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Teachers can change lives with just the right mix of chalk and challenges. - Joyce Meyer
Everyday interaction with students reinforces my belief in this quote. Often, teachers are looked up to only smoothen out difficulties faced by students. However, sometimes it is important to set children up for challenges and guide them to navigate through them and become independent learners. Students with hurdles due to learning disabilities have their own unique challenges that require innovative and creative approaches. Special educators like teachers in Aditya Birla Integrated School play a very important role at such times.
One of the first important things is building a connection with the students. Rapport with the students will help them open up about their difficulties and give the teachers insight into ways to support them. Often the students are punished for being slow in their work or submitting incomplete work. These behaviours are actually manifestations of the difficulties faced by the students. However, they are unable to explain the same and hence continue to underperform. Giving the student a listening ear, helping them identify their strengths, and encouraging them to play by their strengths can prove to be very helpful.
Sometimes students themselves have crafted some interesting strategies for themselves which could also prove to be helpful to their peers. For example; using coloured pens to highlight keywords is a strategy that is often reinforced in schools. Students have worked on finding and using the colours that help them recall maximum information. They have experimented and found their own solution. Special educators can also help to fine-tune these strategies thus making them more effective.
Children with learning difficulties may also need scaffolding and help to break down tasks. Classroom accommodations are necessary to aid the learning of children with learning difficulties. For example; using visual cues along with auditory ones, providing extra time to copy from the board, or using the buddy system when working on class assignments. Even when classes were conducted online creative accommodations such as using the breakout rooms to clarify a doubt or using the whiteboard feature to practice spellings were used. Such accommodations and modifications are done by the special educators to make the learning space more student-friendly. Suggestions are also made to make changes to the environment at home such as labeling items so there is sight learning or encouraging parents to read out to children in order to improve their vocabulary and imagination.
While providing help to students it is equally important to help them become independent. Special educators can identify the strength of each child and organise them into groups to support each other. This will give them a sense of autonomy and boost their confidence. For example, Two children in a certain grade were paired together for several activities conducted in class. One student had a good memory and could recall a lot of information that was taught in class along with what was provided in extra reading material class. The other child was creative and imaginative and could build analytical connections between concepts. Thus, together they made a dream team when working together on various activities. Peer support also helps the students bond with each other. Variation in activities beyond book and pen can actually help gauge the comprehension level of the students.
Flexible Teaching Structure-
Very often children with a learning disability have divergent thinking. They may think visually and pay attention to auditory cues. It is easier for them to perceive and relay information in these formats. Thus, having a flexible structure while teaching can be very helpful for children with learning difficulties. Using open-ended questions which do not have a predetermined correct answer can help these students express themselves and help the teachers and parents to understand how they perceive the world around them.
While the special educator becomes an important link between the student and the parent, it is also important to involve the parents in the process. Communicating regarding the behavior will help them understand the triggers that affect the child, their needs, and reinforcements. A common system can be followed at home and school to encourage or discourage certain behaviours. Observations made in both settings can help the educator to gain important insight. Hence, working as a unit with as many support systems as possible is also an important role of the teacher.
Finally, providing a safe environment for the children to express themselves is very important. An environment in which they feel supported and loved. A safe haven where their challenges are understood and unique solutions are offered. The special educator needs to balance this tightrope walk of bringing together all the aspects essential for the growth of the child. The educators will have to regularly upgrade themselves to find newer and better ways to help the children. The role of special educators is thus important not just in academics but also beyond it to help build the confidence and life of their students.
