slow learner

Definition: A person who tends to take longer to understand things than the average person, or someone who requires multiple explanations before they get a concept. Can occasionally be wrongly accused of being a noob. Usage: My grandma is a slow learner when it comes to the internet. It took her 2 hours to understand the concept How to help them? Perhaps the greatest challenge to an educator is a child who is a slow learner. These children do not fall into the category of special education, do well outside the classroom, and show no evidence of having a medical problem. They simply do not do well in school or a particular subject. In the days before formal schooling these students would carry on productive lives working and doing tasks that did not require extensive reading, writing, or math operations. However, today the emphasis is less on occupational learning and more on academic preparation. Thus there is a growing need for help to remediate these children to provide them the best possible opportunities in a changing world. Having successfully taught for nearly 30 years in several states and countries two commonalities emerge when dealing with slow learners. The first is that they need extra time to complete tasks. This means that the parents must be willing to augment what happens at school regardless of how fruitless it might appear at times. Secondly, the child must be offered incentives that are appropriate. Depending on the child the best incentives are those where the family works together on a project such as building a model or attending a concert or game. The incentives should require delayed gratification so that the child learns patience and the importance of waiting to be rewarded. The next area is proper nutrition. A child needs to have a breakfast. Period. Every study done points out that a quality breakfast and proper sleep are the two best ways to improve student performance. http://www.nassp.org/advocacy/views/healthy_better.cfm With those two factors in mind, the next step for a teacher or parent is to search for lessons and other resources that make it easier to differentiate the curriculum and make learning more vital and relevant. To this end the special education sites on the Internet have some great ideas. It must be noted that this column is not dealing with those students that qualify for special education classes. However, the concepts that teachers use when dealing with these students are ideal for helping a slow learner once the students weaknesses have been diagnosed. In any one of my classes I have about ten percent who are slow learners so having a slow learning child is not unusual. One of the best places to start looking for help is at http://www.reacheverychild.com/specialed/index.html where you can find a wide range of helpful sites. Also http://www.reacheverychild.com/feature/special_needs.html

Characteristics
Here are some general characteristics of slow learners. Students may display some or all of these depending on their age and degree of problems acquiring knowledge at school. First, they are frequently immature in their relations with others and do poorly in school. Secondly, they cannot do complex problems and work very slowly. They lose track of time and cannot transfer what they have learned from one task to another well. They do not easily master skills that are academic in nature such as the times tables or spelling rules. Perhaps the most frustrating trait is their inability to have long-term goals. They live in the present and so have significant problems with time management probably due to a short attention span and poor concentration skills capabilities. It should be pointed out that just because a child is not doing well in one class does not make that student a slow learner. Very few children excel in all subject areas unless there is great deal of grade inflation at that school. That is why it is essential that standardized tests scores be examined in depth by the parent or teacher to look for trends. Also there is a difference between a slow learner and a reluctant learner. A slow learner initially wants to learn, but just has a problem with the process. A reluctant learner is not motivated and can also be passive aggressive creating even more of a problem for teachers and parents through a ploy that involves non-cooperation. There is seldom anything wrong with the learning ability of reluctant learners.

To help slow learners here are some proven ideas for educators
Have a quiet place to work where the child can be easily observed and motivated. Keep the homework sessions short Provide activity times before and during the homework Add a variety of tasks to the learning even if it is not assigned such as painting a picture of a reading assignment. Allow for success Ask questions of the child while they are working about the assignment Go over the homework before they go to bed and before they go to school Teach them how to use a calendar to keep track of assignments Read to the child

Use my Three Transfer form of learning in which the student must take information and do three things with it besides reading. For example, read it, explain it to someone else, draw a picture of it, and take notes on it. Be patient but consistent. Do not reward unfinished tasks Challenge the child Have the child do the assignments that are the most difficult first and leave the easier ones to later. Call it the dessert principle. Dont be overprotective. Students who have parents that frequently intercede in their childs education are teaching that student that the parent does not respect their abilitites. If you do call a teacher make sure you are seeking a positive outcome. Remember that most teachers have dealt with numerous slow learners and have a vast amount of experience. However, sharing your childs strengths and weaknesses could make the school year more beneficial for all concerned. Contact the teacher if there is a concern. Calling an administrator solves nothing as the teacher is the sole legal judge of academic success. Take you child to exciting places where they can see where academic success is important. A trip to a local university or community college, a walking tour of city hall, a visit to the fire station or a behind the scenes tour of a zoo are highly motivating.

Examples of interventions for slow learners

Environment: Reduce distractions, change seating to promote attentiveness, have a peer student teacher, and allow more breaks. Assignments: Shorter and with more variation, repeat work in various forms, have a contract, give more hands on work, have assignments copied by student, have students use three transfer method where they have to show the work three different ways. Assessment: Shorter tests, oral testing, redoing tests, short feedback times, dont make students compete What to avoid: Cooperative learning that isolates the student and places him or her in a no win situation. Using a standardized test. Ignoring the problem.

What to encourage: Grouping with a patient partner. Learning about the childs interests. Placing the student in charge. Mapping, graphic organizers, and hands-on work. Using Blooms taxonomy of tasks to make the assignments more appropriate. http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm t of email when I explained it to her.

