by Alan Haskvitz

It’s no surprise children learn at different rates, and, according to some published research, only when they are ready.  Other research stresses intrinsic rewards, differentiated curriculum, and motivation by personalizing lessons.  However, the bottom line for many educators is that some children are slow to learn, but don’t have a learning deficiency.

Perhaps the greatest challenge to an educator is a child who is a slow learner. These children do not fall into the category of special education, do well outside the classroom, and show no evidence of having a medical problem. They simply do not do well in school or a particular subject.  

In the days before formal schooling, these students would carry on productive lives working at tasks that did not require extensive reading, writing or math.  However, today the emphasis is less on occupational learning and more on academic preparation.  Thus, there is a growing need for help to remediate these children and provide them the best possible opportunities in a changing world.

Having successfully taught for nearly 30 years in several states and countries, I’ve seen two commonalities emerge with slow learners.  First, they need extra time to complete tasks.  This means parents must be willing to augment what happens at school regardless of how fruitless it might appear.  Secondly, the child must be offered appropriate incentives.  Depending on the child, the best incentives are family projects or activities, such as building a model or attending a concert or game.  The incentives should require delayed gratification, so the child learns patience.

The next area is proper nutrition.  Children need breakfast.  Period.  Every study done points out a quality breakfast and proper sleep are the two best ways to improve student performance.

Finally, a teacher or parent must seek lessons and other resources that make it easier to differentiate the curriculum and make learning more vital and relevant.  To this end, special education sites on the Internet have some great ideas.  Although slow learners do not qualify for special education classes, the concepts teachers use with special education students are ideal for helping a slow learner once the student’s weaknesses have been diagnosed.  In any one of my classes, about 10 percent are slow learners, so having a slow learning child is not unusual.

One of the best places to start looking for help is at Reach Every Child, Special Education, where you can find a wide range of helpful sites.  Also at Get Help Teaching Special Needs Students. 

In general, slow learning students may display some or all of these characteristics, depending on their age and degree of problems acquiring knowledge at school. 

• First, slow learners are frequently immature in their relations with others and do poorly in school.
• Secondly, they cannot do complex problems and work very slowly. 
• They lose track of time and cannot transfer what they have learned from one task to another well.  
• They do not easily master skills that are academic in nature, such as the times tables or spelling rules.
• Perhaps the most frustrating trait is their inability to have long-term goals.  They live in the present, and so have significant problems with time management probably due to a short attention span and poor concentration skills.

Remember, just because a child is not doing well in one class does not make that student a slow learner.  Very few children excel in all subject areas unless there is great deal of grade inflation at that school.  So it’s essential the parent or teacher examine in depth standardized tests scores to look for trends.  

Also, slow learners differ from reluctant learners.  A slow learner initially wants to learn, but has a problem with the process.  A reluctant learner is not motivated and can also be passive aggressive, creating more problems for teachers and parents through non-cooperation.  Reluctant learners seldom have learning disabilities.

Proven ideas to help slow learners

• Provide a quiet place to work, where the child can be easily observed and motivated.
• Keep homework sessions short.
• Provide activity times before and during homework.
• Add a variety of tasks to the learning even if not assigned, such as painting a picture of a reading assignment.
• Allow for success.
• Ask questions about the assignment while the child is working.
• Go over the homework before bed and before school.
• Teach how to use a calendar to keep track of assignments.
• Read to the child.
• Use my “Three Transfer” form of learning, in which the student must take information and do three things with it beside reading.  For example, read it, explain it to someone else, draw a picture of it, and take notes on it.
• Be patient but consistent.
• Do not reward unfinished tasks.

Challenge the child

Have the child do the most difficult assignments first and leave the easier ones to later. Call it the dessert principle.

Don’t be overprotective. Students whose parents frequently intercede at school are teaching that they do not respect their child’s abilitites.  If you do call a teacher, make sure you seek a positive outcome.  Remember most teachers have worked with numerous slow learners and have plenty of experience.  However, sharing your child’s strengths and weaknesses could make the school year more beneficial for all concerned.

Contact the teacher if there is a concern.  Calling an administrator solves nothing, as the teacher is the sole legal judge of academic success. 

Take your child to exciting places where they can see academic success is important.  A trip to a local university or community college, a walking tour of city hall, a visit to the fire station or a behind-the-scenes tour of a zoo are highly motivating.

Examples of interventions for slow learners

Environment: Reduce distractions, change seating to promote attentiveness, have a peer student teacher, and allow more breaks.

Assignments: Make them shorter and with more variation, repeat work in various forms, have a contract, give more hands-on work, have assignments copied by student, have students use “three transfer” method.

Assessment: Use shorter tests, oral testing, redoing tests, short feedback times, don’t make students compete.

What to avoid: Don’t use cooperative learning that isolates the student and places him or her in a no-win situation or standardized tests.  Definitely don’t ignore the problem.

What to encourage: Grouping with a patient partner. Learning about the child’s interests. Placing the student in charge.  Mapping, graphic organizers, and hands-on work. Using Bloom’s taxonomy of tasks to make the assignments more appropriate.
Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy 

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Articles
Reach Every Child Links
Resources for slow learners
ADD -- a general site about this disorder
Special Education Websites

Articles

ERIC:  Reading and the Slow Learner
ERIC has a great many articles on slow learners.  Simply use its search engine.

ERIC Search -- Slow Learners

Helping Slow Learners 
Ideas for working with slow learners

School Offers Help to Slow Learners

Slow Learners Need Lots of Support
An interesting plan from India

What is the difference between a person with LD and a slow learner?

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Reach Every Child Links

Assessment Accomodations 

Enhancing your Child’s Success in School: Homework Help  

Get ESL and ELL Help 

Get Help Teaching Special Needs Students

Motivating Students

Phonics and Teaching Reading

More Phonics and Teaching Reading

Strategies for Motivating Young Readers

Teacher Liability and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Working with Parents 

Writing IEPs 

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Resources for slow learners

Autism-PDD Support Network 
This site offers information on treatment and law, with a parent guide -- quite complete.

The Behavior Home Page, Kentucky  
Get intervention ideas, jobs and a forum. When a slow learner is frustrated, they can become behavioral problems. These resources provide suggestions to cope.

Born to Explore!

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The Council for Exceptional Children 
This site has most everything from a job bank to resources. Start here.

Disability Accommodations in Science Education 
Strategies for varied disabilities, including speech, hearing, behavior, ADD and learning
disabilities

Jillene’s Disabilities Resource Page 
With parents information
 
KidSource: Disabilities 
A large link site with ratings of those that are the most helpful

National Center for Learning Disabilities 

Reading Rockets:  Learning Disabilities  

Resources for Early Childhood Special Education

Robert LaSalle -- Special Education Teacher 

Slow learners greatly benefit from yoga 
This article may be of interest in that Yoga calms the mind and body.

The Special Education Home Page 

Special Education Resources on the Internet 

TeachingLD 
Disabilities information and resources

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Special Education Websites

Computers, Software, Education, Special Education

Misunderstood Kids Outside the Box 
Find special education articles, resources, news and other features.

Special Education for Special Children 

Special Needs Ontario Window 
SNOW is made specifically for special education teachers.  This site offers discussion, bulletin boards, a listserv, events and resources.

Wrightslaw 
Two attorneys go over the law and special education -- a nice reference site.