Empathetic Instruction

Is it possible to be an effective educator and not feel empathy for the struggles that many of our students experience? Have you ever put yourself in the shoes of the students who avert their eyes when you are ready to call on someone to read text out loud? Have you ever wondered why some of your students have such a difficult time following the class discussion?

I do hope you have.

And if you've wondered what to do next, then you must read Melinda Pongrey's article, "Dyslexia and High School,"

This article will help you gain some perspective on the challenges facing students with learning disabilities in your classroom. Melinda was allowed to observe what was happening in a high school Literature class as part of her work with a particular high school student. What she found was typical, yet disturbing, as it revealed the use of instructional methods that prevented her student's success.

Fortunately, she included numerous alternatives for the following commonplace classroom activities:

First task: Copy the definition of a vocabulary word from the overhead
Second task: Note the date of the upcoming vocabulary
Third task: Read a paragraph aloud from the overhead
Fourth task: Read To Kill A Mockingbird silently for 15 minutes
Fifth task: Listen and write four dictated questions on a piece of notebook paper
Sixth task: Listen to class discussion, then hand write the answers to the dictated questions

Need alternative ideas? Look at these wonderful options to the fifth task, "Listen and write four dictated questions on a piece of notebook paper":

Because listening and writing are not accurate and automatic for many students who have dyslexia, the seemingly "simple" task of copying dictated questions is NOT EASY. Processing difficulties could be bypassed by using the traditional format of handing out a paper with the questions printed on it.

Or, more interestingly, the teacher could post the questions on a classroom blog or website for students to access in the class or in the library or the cafe or when at home. Even more engaging, would be to text message the questions to the student's cell phones. Students could text-message the answers back to the teachers e-mail using the free software Jott? Cool? Even cooler is the word prediction support on cell phones, which aids spelling and writing.

And you may find what helps your students with LDs and/or IEPs, benefits all your kids.

First Person Accounts

Those of you who subscribe to my blog know my passion for removing the obstacles to learning for struggling learners. Recently, I posted links to a website that helps to simulate what it is like to have a learning disability.
Now, here are some links to first person accounts on LDOnline from individuals with learning disabilities:

Dyscalculia
Learning Disabilities - A Judge's Perspective
"I'm Not Lazy, I'm Not Stupid, I'm Dyslexic..." - by Henry Winkler, actor
The Good Kid - struggling with undiagnosed learning disabilities
Turning Differences into Advantages - written by the CEO and chairman of Ford Credit

Link here to access all of the stories.

Some will bring tears to your eyes, many will inspire you. But, more importantly, you will gain a better understanding of what life is like for those with learning style differences.
Learning differently doesn't mean unable to learn. It just challenges those of us who are educators to teach differently as well.

"If they can't learn the way we teach, then teach the way they learn." (author unknown)

What Is It Like to have a Learning Disability?

Have you ever wondered what it's like to have a learning disability? Maybe you've seen Rick Lavoie's "How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T.City Video." You've watched others struggle with the activities in the video but never experienced the struggle yourself.

A few years ago, PBS televised a special entitled, "Misunderstood Minds" based upon the work of Mel Levine. They created a complementary website which included activities which simulated attention, reading, writing and math disabilities. This is an excellent website for educators and parents to explore. Click on the links on the left side and then the interactive links that will help you experience firsthand the learning struggles that some of our students face every day.

This site will open your eyes to understanding the differences in learning. Understanding can lead to empathy, compassion and sensitivity to the needs of our students. And you may reevaluate your instructional methods.

Our kids deserve that.