Many educators believe that teaching students with disabilities is challenging work, and it is so because all activities held in the class are to be adapted. It is impossible to expect the students with mild and moderate disabilities to reach the same academic achievements as learners with average intellectual ability can reach. Still, it means that educators should alter the delivery model and provide more support in both educational and social aspects. Differentiation seems to be a key to success in this perspective. It allows defining a range of activities that will be successfully managed by the learners. Teachers should take into consideration such approaches to differentiate instructions for students with mild and moderate disabilities as:
- Time. Many learners that represent such a population have problems with remembering new information and utilizing it in practice. Thus, educators should spend some time working with the student and identifying the time they need to understand the topic and apply what they have learned. As a result, they will be able to define how long each student should work on a particular topic. Such an approach will streamline the educational process as there will be no necessity to start everything from the very beginning.
- Instruction. Sometimes students with disabilities are not able to understand what they are to do if the instruction is not explicit and systematic. If the educator said what he/she wants to receive but did not include a step-by-step guide, students are likely to fail. They need support even in simple tasks so the teacher should provide prompts and feedback to show the learners that they are doing everything in the right manner.
- Natural settings. It is difficult for students with mild and moderate disabilities to generalize the knowledge they gain in class. If they work with some imaginary case, it may be rather difficult for them to apply what they have learned in the real life. For example, if a learner can count money during the lesson, it does not mean that one will be able to do it in a shop. Thus, the teacher should refer to more natural settings, such as a school cafeteria, so that new skills will be helpful for them.
- Support for learning. Even working with students with disabilities, the teacher should remember that they can cope with some tasks independently. Limited support will give them a chance to become more autonomic in real life.
- Learning styles. The educator should also consider students’ learning styles. Studying is already difficult for them, but the usage of the right approach can make this process less complicated. Students should be divided into groups so that the majority of activities they are to conduct match their abilities (for example, bodily-kinesthetic learners should work with objects and use gestures).
Reference
Intercultural communication. (2012). Web.