Ways to teach and guide Slow learners

Dr. Harpal Kaur Associate Professor Akal College of Education, Mastuana Sahib, Sangrur

1. Dr. Harpal Kaur (Associate Professor) Akal College of Education Mastuana Sahib

2. Motivation is one of the most essential requirements for children who are slow learners. Praise them when they get a concept or technique correctly. Even the smallest victory should be acknowledged and praised.

3. A slow learning child will be motivated to stay the course and learn as much as possible if there is a reward at the end of it. Try setting rewards for milestones to keep your child motivated and to help him focus on the task at hand.

4. It is important to set small targets that are achievable and within reach. As a parent, it is your responsibility to understand what is achievable for your child.

5. Never compare a slow learner with other children. Encourage him to try again. Failure actually makes us stronger . Thomas Edison failed more than 10,000 times before he made the electric light. Do not be discouraged if you fail a few times. Most of us have failed many times.

6. Be open about your child’s struggle. Let them know the situation and educate them about how to handle the situation with your child as a slow learner. Be open with caregivers

7. Stay patient when working with him and be sure that he will hit the milestones in front of him, even if it is at a much slower rate. Make sure you do not lose you patience and scream at him, as this will only demotivate him. Be Patient

8. Keep Space for Aids

9. Encourage your child to keep at it until he succeeds. Just knowing you believe in your child will keep him motivated to keep learning and trying. Be vocally supportive Ask questions

10. Slow learners get distracted easily. Find your child a spot to study where there are zero distractions. Give him/her a quiet study table

11. Help your child in every way possible – not by completing his or her given assignments but by guiding him through the process. Be easily accessible

12. Slow learners need more time than their peers to understand a concept or finish a task – which can leave them pretty exhausted. Don’t overwork them to the extent that they give up. Give them a break if need be. Don’t let them give up: 

13.   Don’t keep mentioning the fact that your child is a slow learner and that he or she can’t achieve as much as his or her peers. Be supportive all the way. Don’t label them

14. Don’t be overprotective Don’t be overprotective

15. Compensatory Teaching is an instructional approach that alters the presentation of content according to the mental level and understanding of a student’s fundamental weakness or deficiency.

16. Remedial Teaching is an alternate approach for the regular classroom teacher in instructing the slow learner. Remedial teaching is the use of activities, techniques and practices to eliminate weaknesses or deficiencies that the slow learner is known to have. Conventional instructional techniques such as drill and practice might be employed.

17. Not any single technique or set of techniques is sufficient teaching the slow learner. Instructional strategies that specifically address the learning needs of the slow learner have to be developed .

18. Develop Lessons that can create students’ interests. It should according to needs of students and students can experience those lessons in a positive manner. This helps address the short attention spans of slow learners. Oral or written autobiographies at the beginning of the year, or simple inventories in which students indicate their hobbies, jobs, and unusual trips or experiences can be provided. Create Students’ Interest

19. Incorporate Audio and Visual Materials One common characteristic among slow learners is that they often learn better by seeing and hearing than by reading. Incorporating films, videotapes, and audio into lessons helps accommodate the instruction to the strategies learning modalities among slow learners.

20. Develop Your Own Worksheets and Exercises Textbooks and workbooks Develop your own worksheets that can capture your students’ interests. Sometimes only some changes in worksheets and exercises are needed to adapt the vocabulary or difficulty level to the ability of your slow learners. Using simple words while teaching can ease the burden of creating materials.

21. Don’t Forget to teach Basics

22. DO NOT FOCUS ON COMPLETING WHOLE SYLLABUS

23. https://sg.theasianparent.com/slow-learners-tips-on-helping-children-who-are-slow-learners-excel http://psych.hsd.ca/STRATEGIES%20FOR%20SLOW%20LEARNERS.pdf REFERENCES