Processes for Helping Students with Learning Difficulties at My School (Jason Brown)
Does a student exhibit any of the following signs? If so...
Common signs that a person may have learning disabilities include the following:
-Problems reading and/or writing
-Problems with math
-Poor memory
-Problems paying attention
-Trouble following directions
-Clumsiness
-Trouble telling time
-Problems staying organized
https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/learning/conditioninfo/signs
Reach out to other teachers who have the student in their class. Are they having similar issues?
Talk to the student. Set up a time during office hours, activity time, or communicate via email. See if there is anything I can do to help them in my class. This needs to be a casual, low-pressure conversation--they are not "in trouble", I'm just seeing what I can do to help.
Great. I've built rapport with the student and tailored the class to better fit their needs, whatever they might be, such as extra time to complete assignments, alternative assignments, or tutoring help and so on.
For some reason, I was unable to reach the student or help them. It might be time to look into other options. If I haven't done so already, I should speak with other teachers or the guidance counselor for more information.
Was this effective?
Yes
No
Collaborate with other teachers to think of strategies we can use to help the student. Perhaps one of our colleagues is having success with the student and they can give us ideas we can try to help them.
Then I should think about what I am doing in my class that may not be working for the student in question. I should collaborate with other teachers to see what strategies they are using to keep the student engaged and modify my teaching to help them succeed.
Yes
No
These are the strategies I and most of my colleagues use at our school when a student is having difficulty with their learning.
We have weekly staff meetings during which we will discuss students who may need additional support. The principal also requires us to regularly update him on students who are struggling in class. These actions make sure that teachers, principal, and guidance counselor know if a student may be having trouble and make it possible to take actions to offer help if needed.
If multiple teachers reach out to the guidance counselor about the same student having difficulty in their class, the counselor will meet with the student. Again, this is a low-pressure, casual meeting. It is made clear that the student is not "in trouble", but we just want to make sure they can feel safe asking for help if they need it and that we are all here to support them.
Weekly Meetings
Great--the guidance counselor will notify the relevant teachers. Teachers, student, and counselor will work together to create a plan which works in the student's best interests. Hopefully we can make the adjustments we need to help the student achieve their best.
Unfortunately, due to extreme stigma in Korea surrounding issues like these, the counselor often has to meet with students several times before they admit that they may need help, and meanwhile their grades continue to suffer. In these cases, the principal will contact parents and suggest the need for extra support.
Guidance Counselor
If the student needs help, do they actually seek it out?
Yes
No
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Note: I'm not talking about students who are say, late on an assignment and I need to just send a quick email to mom/dad to motivate them to turn their work in. We are generally in close contact with most students' parents.
Excellent. The parents and guidance counselor will work with the student to create an individualized plan to help them succeed. Relevant teachers will be involved and informed about the actions they need to take in their classroom. Those teachers will meet weekly with the guidance counselor to keep track of the student's progress. Changes may be made to the student's individualized plan as needed, and the principal and parents are kept in the loop as well.
Unfortunately, there's not much else we can do. Despite our best efforts, we may lose this student as their parents decide to put them back in Korean school, send them to a different private school, or send them to a GED program.
Are the student and their parents amenable to individualized help?
No
Yes
Initial Options
I will likely do both of them...
Another Note: More likely, the student will just continue to struggle along until they finally graduate. Of course we will still try to make accommodations/differentiations as needed to help.
Recommendations
Our school has several strengths. We strive to provide a safe, supportive environment where students can get the help they need, and we tend to focus on individualized learning wherever possible to help students succeed. Most importantly, we try to maintain open communication between teachers, students, staff, and parents.
However, we do have a few areas we could improve on:
-Specific school-wide policies to help students with special needs succeed
-Recruit a dedicated Special Education expert to identify and help students with special needs
-Implement training/professional development on special needs for teachers
-Work to reduce the stigma around learning disabilities among students and parents