learning strategies
|
1.
Provides students who have
learning disabilities with a set of cognitive strategies that can be used in
all subjects
2.
Research evidence indicates
substantive support for the work
|
1.
Time to teach the strategies
must be taken from academic work
2.
General education teacher may
not follow up on strategy usage
3.
Implementation usually
requires attendance in a strategy workshop by the learning disabilities
teacher
|
Teaching Strategies for
Students with Learning Disabilities
Instructional
Strategies to Increase Fluency (ability to read text quickly, accurately
and with expression)
General information
·
Fluent readers focus attention on understanding
·
Non-fluent readers focus attention on decoding, not
comprehension
·
Fluency building should be done on the student's independent,
not instructional reading level
Guidelines for building
fluency
·
Check for requisite skills: ability to identify names and
sounds of letters; ability to read phonetically regular words; ability to
recognize a few sight words
·
Calculate fluency rate so progress can be monitored
·
Choose appropriate texts: decodable, independent level,
reflect the student's interests
·
Model fluent reading by reading to the student 10-20 minutes
with expression (phrasing, intonation) while the student follows along
Use specific teaching strategies such as:
Partner reading - The teacher, parent or another student reads for
about 3 minutes modeling good phrasing and intonation while the student
follows along - the two readers then read the same passage together
for another 2 minutes - the struggling reader then reads the passage
Tape assisted reading - Short passages (or sections of a passage) are
tape-recorded and the struggling reader follows along with the tape for
repeated practice
Chunking - To emphasize that connected text is divided into meaningful
phrases, divide sentences into phrases by using slash marks or more spaces -
this allows the student to read shorter chunks of words, then put
them together
Phrase card reading - Similar to chunking, phrases are written on index
cards - after reading the phrases several times for mastery, the phrases are
then combined to make a complete sentence
Repeated readings - Reading poetry is an excellent way to reinforce
fluency by practicing a poem for class presentation - it is recommended
that
Poetry Parties be held to practice these repeated readings
–
Readers Theatre is another excellent way to approach repeated
readings - this is an activity in which each student has a portion of a
passage to present to the rest of the group - it facilitates fluency by giving
each student many opportunities to practice their portion of the
presentation - the students can switch scripts and practice with
other passages
Instructional Strategies
to Increase Comprehension (ability to gain meaning from text)
General
information
A wide variety of reading (variety of topics and texts) should be
provided
Development of extensive vocabulary should be addressed - simply being
able to read a word is not enough - the student must also know what the word
means and be able to use it in context
·
A variety of comprehension strategies should be utilized
·
The generation of questions after reading supports comprehension
Guidelines
for increasing comprehension
Before reading
·
Read the title and activate background knowledge about topic
·
Teach unfamiliar vocabulary
·
Establish purpose for reading - for fun or learning
·
Preview text - cover, title, text, structure, and picture
During reading
·
Use questioning techniques (types of questions from simple
recall to more complex analysis of text)
·
Use graphic organizers - fill in as you read (these can be
done in outline form for Braille readers)
·
Use self-monitoring techniques by asking: Does this make
sense to me? Do I know what all the words mean? Can I predict what will happen
next?
·
Use fix-up strategies - re-read problem words/sentences;
retell in own words; read ahead a few sentences to use context; connect to
previous knowledge
After
reading
- Use
questioning techniques - Who or what was this story about? - What was the
most important event? What was the main idea? - answer who, what, where,
when, why and how questions
- Review
vocabulary - look up any words still not understood
- Summarize
- Write a summary of ten words or less
- Complete
and revise graphic organizers
Instructional
Strategies for Writing (ability to construct compositions)
General information
·
Students should be encouraged to experiment with writing
·
Students should have daily opportunities for writing many
kinds of texts such as lists, messages to others, poems and stories
·
Students should be allowed to write about topics that are
personally meaningful
·
Students should have a bank of words they
can use in writing endeavors
·
Students should be taught spelling strategies
·
Students need to learn to revise and edit their own writing
Guidelines
for developing writing skills
The following mnemonic can be used to assist the student in remembering the
components of effective writing:
P - pick a topic or subject
L - list information you want to include (can use
graphic organizers)
E - evaluate the list for completeness and proper
sequencing
A - activate your writing with a topic sentence
S - supply supporting sentences and details
E - end with a concluding sentence or statement
This can be used when writing a simple paragraph as well as an extended story
or report.
