Learning Disabilities and Tutoring Strategies

By PresenterMedia.com

• Here’s an example of a math disability scenario…

Learning DisabilitiesWe are not asking you to be a licensed psychologist by diagnosing them, but if you see something, please let someone know.If you see that a student is struggling with the same concept over and over, you can let EES know.

Learning Disabilities: Math• Students with processing disorders and ADHD typically have

problems with math due to the processing portion of the tasks required by math.

• Unfortunately, some athletes get passed through school until college, where they are then required to understand everything. This causes gaps in knowledge and a lack of the necessary skills to be successful (i.e., times tables).

Learning Disabilities: Math Activity

(The answers were: 63, 98, and 93.)

Learning Disabilities: Math Activity

• This activity is what students with processing disorders have issues with every time they see math.

• Consequently, they’ll try to deflect and want to talk about anything and everything except for math.

• If a student does have an issue that gives them accommodations, they may qualify for the CEA section of math, which is all pencil and paper instead of on the computer like the majority of math courses.

• Below is information that may be useful as it relates to reading comprehension…

Reading Comprehension• If a student cannot read a textbook (really not comprehending anything), that’s something you

can bring to EES. • If a student does have a reading disability, they often may have failed the first or second grade.

Reading Comprehension: Activity• Take ONE minute to decode as much as you can, using only

the key provided…

Reading Comprehension: Activity• Here is what the decoding should look like:

• These are the types of things our students with reading disabilities face when they attempt to read. Their classmates are often done reading , while they’ve barely been able to start.

• There is an accommodation for some of our students where their books can be loaded into an app that shows them the text, while reading aloud. If they indicate they have this, you may find it useful to use the app during your sessions.

• Sometimes, it helps a student to listen and follow along at the same time to comprehend the material.

• If they cannot read, they will try to fake it so people do not know, deflecting to other activities.

Reading Comprehension

• We do not want the student-athletes to just read for an hour long tutoring session with no student-tutor interaction.

• You can use text-coding for when the students need to read. This will help them think about the text while reading it to have the student better understand the material.

Reading Comprehension: Strategies

• Reading while focusing on a specific line of thinking, and using symbols to mark the text in keeping with this line of thought while you read

• Unchallenging coding

• Complex coding

Text-Coding

• How Tutors Can Help Tutees Improve Their Critical Thinking Skills

• This article discusses how to encourage students to think critically (ask “good” questions)

• Bloom’s Taxonomy• Christine has used a text coding system on the first two

paragraphs.

Reading Comprehension: Article

• “Read alouds” allow someone to read aloud while the other person listens to the reader’s thoughts. This is so a student understands what goes on inside a good reader’s head while reading.

• If you notice a student has been highlighting when you are going through text, ask them why they are highlighting those passages.

• You want him/her to be able to justify what they are marking… many of our students will just make it “pretty.”

Reading Comprehension: Strategies

Reading Comprehension: Activity

Read aloud the first paragraph, taking into account Christine’s comments. Then go through the next few paragraphs of the article, marking up the article using the text coding symbols.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

VOCABULARY WORD MAP• Have them take a few minutes to sketch out what you are

discussing to visualize a word. This will help our students remember vocabulary words better.

• Most of our students are visual learners and will remember information much better by sketching out the content.

A-Z INFORMATION• Write A-Z somewhere and have the student list everything

they know about the content, using the letters.

3-MINUTE PAUSE• This will help students figure out what’s going on, while

giving them a short break from the session.

Additional Tools:

• The most important thing I learned today was• I need help with• I would like to learn about• Rate your understanding of today’s topic• Discussed how what we talked about today could be used in

your life• Predict a test question• What would you like to use next time?• Summarize what we discussed in 25 words or less• Use the ABCs to give information about what we discussed

•Alternative Exit Slips

What are some CHALLENGES and

VICTORIES you have been having in your tutoring sessions?

QUESTIONS?