How to help a slow learner or weak student

How to help a slow learner or weak student

To teach a child who is not taking interest in studies is a really big problem and we need to find out better ways to do that. Begin by changing our mindset from a fixed to a growth mindset we can easily help these students to achieve their goal. I personally advise every parents and teacher to stop calling him/her a weak student but more importantly, stop thinking of him or her as a weak student. Sometimes children have learning disabilities or behaviour problems and some just hate the subject because of negative learning experiences.

Slow Learner or Weak Students

The student commonly called a slow learner or weak in studies is one who cannot learn at an average rate from the instructional resources, texts, workbooks, and learning materials that are designed for the majority of students in the classroom.   

The factor contributing to slow learning in students

Many of these children live in community conditions that have adversely impacted their learning in schools. Some of these conditions include the family’s loss of meaningful employment, the infestation of illegal drugs, and an increase in single-parent households. Children subjected to these living conditions have a greater engage in inappropriate behaviour in the classroom.

Academic achievement was positively correlated with a strategic learning approach and negatively correlated with an apathetic learning approach. 

It might be difficult to distinguish students with lack of motivation from those with lack of knowledge. While no single technique or set of techniques is sufficient for teaching the slow learner, the suggestions that follow are a starting point for developing instructional strategies that specifically address the learning needs of the slow learner. So it is our moral responsibility to use successful methodological techniques in order to fill the gap between what weak students know and how to deal with them. 

However, as per my personal experience, both teacher and parents play an important role in the life of a student but they need to follow different strategies to help slow learner or weak student. 

Strategies to be followed by the teacher to help slow learner or weak student

Succeeding with slow learners or weak students is all about timing- If we are able to catch them and give them all that she or he can when they are still young, then they will be able to close their gaps. Otherwise, by the time these weak students reach High School, they are already so demotivated to learn, they have little or no faith in their ability to succeed or in the teacher’s ability to teach them.

Early help can make a difference- If students receive extra support from a teacher or parents in an early stage as soon as problems are recognized then it is easier for the weak learner to regain confidence and lose anxiety. When students are supported in order to find their best style and strategy to learn, it is possible for them to follow their ordinary class again.

As teachers, it is essential that we make the process of providing feedback with a positive, or at least a neutral, learning experience for the student- Classrooms are full of diverse learners. Some students need to be nudged to achieve at a higher level and other needs to be handled very gently so as not to discourage learning and damage self-esteem. A balance between not wanting to hurt a student’s feelings and providing proper encouragement is essential.

Weaker kids need lots of success-oriented activities- The trick is to teach the material subconsciously without them realizing they are being taught.

Teaching methods is one of the strategies for improving students’ performance- Research evidence further shows that teachers who make instructional choices are effective in their classroom and help the weaker student to improve their performance in studies and overall aspect. The instructional strategy was shown to include- Visual and graphic depictions of problems, Systematic and explicit instruction, Student think-aloud, Use of structured peer-assisted learning activities involving heterogeneous ability groupings, Formative assessment data provided to teachers and Formative assessment data provided directly to students.

Remedial Teaching- This is an alternate approach for the regular classroom teacher in instructing the slow learner or weak students. Remedial teaching is the use of activities, techniques and practices to eliminate weaknesses or deficiencies that the slow learner is known to have. For example deficiencies in basic math skills are reduced or eliminated by re-teaching the content that was not learned earlier. 

Compensatory Teaching- Compensatory teaching is an instructional approach that alters the presentation of content to circumvent a student’s fundamental weakness or deficiency. Compensatory teaching recognizes content, transmits through alternate modalities (pictures versus words), and supplements it with additional learning resources and activities (learning centres and simulations, group discussions and co-operative learning). This may involve modifying an instructional technique by including a visual representation of content, by using more flexible instructional presentations (films, pictures, illustrations), or by shifting to alternate instructional formats (self-paced texts, simulations, experience-oriented workbooks).

Develop Lessons that Incorporate Students’ Interests, Needs, and Experiences - This helps address the short attention spans of slow learners.

Find out what the child is interested in- Young children are interested in many different things. Studies have shown that children’s participation in activities that are interesting to them is filled with powerful learning opportunities, including opportunities to build language and communication skills.

Encourage Oral Expression Instead of Written Reports

Keep a look at their patterns of learning-   See, which words they speak well and which they do not. What they are confident of and what they are not? Which mathematical concepts are clear and what is not. If they do not want to study at all, use colours, activities, rewards etc but do not use fear.

To discover the weak points of students- All we need to do is to observe them closely. Look at them when we are teaching them and try to figure it out - Are they sleeping, bored or having a problem focusing on your lessons? Do they look confused? Are they playing mobile games or sleeping?  After each lesson, simplify and summarize the main points (if possible), and ask questions as a quiz to determine how much they have learned. 

Strategies to be followed by the parents to help their child

Practice positive self-talk with them.

Teach them how to set and achieve goals. 

Resist comparing them to others.  

Make the child confident as we all know confidence is vitally important to a child’s future happiness, health, and success. Confident children are better equipped to deal with peer pressure, responsibility, frustrations, challenges, and both positive and negative emotions.  This thing has an effect on their learning capabilities.  

Celebrate each success that they get and create lesson plans that are a balance of right and left brain.    

Be with the child and become friendly- Children tend to do things when their friends ask them. Bring the child in confidence.   

Closely monitor the environment around the child whether it is befitting for him/ her? Are the parents behaving in an ideal way? Is the child exposed to the right kind of learning environment? Children tend to copy their elders a lot. This thing has a huge effect on their mental growth.    

Cater to him/her with extra-attention and understand what is the hindrance that prevents him/her from succeeding. No child would open up in the beginning. Get more close to the child to develop an emotional attachment with him/her. But at the same time make sure that you do not intrude into his/her personal space.  

Hope you all like this article.

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About Me

Rashidul Haque

Rashidul Haque is heading his own organisation -Free Bird Guidance. It specialises in counselling, career guidance, coaching, mentoring, training for students & individuals. He is a successful Behavioral & Personality Transformational Coach, Career & Educational Counselor, Personality Development Trainer, Writer - Blogger & Motivating thousand of students.

He is aiding students in building future educational or career paths & help students to evaluate their abilities and interests, overcome challenges and obstacles, and develop necessary skills. He helps students to craft a long-term plan for reaching their career objectives. Conduct group workshops on a variety of topics, including writing resumes and cover letters, successful job interviewing and various career development programs.

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