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Identifying Students with Learning Difficulties, By Sumayah El-Mousa…
Identifying Students with Learning Difficulties
COLLABORATE: With student's parents and other teachers
During the intervention process, collaboration is key for success.
Parents
Parents must be kept abreast and informed of problems and progress
Parents can be enlisted to provide at-home support to practice skills (for concepts taught in class)
Parents can be asked about student's home life and experiences as this information could help diagnose issues
Teachers
Teachers of other subjects: to see if student's issues persist in other areas, or may be limited to certain ones (science vs. language; Language 1 vs Language 2...etc.)
School counsellors: students with behavioral/social/mental issues can be referred to the school's counseling services or teacher may ask for advice and workshop strategies
Special Education/Learning Support teachers can also be called on for advice, questions and strategies before an official referral is deemed necessary
IDENTIFY: Signs of a Struggling Student
Easily distracted or distracts others
Low grades
Easily frustrated (and gives up easily) and argumentative
Depression, general malaise, excessive sleepiness
Avoidance strategies: excessive bathroom/nurse breaks, tangential conversations, slow to start, procrastinating (sharpening pencils...etc).
Lack of motivation
Frequent tardiness and absences
Few social interactions; no friends
Poor executive functioning: time management, self-control, emotional regulation..etc.
Difficulties with retention and memory
REFER: Refer student to Special Education/ Learning Support Services
Following the home teacher's interventions and progress reports, students may be referred to Special Education/Learning support services for further testing and diagnosis.
SPED teachers/specialists will collect data from student's teachers and conduct in-house assessments
Based on the data collected and assessed, the specialists will create a learning plan or an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) with clear targets and goals for the students as well as recommended differentiation strategies and accommodations. This learning plan will then be shared with parents and involved teachers.
Student's progress is continuously monitored and goals are adjusted. In my school, plans are reevaluated every 4-6 months.
If all intervention plans and IEPs do not culminate in serious progress, student's parents will be recommended that the student be assessed by more specialized centers for more specific diagnoses (e.g. Autism Spectrum Disorder; ADHD, ODD, depression, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, CPTSD...etc)
Following out-of-house assessments, IEP is redesigned with the appropriate accommodations and differentiation strategies .
INTERVENE: Differentiation Strategies for Struggling Students
Intervention Plan
Identify student's strengths and weaknesses
Set goals for student + build on strengths
Plan how to meet those goals and how to measure outcomes
Measure and adjust course as needed
If all intervention plans fail, only recourse is to refer the student to Special Ed./Learning Support
Differentiate environment
Calm/Quiet corners (coloring, breathing activities, stretching exercises; snacks)
Fidgets/ toys
Carefully decorated (to avoid overstimulation or needless clutter)
Movement breaks
Provide word mats, word walls,
Gentle and clear transitions between lessons
Classroom jobs (to instill sense of responsibility and community)
Plan for 1-on-1 time with student
If possible, plan and present mini-lessons to small groups or one-on-one to relearn or repractice content and skills under direct guidance
Differentiate product
Allowing for choice in product (e.g. essay, video, podcast, infographic, skit, model, poster...etc.) as long as it aligns with skills to be assessed
Modifying rubric or adjusting grade scale
Differentiating the assessment itself so that student is appropriately challenged but not needlessly over or under whelmed (Zone of Proximal Development)
Process of assessment: handwriting vs. typing -> minimizing needless cognitive expenditure; reading questions aloud
Pair and group work
Try various groupings (by ability; by interest; by random variables)
Provide clear group 'jobs' and clear expectations for each member of the group
Differentiate process
Scaffolding: class activites
5 Scaffolding Strategies
Modeling and Gradual Release of Responsibility (I do, We do, You do)
Sentence stems and starters
Graphic Organizers
Graphic Organizer Templates
Multi-sensory (visual, audio, tactile, kinesthetic)
Multi-sensory Activities
Reading comprehension: Front-loading vocabulary
For writing: analyzing model texts prior to writing tasks
Large font, 1 question per page, broken down steps, short lists
Utilize online tools and platforms: E.g. Kahoot and Quizziz for formatives, Quizlet for vocabulary and concepts, ReadTheory for reading comprehension practice, Quill for grammar and punctuation practice
Accessibility: Ensure availability of closed captions on videos; Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speech options
Collaborate with student's other teachers, school counsellors, and learning specialists
Check in with student's teachers from different subjects and consider enlisting the help of school counsellors (for behavioral/mental problems) and learning specialists (for academic problems) PRIOR to referral.
Differentiate content
Tailoring content to student's interests, grade level, cognitive levels
By Sumayah El-Mousa (Cohort 23)