Top 5 tips in handling slow learners in your classroom

 

 

 The term ‘slow learner’ is frequently used to cover various groups of children otherwise referred to ‘dull’, ‘retarded’ or ‘educationally subnormal’. In the present circumstances it is used more widely to indicate the fairly large group of children whose learning is slowed down by one or more factors of which limited ability may be one

A slow learner is one who learns at a slower than average rate, It is important to note that they do not have intellectual disability, but it takes them longer to understand and grasp concepts.

Teaching has its ups and down, and we sometimes have ‘That one child’ that takes a little longer to grasp a concept. Some of us teachers can relate because we most likely have ‘That one child’ in our classroom.

What then do we do?
1. Set realistic expectations and smaller targets.
2. They need more time, more repetition and more resources from their teacher to be successful.
3. As a teacher, do not give negative feedback to children as they begin to believe in their inability to learn.
4. Praise and reward: to help them continue learning, it is important to acknowledge even the smallest victory and offer reward for each milestone.
5. Use multisensory instruction; multisensory learning happens when sight, sound and touch are used to learn new information, children learn best when they can use all their senses and it is easier for them to retain new information.
6. Teach just one new concept at a time: keep lesson short but frequent, repeat each learning point.
7. Use real life examples when teaching and provide the opportunity to apply it. For instance, after teaching a child about shapes, encourage them to look around and talk about the shapes they can see

Teaching a struggling learner can be difficult; we just have to take it one step at a time, with patience and consistency.