Another useful mnemonic can be used for revising and editing writing to check
for essential elements:
C - capitalization
O - organization and overall appearance
P - punctuation
S - spelling
Instructional Strategies for
Increasing Mathematical Abilities
General
information
·
Learning disabilities in math and the effects they have on
development can vary widely and involve language difficulties, visual-spatial
confusion, sequencing problems and long-term memory difficulties
·
Since learning disabilities in math may revolve around using
language, specific math vocabulary must be explicitly and extensively taught
Guidelines for developing math abilities
·
Provide experience with concrete materials because pictorial
representations often confuse these students
·
Introduce
new skills by using many opportunities to practice with concrete examples before
moving to abstract uses
·
Verbal
explanations must be completely accurate and concrete, with as few
elaboration's as possible
·
Allow
adequate processing time
·
Allow
use of facts charts
·
Permit
the student to demonstrate understanding using objects or pencil marks
·
Provide
small increments of instruction rather than longer sessions - two twenty minute
sessions every day are more beneficial than an hour long session every other
day
·
Teach
concepts in small segments
·
Verbal
information should be broken into smaller steps instead of all at once -
present concepts, give directions, ask questions, offer explanations
·
Request
that the student frequently verbalize what they are doing
·
Turn
lined paper sideways to serve as columns for organizing work
·
Offer
strategies for remembering and working through the sequence of steps in solving
problems, such as mnemonics or organizers
·
Allow use of a large type or talking calculator
Curriculum
Models
The Medical Model. This modelemphasizes
diagnosis and treatment of neurological symptoms. This was used as one of the earlier
models, during the late 1940s and 1950s.
(Algozzine et al., 1993). This
takes the medical perspective to determine a treatment method.
Psychological Process Model. This model was mainly used in the 1960s. It
shifted the emphasis from medical to educational approach to curriculum. Controlled and structured pull-out
programs or special classes continued to be used for the treatment. Remediation of perceptual skills was
of particular interest in this model.
The focus was on changing
behaviors that accompanied the learning problem and helping teachers (and
others) how to see the students’ differences and work with them. This change in focus and perspective was a
major contribution to education since it helped raise the public’s awareness
(including teachers
Behavioral Model. This model came about due
to the lack of success with the psychological process model in terms of
improving academic skills. It focused on
improving not only academic, but also social skills. Teaching began to take on a direct
instructional and functional approach to improving students’ skills. (Algozzine et al., 1993). This model was divided into the two areas of
behavioral approaches aimed at helping
students improve both their behavior and academic skills; and academic
achievement that shifted the focus from mental processing skills to realistic
ways to use skills in daily functioning and self-sufficiency once out of school
(Algozzine et al., 1993).
Cognitive/Learning Strategies Model. The focus is on teaching students how to
learn, manage their own behaviors in the learning environment, and how to
generalize the learned information from one setting to another. This approach is also referred to as
metacognition, tying together the past and the present. These strategies emphasize a self-monitoring
approach: self-questioning,
self-checking, self-correcting, self-evaluating, and self-reinforcing. There are two areas relating to this
treatment model: Cognitive behavior
modification that teaches students the skills necessary to be more
self-sufficient; and cognitive strategy
model that teaches study skills techniques and is
incorporates theories based on student learning styles, cognitive styles,
thinking skills, and cognitive behavior modification research.
Strategic Instruction Model. The SIM model was developed for
students who already have basic decoding and word recognition skills. That
said, even students who struggle with these early reading skills need to
"learn how to learn" and could benefit from classroom routines and
strategies that help teachers ensure that students are learning critical
content (the course material students need to meet standards) in ways that
prepare them for class promotion, high school graduation, and a success after
school.
In
other words, the focus of SIM is to promote effective teaching and learning of
critical content in schools. SIM strives to help teachers make decisions about
what is of greatest importance, what strategies can be taught to students to
help them to learn, and what classroom-based strategies are effective in
helping them learn well, carrying over these skills to post-secondary settings
including college and the workplace.
Employability Skills for Adults with Learning
Difficulties/Learning Disabilities Model. This curriculum combines
employability skills training with instruction in learner compensation
strategies. This unique combination provides a match between the learners’
learning strengths and weaknesses, instructional strategies, and
employment goals. Learners identify, practice, and demonstrate
self-accommodation strategies they will use on the job to maximize the
potential for successful employment. The curriculum provides instructors with
suggestions for individualized compensations, accommodations, and modifications
that can be applied to all aspects of the learners’ lives.
PROGRAMS FOR EARLY
INTERVENTION
Reading Recovery
It
is an early intervention program designed to help low achieving six-year-old
children to learn to read
and
write. The program is an individual tutoring program in which a trained person
meets with a child for thirty minutes each day outside the child’s re g u l a r
c l a s s room. Although the teacher determ i n e s what strategies to use,
Reading Recovery lessons operate in a stru c t u red framework. Each day
teachers and students are involved in five major
Phonological
Auditory Training – Spell Read
As learners learned how to automatically
recognize and manipulate the individual sounds of the language, their reading
and writing skills started to improve.
Early Success
This program is intended for
use with a small group of children. Each of the skill areas involved in comprehension,
fluency, phonemic awareness and phonics is taught. The components of the
program include reading for fluency, first reading book walk, shared reading,
making words, coached reading, individual reading, independent reading, writing
sentences, and word wall. The program is not a total language arts program, but
rather is designed as a short-term intervention method.
