Adediwura's View:
As teachers, we teach our students different strategies they need to use in order to learn particular skills. An example is in reading, we all want our students to have a good understanding of what they are reading. To facilitate comprehension (which is the skill), we teach a variety of reading strategies such as making predictions, summarizing, making inferences, drawing conclusions etc. In my experience, students who are able to effectively apply their learning strategies have better understanding of the skill.
Schumaker & Deshler 1(992) identify steps teachers should take in teaching a strategy to their students. The steps are:
As teachers, we teach our students different strategies they need to use in order to learn particular skills. An example is in reading, we all want our students to have a good understanding of what they are reading. To facilitate comprehension (which is the skill), we teach a variety of reading strategies such as making predictions, summarizing, making inferences, drawing conclusions etc. In my experience, students who are able to effectively apply their learning strategies have better understanding of the skill.
Schumaker & Deshler 1(992) identify steps teachers should take in teaching a strategy to their students. The steps are:
Schumaker, J. B., & Deshler, D. D. (1992). Validation of learning strategy interventions for students with LD: Results of a programmatic research effort. Retrieved from www.eric.ed.gov
Martina's View:
The Access Center cites Teaching every child every day: Learning in diverse schools and classrooms by M. Montague by stating that "Students with mathematics disabilities often do not learn these strategies naturally (Montague, 1998). They switch from strategy to strategy because they do not know how to use them effectively. However, they can be taught to use the two types of learning strategies: cognitive and metacognitive (The Access Center)." The basic assumption here is that it is valuable to teach students strategies for the aquisition of knowlege across all subject areas. In fact, during my education classes and the trainings sponsored by PG county, the focus has been on helping students acquire and apply learning strategies in order to help students have greater success academically. According the The Access Center, "Teachers who teach students learning strategies teach students how to learn and how to be successful in and out of the academic setting. Learning strategies give students a way to think through and plan the solution to a problem. Students who use learning strategies become more effective and independent learners. (The Access Center)"
In terms of practical applications, when teaching reading, we teach strategies on how to apply knowlege of letter sounds in order to decode words. We also teach students reading strategies such as inferencing, drawing conclusions, visualizing, checking for understanding, and questioning in order for students learn to comprehend text.
In mathematics we teach students different strategies for how to solve basic problems, (count up, count back, estimate, make 10, use an open number line, etc) as well as different strategies for how to make sense of numbers so that students can do more than recited memorized facts.
Source:
The Access Center, Initials. (n.d.). Learning strategies and mathematics. Retrieved from http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/LearningStrategies
Wynette's View:
Sturomski (1997) stresses that students who have learning disabilities may have problems because they have a history of academic problems and often believe that they cannot learn, that school tasks are just too difficult and not worth the effort, or that if they do succeed at a task, it must have been due to luck. Another points Sturomski stressed was that these students do not readily believe that there is a connection between what they do, the effort they make, and the likelihood of academic success. These negative effects about their ability to learn and the nature of learning itself can lower their self-esteem and have far-reaching academic consequences.
Isn't that a sad reality for quite a number of our students? Being a special educator, I have been determined to address these negative feelings about learning that a lot of our students are bringing with them when they come to school. For me that is extra baggage that they do not need to be carrying with them, at least not let them deal with the baggage alone! Here are a few guidelines or strategies to consider as suggested by my favorite author, David Sousa(2001):
Basic academic skills pertain to skills in reading, writing and mathematics which is the end goal. Learning strategies on the other hand are the tools or the vehicle that would take the learner to acquire, retain and apply the basic academic skills. This, I believe, is how these concepts relate to each other.
For our children to be lifelong learners we need to teach them the learning-to-learn skills which are strategies for learning the basic academic skills. When learners are instructed in learning-to-learn skills, their ability to process new information can rise substantially( Weinstein and Mayer, 1986). Futurist and business guru Peter Ducker says, “We can predict with confidence that we will redefine what it means to be an educated person… It will be somebody who has learned how to learn and who continues to learn…” If we do not teach our students effective and meaningful learning strategies so they can independently learn at their own will and pace, who will prepare them for the fast changing global society? For most part students think that they need to learn to read, write, acquire mathematical skills in order to pass tests and assessments and move on to another grade level often times thinking that what they learned in pre-k is irrelevant to what they will learn in high school. We need to teach them as early as possible that skills and concepts learned in previous grade levels they will always need to retrieve as they incorporate new skills. Learning should never stop, it should keep on flowing. If we help them incorporate their preferred learning style, improve their confidence in learning and encourage them to take control of their learning then learning the basic academic skills would be much easier and meaningful to them.
As educators we need to be more creative with equipping our students with the most relevant and useful learning strategies for them to become lifelong learners and successful members of our society. Most especially with students who have learning disabilities who have the tendency to exhibit difficulty in acquiring basic academic goals without additional support. They are experiencing so much more stress as compared to their peers without disabilities. They are often overwhelmed, disorganized and frustrated with new learning situations. Tapping into your students' preferred learning style and really knowing your students' strengths and weaknesses could result to being able to teach them to become strategic learners. They would need our help to be able to pick out the best strategies for them. According to David Sousa, students with learning disabilities need to become strategic learners, and not haphazardly use whatever strategies or techniques they have developed on their own. Through feedback, teachers help students refine new strategies and monitor their choices. Overtime, teachers can diminish active guidance as students assume more responsibility for their own strategic learning.
We have a big task to take and the rewards are endless!
References:
Jensen, Eric. Brain-based learning. Rev. ed. CA: Corwin Press, 2000. 80-81. Print. Sousa, D.A.
Jensen, Eric. Brain-based learning. Rev. ed. CA: Corwin Press, 2000. 80-81. Print. Sousa, D.A.
Sousa, D.A. . How the Special Brain Learns. California: Corwin Press, 2001. 74-77. Print.
