• View
• Edit
• History
• Print

Sarah Navin

(Notes: I had hoped to hide the text that falls under each heading and subheading after my introduction. In short things like “Literature Review” would consist of a hidden text link that someone using the wiki could click on if they cared to see only that section rather than wading through the entirety of my text. Please take this note out after the attempt to do that has been made! Thanks! Please link this to Amadine, Cristin and Dina’s as we are in the same group. I also see some connections to Stacy and Ryan’s work on feedback as I mention that in this wiki so those might flow well together too.)

Introduction:

When it comes to confronting common issues that may arise in Basic Writing classes, it is important for teachers to realize that some of the issues students encounter are not always as simple as they first seem. For some students in Basic Writing classes, their struggles are not based simply on the usual struggles experienced by their classmates. These students may have additional problems to overcome in order to be successful in a classroom because they are struggling with a learning disability.

There are many different learning disabilities and it would be too extensive to discuss all of them here. However, as broad as the scope of working with students who have a Leaning Disability (LD) is, it falls to teachers who are likely to have at least one of these students in their courses to help and support their students through what is often a frustrating and difficult experience.

While it is always up to teachers of Basic Writing to help their students become more confident in the field of writing and their use of the mechanics of language, it is especially important when it comes to LD students because they tend to have a lot more to lose and generally lack confidence when their errors set them back from their classmates. Luckily there are many ways that teachers of Basic Writing can assist their LD students to be successful in a writing course and which may serve to help the other students in the course as well.

By providing reasonable accommodations as requested, keeping their students aware of the right people to speak to, keeping the lines of communication open and remaining patient with their students, teachers of Basic Writing provide not only support for the duration of one college course, but can also encourage students to be successful in their other courses by introducing good study tactics and techniques that can be useful for students in the classroom which contribute to a better environment over all.

This wiki discusses the question of what teachers of Basic Writing can do to assist their LD students to become successful, both in classes and in writing. It covers a wide variety of strategies that teachers may use in class or individually, which they can use in the classroom, as well as tips regarding steps that they can take in helping students who may have an undiagnosed learning disability which may make things difficult.

Literature Review:

When working with students who have an LD, it is important to consider what has been said before and to look briefly at previous literature discussing the issues inherent in teaching in this area. It is important to note that most of this literature did not appear until after the 1980s. Li Huijun and Christine Hamel, in their own review of the literature up until this time contend that during this time “more and more students with LD were entering college and thus enrolling in composition courses and laboring through written assignments (29)” as Huijun and Hamel point out, these students were most likely to encounter teachers who were not likely to have experience in working with their learning disabilities, either in identifying said disability or in helping students to develop ways to work through them.

This lack of literature at the time presented problems for teachers, largely because, as Carolyn O’Hearn pointed out, “the relative absence of scholarship in this area is indeed unfortunate because composition is crucially important to the success or failure of the college student (O’Hearn qtd in Hamel and Huijun, 29).”

This success or failure heavily impacts LD students, because as Amy Milsom points out the percentage of students with learning disabilities who have entered or graduated from college since 1989 is 53 percent as opposed to 64 percent of the general population (Milsom, 436). She also adds that without college, many students with learning disabilities are likely to ‘end up working in low paying jobs with few benefits and little job security (Milsom, 436)”. Because Basic Writing courses are so important in determining College success, it is easy to see why it is important for LD students to succeed in them.

When it comes to helping students to succeed, it is important that teachers know what to do and suggest to help their students who often do not know themselves. Heather Hartman-Hall and David Haaga are quick to point out that “only a minority (Hartman-Hall and Haaga, 263)” of college students with a learning disability seek out academic support services offered by universities. Because these students are in the minority, sometimes it becomes the teacher’s job to point these resources out to those students who are having problems, despite the fact that, as Carolyn O’Hearn points out, “Composition teachers with learning disabled students in their classes, “often find themselves nonplused by the apparently inexplicable inability of those students to perform writing tasks that seem to them to be so simple (O’Hearn, 295).”

When these teachers find these students to be having problems, O’Hearn urges that they look beyond their first impressions of the student and to put them in touch with the proper resources such as those offered at most universities, pointing out that it is “an abdication of professional responsibility (O’Hearn, 301)” to allow the learning disabled student to simply flounder in their class and to allow them to fail unassisted. She also points out that it is important for composition teachers to remember that students do not submit error filled essays out of spite and urges for these teachers both to remember this fact and to help their students as required.

What are some techniques that these teachers can use? Here are a few tips:

Techniques for Helping Learning Disabled Students in the Basic Writing Course:

Be Aware That Learning Disabilities Exist:

While LD is not always visible in the classroom, teachers need to be aware that it exists. Brenda Jo Brueggerman, Linda Feldmeier White, Patricia A Dunn, Barbara A. Heifferon and Johnson Cheu refer to “the invisibility of disability (Brueggerman et al, 369)” and point out that disabilities are not always something which can be seen. Brueggerman et al point out that while teachers may not always be able to determine which students in the classroom are learning disabled, they need to be aware that these students are likely present. David Arceneaux agrees, pointing out that unlike other disabilities “learning disabilities are not immediately apparent to others (Arceneaux, 49)” and thus present a divide between the student’s identity and their performance in a particular area.