Gift of Dyslexia
This orientation and symbol
mastery program, designed by Ron Davis, is intended to assist children who
experience difficulties with visual perception. It is a kinesthetic approach to
learning letters, symbols, and difficult target words.
Reading Reflex
This program uses the concept
of phonographix and is one of the many programs available that moves from
phonological awareness to sound symbol association. This program takes what the
child knows, the sounds of his language, and teaches him/her the various sound
pictures that represent those sounds. It does this through developmentally
appropriate lessons.
Academy of Reading
This program is a
comprehensive, interactive, multimedia reading program designed to enhance
literacy skills in children, adolescents and adults. The program contains a
wide variety of assessment tools and several training programs that help
develop the skills necessary for successful reading. The program contains the
following reading measures:
Phonemic Awareness Test
Battery, Reading Subskills Test Battery, Word Recognition, Oral Reading
Comprehension, Silent Reading
Comprehension, Cloze Paragraph Comprehension
Fast
ForWord
Fast ForWor d
is a patented Internet-and CDROM- based training program for
individuals with language and reading problems. In an intensive series of
adaptive, interactive exercises using acoustically modified speech and speech sounds,
Fast ForWord stimulates rapid language-skill development as children learn to
distinguish the various components of speech. As children move into the more
challenging levels of the training, the program encourages enhanced language
awareness and comprehension. On average, children with language problems make 1
to 2 years of language gains after completion of the 4 - 8 week program.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
READING TOOLS
·
Text to speech. Software that
incorporates text to speech enables students to access content and information
by having text read aloud, often in a high quality, realistic synthesised
voice.
·
OCR. Optical Character
Recognition (OCR), is a method of converting text from paper format to an
electronic version. This means that
books, printed worksheets, even photographs with graphics and text can be
converted to electronic format and read aloud using text to speech. Reading
material is instantly made accessible.
·
Talking books. Talking books are
essentially books that are in electronic format, often looking very similar to
the paper version. They may read text aloud, and include a range of multimedia
elements such as real photos, animations, videos and recorded sounds that make
the reading experience motivating and fun.
·
Software that converts
text files to audio. Being able to convert text to an audio file has the advantage of
providing yet another format for accessing information and is an ideal way for
students to engage in independent revision and study
·
Organisational software. Organisational software
helps students brainstorm and display their ideas using a concept map of words
and/or pictures that can then be transferred to a document outline with the
click of a button. Templates to assist students develop their ideas for
different writing tasks may also be included as an added feature. Another
strategy for developing a written draft is to use highlighting tools and
extract main points from a document or web page. By creating an outline of what
has been read, students can use this as a starting point for their writing.
·
Onscreen word banks. Learners needing
support to spell words or construct meaningful sentences can quickly and easily
carry out written tasks using on-screen word banks. This software provides the
additional support of text to speech and pictures for those whose visual
recognition of words is poor.
·
Word prediction. Word prediction is a
strategy that assists with spelling and word completion by making suggestions
as you type. These suggestions are displayed in a window. Word prediction can
help students expand their vocabulary, as they are less likely to avoid words
for which they are unsure of spelling. In some cases, the word prediction
program may accommodate for phonetic spelling errors. Such programs also learn
words that are used frequently. Research studies have reported up to a 70%
reduction in spelling errors when using word prediction programs.
·
Voice recognition. Voice recognition
software allows students to create large amounts of text or control their
computer entirely by voice. Documents and e-mails can be dictated without
spelling mistakes and the need to extensively use the keyboard and mouse is
significantly reduced.
·
Portable word processors
or notetakers. For students whose handwriting is untidy or illegible, and who find
writing with pen and paper frustrating, these devices help overcome these
barriers and encourage students to independently take notes rather than rely on
a scribe or peers. They are low cost, portable alternatives to laptops. Infrared
capabilities mean that no cords are needed when transferring text to a computer
for further editing. These devices are lightweight, sturdy and have the
advantage of a long battery life. They are easy to use and can be used in
conjunction with word prediction programs if the student struggles with
spelling.
·
Electronic math
worksheets.
Electronic math worksheets are software programs that can help a user organize,
align, and work through math problems on a computer screen. This may be helpful
to people who have trouble aligning math problems with pencil and paper.
·
Paper-based computer pen. This technology records
and links audio to what a person writes using the pen and special paper. It
enables the user to take notes while simultaneously recording someone (e.g., a
teacher) speaking. The user can later listen to any section of his notes by
touching the pen to his corresponding handwriting or diagrams.
·
Talking calculators. A talking calculator
has a built-in speech synthesizer that reads aloud each number, symbol, or
operation key a user presses; it also vocalizes the answer to the problem. This
auditory feedback may help him check the accuracy of the keys he presses and
verify the answer before he transfers it to paper
(Disclaimer: I'm sorry but I neglected noting the references which are both from the books and internet resources. Credits are given to the rightful author and I do not claim ownership of all the contents of this article.)
