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.Unfortunately, students with learning difficulties are skilled inavoidance tactics and manage to read as little as possible.Reading with understanding must be the focus of any literacy programfrom the very beginning.Comprehension is not something that comesafter learning the mechanics of word recognition and decoding.Difficultieswith comprehension occur if a student is weak at the underlying skill ofword identifi cation.Slow and laboured reading prevents easy interpre-tation of meaning.Students who are good at comprehending text use avariety of ways to support their understanding.For example, they mayvisualise as they read narrative material; they may pose questions tothemselves; they may think about the relevance of what they are reading;they may challenge the accuracy of stated facts; and they check their ownunderstanding as they read.Weaker readers do not tend to use any of thesestrategies spontaneously.In order to improve students comprehension, it is important to considerthe possible underlying cause of the problem.Sometimes comprehension 64 L E ARNI NG DI F F I CUL T I E Sproblems stem from a student s limited vocabulary knowledge or lack ofreading fl uency.If a student has diffi culty understanding what is read,it is worth devoting more time to discussing word meanings, before,during and after the student reads a passage of text.There is certainlyvalue in sometimes pre-teaching difficult vocabulary.Engaging readersin discussion about the topic of a text and encouraging them to adopt athoughtful approach can also improve their reading comprehension mostnaturally.It is also necessary to teach students effective strategies to usewhen approaching text in order to get meaning from it (Boulware-Goodenet al., 2007).Such strategies include:×% previewing the text fi rst to get an overall impression of the content×% generating questions in your mind concerning what you already know aboutthe topic and what you hope to find out×% reading the text carefully, and then rereading if necessary×% summarising in your mind the main points in what you have read.Unfortunately, there is evidence that primary school teachers tend not togive sufficient attention to strategy instruction in reading (Parker & Hurry,2007).And in secondary schools comprehension tends to be tested, ratherthan taught.The following principles may also help to strengthen comprehensionskill development for students with learning difficulties:×% Ensure that the reading material is interesting and at an appropriate readinglevel.×% Always make sure students are aware of the purpose for reading a particulartext.×% Apply comprehension strategy training, using authentic texts rather than con-trived exercises.×% Prepare students for starting a new book.Ask: What do you think this story isabout? What do the illustrations tell us? What does this word mean? Let sread the subheadings before we begin.×% If there are comprehension questions to be answered, read them togetherbefore the story or passage is read, so that students enter the material knowingwhat information to seek.×% Use newspapers and magazine articles as the basis for discussion and com-prehension activities.Highlighter pens can be used to focus upon key ideas,important terms, or facts to remember. TEACHI NG STUDENTS WI TH L EARNI NG DI FFI CUL TI ES 65Key elements in fostering reading developmentIt has already been stressed that daily instruction will achieve much morethan twice-weekly intervention, and that maximum progress occurs whenparents or others can provide additional support and practice beyond schoolhours.In addition, to prevent or remedy difficulties in reading, teachersshould ensure that the following elements are provided within the teachingprogram:×% abundant opportunities to read for pleasure and for information×% systematic instruction in phonic knowledge and word-attack skills×% opportunities to build a sight vocabulary of the most frequently used words×% successful practice, often using material that has become familiar to thestudent×% practice that will build skills to a high level of automaticity and at the sametime strengthen a student s confidence×% texts used with students must be carefully selected to ensure a very highsuccess rate×% instruction and guided practice in applying reading comprehension strategies×% counselling, praise, encouragement and recognition of personal progress inorder to improve a student s self-esteem×% as well as attempting to improve reading, teachers must also focus on thecorrection of any negative behaviours such as poor attention to task and taskavoidance that are impairing a student s progress.Difficulties in learning mathematicsMany students, including those without learning difficulties, find math-ematics a diffi cult subject to master; and many go through life regardingthemselves as poor mathematicians.Some even develop a phobia andlearned helplessness regarding mathematics, and they panic at the thoughtof having to perform calculations and solve problems (Buxton, 1991).Wain(1994) considers it a very sad commentary on mathematics teaching thatit has failed so many students by not providing them with stimulation,understanding, enjoyment and a feeling of success.He points out that manyintelligent people, after an average of 1500 hours of instruction over elevenyears of schooling still regard mathematics as a subject for which they haveno aptitude.Their antipathy toward the subject continues into adult life. 66 L E ARNI NG DI F F I CUL T I E SYet, there is no convincing evidence (with a few exceptions) that theirdiffi culties are the result of any perceptual or cognitive defi cits.The fewexceptions are the students with a genuine learning disability ( dyscalculia ),perhaps affecting up to 3 per cent of the population (Colwell, 2003;Michaelson, 2007).According to Landerl et al.(2004), dyscalculia is due toa brain-based deficit that specifically affects numerical processing, and is notdue to weaknesses in other cognitive processes such as attention, memory orperception.Given that some 35 40 per cent of students are reported to havediffi culties with mathematics (American Institutes for Research, 2006), itis clear that dyscalculia explains only a tiny part of this population [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]