In BW courses especially, it can be difficult to tell when someone has a genuine LD or is just inexperienced. Many of the surface errors when it comes to grammar and spelling will seem quite similar, so it is important that the ideal BW teacher, while keeping an eye out for the students with LD, also works to ensure that every student is given the chance to improve these surface details which will prove beneficial in their later college writing courses and in general. Because the work of Basic Writers and the work of students with some forms of LD will look quite similar it can be difficult to determine which students fit into certain categories.

Test For Learning Disabilities As Early As Possible And Document Findings Appropriately:

Often Students who require accommodation through college departments need to be identified by the school as having a learning disability. Robin Farquhar urges teachers to test their students as soon as possible, pointing out that ““With the results of such tests in hand, we can provide a variety of accommodations for our learning disabled students-such as extra time to complete assignments and tests(Farquhar, 7)” . Because such documentation is necessary to get the students the services they need in most Universities, which help the students make legal requests for classroom accommodation, it is important for a Basic Writing teacher to keep in touch with the offices providing these accommodations to stay aware both of which students require extra help and what they need to do to help them.

Communicate And Cooperate With Offices Providing Student Accommodation:

Kate Garnett points out the need for interdepartmental cooperation in organizing services for learning disabled students “in coordinating student needs and coordinating available services” (Garnett, 9). This means that Basic Writing teachers should work closely with the department providing student accommodation to make certain everything remains on track, and to ensure that they are aware of the students with LD documentation who are in their classes.

Allow Students Reasonable Accommodations As Required:

In her survey of LD students, Judith Osgood Smith discovered that 52 percent of the students she surveyed requested accommodations in their classes. Some of these accommodations included:

• Giving students extra time to complete assignments.
• Giving feedback or direct assistance on writing assignments.
• Grading with an emphasis on content rather than on spelling or grammar. (Osgood Smith, 6).

In the Basic Writing classroom, these ideas would prove helpful for any students, not simply students with a Learning Disability, especially in terms of providing feedback and direct assistance. One of Mina Shaughnessy’s most important suggestions for the Basic Writing course in Errors and Expectations suggests using such a “workshop setting(Shaughnessy, 288)” several times a week can be helpful to beginning writing students so that they can discuss their work in detail with both teachers and tutors, “In addition, their work should be reviewed by tutor and teacher at the end of each writing day and comments or suggestions attached to students’ individual folders(Shaughnessy, 288)” she says, citing the need especially for strong feedback and assistance as a writer is developing their skills.

Take Other Approaches In The Classroom:

In their review of teaching techniques that can be used to help students with Attention Deficit Disorder in the classroom, (though the ideas work similarly well for students in a BW course, who are often new to college and may need help in staying organized and on task in a classroom), Peter and Patricia Latham point out that a teacher should:

• Encourage the student to keep a planner listing all assignments, due dates, tests and other important events in the class.
• Have students who have trouble paying attention in the classroom sit near the front so that they may better pay attention to what is going on.
• Take time to get to know the students and allow them to get to know their teachers as well, to keep the lines of communication open. (Latham and Latham,5)

Help The Student Become A Self Advocate And Empower Them To Speak Up:

Milsom suggests the need for LD students to be made aware of their disabilities so that they may know which accommodations they are going to need for college success (439). In short, the student needs to learn to speak up for the things that they need most in order to succeed in a class, While accommodations can be provided, teachers do need to be made aware that their student would like or require help beyond that given in class.

While it is important for Basic Writing teachers to know what to do to get the student initial help and to get the student into contact with the correct offices if they are not aware of them, it becomes up to the student to continue advocating for themselves in future. An effective teacher will help their student to access the appropriate channels for aid while teaching the student ways to do it for themselves in the future, and while offering help, will not attempt to do everything for the student, but encourage them to find the answers for themselves as well.

Don’t Ignore A Student’s Problems:

Garnett points that some students may be allowed to slip through the cracks for a long time, both in terms of their writing abilities and in terms of any form of LD they might have. Letting students get by because a teacher does not care, even if they are aware of an LD or other difficulty can “be devastating for students” and she rightly suggests that these students are done a great disservice by teachers who are fine with “letting them get by in many subject area courses without having to demonstrate reading and writing skills (Garnett, 8) “.

By letting students continue to fail without attempting to help them in any way, teachers do them a great disservice and do not allow them the chances to succeed that they require to be a success not only in college but in life. The ideal Basic Writing course would seek to stop letting this happen, and to teach these students what they need to know, ensuring that they do well in the course not by passing through with a decent grade, but by learning the necessary skills of writing which will set them up to succeed in college altogether.

Therefore the work that Basic Writing teachers do is very important, particularly when it comes to the delicate area of students with LD, who need special consideration and are often ignored in other courses However, by the nature of the ideal Basic Writing course and also by taking these tips into consideration, a good teacher will increase the chances of attaining this success for every Basic Writing student, not only those who present with LD.

Works Cited:

CompPile Search Terms:

Learning Disabilities, Techniques, Teaching, Classroom Management, Basic Writing, Feedback,