What does it mean to be a struggling learner or slow learner? A "slow learner" is not a diagnostic category, it is a term people use to describe a student who has the ability to learn necessary academic skills, but at rate and depth below average same age peers. In order to grasp new concepts, a slow learner needs more time, more repetition, and often more resources from teachers to be successful. Reasoning skills are typically delayed, which makes new concepts difficult to learn. A slow learner has traditionally been identified as anyone with a Full Scale IQ one standard deviation below the mean but not as low as two standard deviations below the mean. If a cognitive assessment (IQ test) has a mean (average) of 100, we expect most students will fall within one standard deviation of 100. That means that most students have an IQ of 85 to 115. Those who fall two standard deviations below the mean are often identified as having an Intellectual Disability (IQ below 70). A slow learner does not meet criteria for an Intellectual Disability(also called mental retardation). However, she learns slower than average students and will need additional help to succeed. What are some of the challenges educationally for struggling or slow learners? Typically, a slow learner has difficulty with higher order thinking or reasoning skills. This suggests that it will be more challenging to learn new concepts. New skills need to be based upon already mastered concepts. This can be difficult when the majority of the class has already mastered a concept and is moving on, while the slow learner needs more time. This can lead to gaps in knowledge and basic skills. The more gaps in a content area, the more challenging it is for anyone to learn new concepts. It's also important to recognize that these students are typically keenly aware they are struggling and self confidence can be an issue. They are prone to anxiety, low self image, and eventually may be quick to give up. They often feel "stupid" and start hating school. They spend all day doing something that is difficult for them, it can be very draining. Finding other activities that the student can be successful in is very important. There should be emphasis on strengths as well.

If these students struggle so much, why do are they often not eligible for Special Education? Special Education services are provided for students who have a disability. Slow learners typically do not have a disability, even though they need extra support. Cognitive abilities are too high for these learners to be considered for an Intellectual Disability. However, the abilities are usually too low to be considered for a Learning Disability. Consider that a learning disability consists of discrepancies between average abilities and below average academics, coupled with a processing deficit. Schools often look for a discrepancy between a student's ability and where they are performing. Slow learners tend to perform at their ability level, which is below average. To the disappointment of many, slow learners often do not receive special education services. See A Parent's Guide to Special Education Testing for more information about testing. Although a student does not receive special education services, a student will require additional help, support, and accommodations through regular education!! Parents need to advocate for their child to be included in programs that schools already provide. Ineligible for SPED Services might answer more questions on this topic. What are some classroom recommendations?

Repetition, repetition, repetition. You might feel like you are saying the same thing over and over, but it helps make a concept more concrete. Encourage other activities in which the child can experience success and keep them connected. Differentiated Instruction Tutoring- This helps fill in gaps in basic skills and it helps a student stay caught up. Teach study skills to help a student become more efficient in studying Teach the most important concepts and leave out some of the less important details. Peer tutoring

What about Slow Learners and standardized assessments? Whether you support the No Child Left Behind act and the additional testing that comes with it, is not going to be argued here. I see positive outcomes and negative outcomes. However, being in the schools, it is my perception that the one group who hands down benefits from these assessments are the slow learners. These students have to take these tests and the teachers are responsible for helping them pass the assessments. Years ago, many teachers would teach to the majority of the class and the slow learners were often left behind. Teachers are now being forced to find a way to teach the slow learners. Parents of slow learners tend to hate these tests, because their children have such

difficulties with the assessments, they generate anxiety, and then sometimes still do not do well. While those are valid concerns, consider that globally these laws and assessments are actually positive for the overall outcomes of slow learners. More remedial programs have been created to help these children pass the assessments. Specific learning disability

A student with a specific learning disability is experiencing achievement in a specific subject area (oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, or mathematics reasoning) that is significantly below expectations based on his chronological age, measured intelligence, and appropriate educational experiences. Learning disabilities are neurologically based, which means that a person interprets information differently than is typical (sometimes referred to as a processing deficit). When a student is not succeeding in a specific area there are several things to rule out

The student must have average intelligence and be capable of learning at an age appropriate level (i.e. the student does not have an intellectual disability).

The student must have had sufficient educational experiences (i.e. the student is not behind peers due to truancy).

The student is not failing solely due to affects of another disorder.

The student is not failing solely due to a cultural, economic, or environmental disadvantage. IDEIA 2004 Definition

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. Specific learning disability 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.

Back to Top How is a Learning Disability Diagnosed? Professionals are currently debating how to identify a learning disability in a student. The federal law currently accepts two models of identifying a learning disability: Discrepancy Model The discrepancy model is the traditional way to diagnose a learning disability. A professional will give a cognitive assessment (intelligence test) and look for average to above average cognitive ability. However, when a student has a learning disability, typically one area emerges as a significant weakness. This is referred to as a processing deficit because the assessment revealed that the student has does not process information as efficiently in one area. For example a processing deficit in visual motor ability indicates that the child has difficulty interpreting visual information which could impact reading and decoding words. A professional also administers achievement tests to measure the students educational achievement compared to others at his/her age. This should assess oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, and mathematics reasoning. The results of the achievement test are then compared to the cognitive assessment. Typically a students educational achievement is at the same level as his/her ability. When a learning disability is present, the student is not achieving to his/her potential in a content area. It is believed that the processing deficit found in the cognitive testing is the reason for this discrepancy. See SPED testing. RTI Response to Intervention involves early identification of students who are at risk for learning problems. Careful monitoring is conducted on all students and especially when a student is struggling. Research based interventions are conducted and closely monitored with the student. When a student continues to struggle despite a variety of interventions, he or she may have a Learning Disability. Cognition?????

Cognitive assessments measure a student's intellectual abilities. It gives general information relative to other students the same age. The test shows how well he problem solves, how he best interprets information (visual, auditory, etc.), and measures other areas such as memory and speed of processing information. These assessments have an overall IQ score, which is comprised of various scales. Each assessment is different, but often the scales will focus on verbal ability, nonverbal ability, spatial ability, memory,

and processing speed. Each of these scales consist of subtests that measure different aspects of the ability.