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.Unfortunately, students with learning difficulties are skilled inavoidance tactics and manage to read as little as possible.Reading with understanding must be the focus of any literacy programfrom the very beginning.Comprehension is not something that comesafter learning the mechanics of word recognition and decoding.Difficultieswith comprehension occur if a student is weak at the underlying skill ofword identifi cation.Slow and laboured reading prevents easy interpre-tation of meaning.Students who are good at comprehending text use avariety of ways to support their understanding.For example, they mayvisualise as they read narrative material; they may pose questions tothemselves; they may think about the relevance of what they are reading;they may challenge the accuracy of stated facts; and they check their ownunderstanding as they read.Weaker readers do not tend to use any of thesestrategies spontaneously.In order to improve students comprehension, it is important to considerthe possible underlying cause of the problem.Sometimes comprehension 64 L E ARNI NG DI F F I CUL T I E Sproblems stem from a student s limited vocabulary knowledge or lack ofreading fl uency.If a student has diffi culty understanding what is read,it is worth devoting more time to discussing word meanings, before,during and after the student reads a passage of text.There is certainlyvalue in sometimes pre-teaching difficult vocabulary.Engaging readersin discussion about the topic of a text and encouraging them to adopt athoughtful approach can also improve their reading comprehension mostnaturally.It is also necessary to teach students effective strategies to usewhen approaching text in order to get meaning from it (Boulware-Goodenet al., 2007).Such strategies include:×% previewing the text fi rst to get an overall impression of the content×% generating questions in your mind concerning what you already know aboutthe topic and what you hope to find out×% reading the text carefully, and then rereading if necessary×% summarising in your mind the main points in what you have read.Unfortunately, there is evidence that primary school teachers tend not togive sufficient attention to strategy instruction in reading (Parker & Hurry,2007).And in secondary schools comprehension tends to be tested, ratherthan taught.The following principles may also help to strengthen comprehensionskill development for students with learning difficulties:×% Ensure that the reading material is interesting and at an appropriate readinglevel.×% Always make sure students are aware of the purpose for reading a particulartext.×% Apply comprehension strategy training, using authentic texts rather than con-trived exercises.×% Prepare students for starting a new book.Ask: What do you think this story isabout? What do the illustrations tell us? What does this word mean? Let sread the subheadings before we begin.×% If there are comprehension questions to be answered, read them togetherbefore the story or passage is read, so that students enter the material knowingwhat information to seek.×% Use newspapers and magazine articles as the basis for discussion and com-prehension activities.Highlighter pens can be used to focus upon key ideas,important terms, or facts to remember. TEACHI NG STUDENTS WI TH L EARNI NG DI FFI CUL TI ES 65Key elements in fostering reading developmentIt has already been stressed that daily instruction will achieve much morethan twice-weekly intervention, and that maximum progress occurs whenparents or others can provide additional support and practice beyond schoolhours.In addition, to prevent or remedy difficulties in reading, teachersshould ensure that the following elements are provided within the teachingprogram:×% abundant opportunities to read for pleasure and for information×% systematic instruction in phonic knowledge and word-attack skills×% opportunities to build a sight vocabulary of the most frequently used words×% successful practice, often using material that has become familiar to thestudent×% practice that will build skills to a high level of automaticity and at the sametime strengthen a student s confidence×% texts used with students must be carefully selected to ensure a very highsuccess rate×% instruction and guided practice in applying reading comprehension strategies×% counselling, praise, encouragement and recognition of personal progress inorder to improve a student s self-esteem×% as well as attempting to improve reading, teachers must also focus on thecorrection of any negative behaviours such as poor attention to task and taskavoidance that are impairing a student s progress.Difficulties in learning mathematicsMany students, including those without learning difficulties, find math-ematics a diffi cult subject to master; and many go through life regardingthemselves as poor mathematicians.Some even develop a phobia andlearned helplessness regarding mathematics, and they panic at the thoughtof having to perform calculations and solve problems (Buxton, 1991).Wain(1994) considers it a very sad commentary on mathematics teaching thatit has failed so many students by not providing them with stimulation,understanding, enjoyment and a feeling of success.He points out that manyintelligent people, after an average of 1500 hours of instruction over elevenyears of schooling still regard mathematics as a subject for which they haveno aptitude.Their antipathy toward the subject continues into adult life. 66 L E ARNI NG DI F F I CUL T I E SYet, there is no convincing evidence (with a few exceptions) that theirdiffi culties are the result of any perceptual or cognitive defi cits.The fewexceptions are the students with a genuine learning disability ( dyscalculia ),perhaps affecting up to 3 per cent of the population (Colwell, 2003;Michaelson, 2007).According to Landerl et al.(2004), dyscalculia is due toa brain-based deficit that specifically affects numerical processing, and is notdue to weaknesses in other cognitive processes such as attention, memory orperception.Given that some 35 40 per cent of students are reported to havediffi culties with mathematics (American Institutes for Research, 2006), itis clear that dyscalculia explains only a tiny part of this population [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]