Articles

Learning Strategies can be defined as the cognitive process of learning to learn. Students must be active participants in the teaching-learning process. We all begin learning as an active process but this is not an ongoing process for a student with a learning disability.

The Learning Strategies approach is a researched and appropriate program option for older students and should be a major component of the curriculum. It is best used as a resource program whose main goal is generalization of skills to regular curriculum at the secondary level. However, preparation for Learning Strategies must begin in elementary or middle school years. Co-operation between special education professionals and classroom teachers is necessary to develop a comprehensive preparatory curriculum for students with learning challenges.

Adolescent students who seem to benefit most from a Learning Strategies approach have the following characteristics: a late primary reading level, can learn symbols and their relationships and have average to high average IQ scores. There is sometimes a large discrepancy between verbal and non-verbal functions. These students are not concrete thinkers. Their thinking or cognitive patterns are fixed and rigid. They are not ?risk takers? and do not engage easily in the learning process by seeking clarification and asking appropriate questions. Communication deficits lead often to frustrations, anxiety and confidence problems. Daily life is filled with low self esteem and weak self awareness. As parents and teachers we often need to provide structures and frameworks for every day activities.

As educators we must focus on deficit areas in language and perceptual skills and teach directly in some form to the weaknesses while helping with compensatory strategies in larger group settings in order to maintain contact with specific curriculum. If we break a bone, we have to manage with crutches until we can walk on our own again. I call these compensatory strategies classroom ?crutches?. Compensatory strategies often form the basis of Individual Education Plans and are a necessity for the classroom teacher. Special education resource personnel should focus on direct intervention of deficit areas such as language expression and training in areas of organizational and study skills. Checklists and inventories are helpful strategies for organization and framing. The latter areas are critical for success at the secondary level.

Teachers must teach to the patterns of language both oral and literate. The pace and rhythm of lessons and conversations are important to emphasize to a student with a learning disability. Remember to always seek clarification from the child with learning difficulties and help them to think in metaphors. Negotiating outcomes with the student will help to facilitate their inner language reasoning skills.

Attention to social skill acquisition is important. Self evaluation is difficult for students with learning disabilities. They are not analytical thinkers hence task analysis needs to be broken down into its component parts. Rehearsal and role- playing are good strategies for application tasks. These are sometimes referred to as meta-cognitive strategies. Making students aware of their environment in terms of time and space can help with learning strategy development.

The American Council for Education in 1987 found almost 7% of first year students had a learning disability. The Post secondary school population does include identified Learning Disabled Students. The requirement for these students is an identification and an intense commitment necessary for study at this level. Curriculum preparations are, therefore, critical at the elementary and secondary school levels for this student population. For adolescents, along with acceptance, honest compliments encourage growth and self esteem. Children need to be made aware of all their strengths and areas for improvement and the knowledge of how that forms the child as a whole person and not just a student. These are necessary skills for the development of healthy, well adjusted adults.

Cindy Finlan, B.A., B.Ed., Spec. Ed.
Educational Consultant
London Speech and Language Centre
April, 2001