Learning Differences in the Classroom - Softcover

Fielding, Elizabeth N.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0872072517 ISBN 13: 9780872072510

Publisher: Intl Literacy Assn, 1999

Synopsis

Turn your classroom of differences into a classroom of learners. This book focuses on five different areas of potential learning difficulties: auditory processing, visual processing, organization skills, attention deficits, and written output difficulties. Each section provides a description of the difficulty and its part in classroom learning, then offers strategies for helping children overcome the difficulty in the classroom. The text also is designed to serve as a resource for teachers in working with parents; the strategies offered can help parents come to understand their child's learning in school and at home.0872074773

About this title

About the Author

Elizabeth N. Fielding is a reading and testing specialist at The Meadowbrook School, Weston, Massachusets, USA.

From the Back Cover

"A teacher can play a critical role in recognizing and understanding learning differences. In fact, one teacher's understanding of a child's learning differences can change that child's entire academic life," writes Elizabeth N. Fielding in the introduction to this booklet.

"Learning Differences in the Classroom" intends to help teachers take on this important role and recognize, understand, and work with the learning differences of their students. The booklet focuses on five different areas of potential learning difficulties: auditory processing, visual processing, organization skills, attention deficits, and written output difficulties. Each section provides a description of the difficulty and its part in classroom learning, then offers strategies for helping children overcome the difficulty in the classroom. The text also is designed to serve as a resource for teachers in working with parents; the strategies offered can help parents come to understand their child's learning in school and at home.

Because a deeper understanding of learning difficulties often makes possible the creation of classroom strategies that better meet the needs of all students, the information offered in this booklet can help teachers turn a classroom of differences into a classroom of learners.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Every child is unique. Each brings to the classroom a set of experiences, knowledge, and motivations that is like no other child's. Although every individual has a style of learning that is most comfortable and facultative for them, some children also have learning differences that make classroom learning particularly difficult . These children face daily challenges in the classroom that are separate from their innate ability, their motivation, and their effort. Sometimes these differences are severe enough to be termed "learning disabilities," but often they are subtle and compensated for, so that children rely on their own intelligence, perseverance, and strategies to function in the classroom. A teacher can play a critical role in recognizing and understanding these learning differences. In fact, one teacher's understanding of a child's learning differences and challenges can change that child's entire academic life.

This booklet will focus on five different areas of potential learning difficulties: auditory processing, visual processing, organizational skills, attention deficits, and written output difficulties. Each section provides a description of the difficulty and the role it plays in classroom learning, then offers strategies for helping children with difficulty in the classroom.

These five areas were selected because they are often overlooked in the classroom due to their subtlety. Diagnosis of difficulty in these areas is at times complicated, and many evaluators do not systematically include all five of these areas as part of a testing battery. Yet, these areas affect virtually all other academic subjects in the classroom. It is important for both the teacher and the student to understand the student's learning strengths and weaknesses in order for the student to be successful in the current year and beyond.

The intent of this booklet is to help teachers to recognize, understand, and work with these subtle learning differences. The suggestions included are by no means inclusive, but are ones that I have used successfully with like children. The information presented is suggested as a guide for teachers as they strategize to meet the needs of their individual students. Although no two children learn the same way, some children do have significant learning difficulties; thus teachers may need to enlist the help of specialized professionals for determining whether a specific learning disability is present in a student. In addition, many readers might want to further the information given in this booklet by reading related research journals or academic texts (see Appendix B on page 27 for a list of suggested readings). It is hoped that this text will open a door to dialogue and discussion among teachers and with teachers and their students.

The text also is designed to serve as a resource for teachers in working with parents, because most parents do not have a background in learning issues. The material in this booklet can help parents come to understand their child's learning both at school and at home.

Edition details

• Publisher: Intl Literacy Assn
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0872072517
• ISBN 13: 9780872072510
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 28