To be honest, it makes me very happy to see how the world is getting more and more accessible to people with special needs. In the past, learners with learning disabilities were often labeled as “weak” or “bad” students, but nowadays they are getting actively accommodated and included at schools. Michael Halpin believes that assistive technology fosters inclusive learning environments and enhances learning outcomes. There is certainly still a long way to go before education becomes completely attainable for absolutely everyone. However, disabilities are not as much of an obstacle to learning anymore, and we should acknowledge and celebrate it.
I personally have not had any experience teaching people with visible disabilities so far. I also haven’t had a student share with me that they are have any disabilities. Nevertheless, as I teach adult English learners, I do suspect that I have had some students with undiagnosed special needs. For instance, I have taught at least two learners who excelled at all skills but spelling. One of these students used to copy numerous pages from the books we were reading in class to improve their spelling, but it still didn’t help. That is why I suspect that those learners might have had dyslexia. Unfortunately, I am not a doctor to precisely state that, but I must admit that if the cause of those spelling struggles was clearly identified, it would make it a lot easier for me to find the right approaches.
So, what do I do to make learning equitably accessible to all of my learners?
- Individual Approach is Always The Best Method
I teach two groups of students, about 15 people each, so it is not an easy task to find an individual approach to everyone. Nonetheless, I still try to do it. If I see that a particular student is experiencing more difficulties than others, I provide them with some assignments for additional practice. I may not know the real reasons for their lack of progress – they can range anywhere from learning disabilities to simple tiredness. But my job as a teacher is to help, and I would do everything in my power to support a student who is struggling.
- Mind Mapping
As Aysha, Kevin, and I have mentioned in our presentation, mind mapping is a great tool for learners with ADHD as it helps organize information effectively and focus better. We often practise mind mapping in my class – either using Miro or just a regular classroom whiteboard. This activity is beneficial for all learners as it helps visualize information (e.g. vocabulary) easily and in a fun way. By the way, I really loved the mind map you created during our presentation! 🙂
- Text-to-Speech Tools
Photo by on Pexels
We do not use text-to-speech tools too often because ESL students are supposed to build all of the four skills – Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing – simultaneously, so voicing the written/printed text all the time would not be ideal for us. However, we have a Reading Hour every Friday, when my students are supposed to read a book on the Raz-Kids website and comment on it and/or note down some new words. The platform has the option of listening to the books instead of just reading them, so it can be a great help to students with eyesight issues. This can also be a great support to learners with dyslexia as each of the voiced words gets highlighted in the Raz-Kids books, which can assist dyslexic students in building connections between what a word sounds like and how it is spelled.
What Else Could I Use to Make Learning Easier for My Students?
- Larger Keyboards
I am very grateful for the opportunity to work in the computer lab my students, but I feel it would be a good idea to have at least one or two enlarged keyboards and/or computer screens for the students with eyesight problems.
- Games
We often play online games with my students using a smart board (just look what cute pumpkins we “carved” for this year’s Halloween!). I would like to incorporate more games for learners with special needs as Michael Halpin believes that specialized educational gaming apps aimed at incentivizing productivity can help students with ADHD become more focused.
You can find this game here.
- Speech-to-Text Tools?
One of my new students came up to me recently asking if they could use an app to transcribe what I was saying because they did not understand everything yet. I was a little surprised by this request, but I eventually approved it on the condition that they would use it temporarily as I expect the learner to try to understand my speech over time. I would not suggest all students to use such a tool because it does not support the development of the listening skills, but if some individual learners find it helpful, I would not mind granting them my permission to use it. Again, it is all about listening to each person you are teaching and finding the approaches that work specifically for them!
Although assistive technologies are becoming more and more common, we still need to be aware of the barriers to their implementation, such as lack of training for instructors, student factors, and the accessibility of specialized software or devices (Lamond & Cunningham, 2020). As a teacher, I will always do my best to create a maximally comfortable and inclusive environment for all of the learners in my class, but I realize that implementing assistive technologies takes a lot of time and team effort.
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Additional Material
I was immensely inspired by this video on how assistive technologies have changed the life of a student with a learning disability, so I decided to share it with you. Such stories remind me how much assistive technologies really matter!
I hadn’t thought about how transcribing your speech would help EAL learners! That makes sense to me when thinking about it- it would give students the time to think about the meaning of words because sometimes speech goes so fast in comparison.
Also, thank you for sharing that video at the end. I agree that it is very inspiring and shows how important assistive technologies are for our students!
Hi Stacey, thank you for your comment! 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed the post and the video!
Good day Kateryna. Thank you again for another detailed and well thought out post. Even though you think you do not have much experience teaching students with special needs, you have a firm knowledge on the approaches to use with students that have special needs. As you stated, the individual approach is best, and really the only effective way to help students with needs. Once you identify the needs of the student, then finding ways to accommodate these needs is the only direction you can have a chance at making progress with. Your list of things to use can also help with engagement such as games, and thus can reduce anxiety for those students in need of assistance. You have the right ideas on what to watch for, plus more that I had not thought of. Thank you.
Hi Edward, I really appreciate your comment! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Keteryna, your post was sequential, visually appealing, and easy to read. You mentioned you have not had any students officially diagnosed with a learning disability, yet you were to meet the needs of your students to the best of your abilities. This illustrates your passion for teaching, your care for your students, and your great research skills. Mind Mapping is commonly utilized as it is suitable for all ages, with or without learning disabilities, especially visual learners like myself. You have shared some great tips I intend to explore in future classes.
Hi Latoya, thanks a lot for your comment! I also consider myself to be a visual learner, just like you! 🙂
Hi Kateryna, such a great explanation in this blog of yours! I agree when you mentioned that individual approach is always the best method to make learning more accessible to your students. It is because it is not a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to teaching students, whether these are high school students or adult learners. This is because each student has his or her strengths and weaknesses, thus it is able to gauge one’s learning capacity.
There are many ways that you mentioned how or what you can use more in order to make learning easier for your students, and among your list, I agree the most with using games. This is especially true for younger students, so that these educational games can go a long way to improving their learning skills in and out of the classroom.
Thanks a million for your detailed comment, Raul!
Love this post!
Making instruction more accessible is a fantastic goal, and as you explained, so many technologies and methods can help achieve it; the one that stood out for me is utilizing assistive technologies like text-to-speech. I love you you broke it down. Kudos!