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Teaching strategies

Can you tell if you are teaching a student with a learning disability? Not always. Students who have been formally assessed and registered with the Disability Liaison Unit Opens in a new window will be aware that they have a learning disability and may choose to disclose this to you. But as teaching academics we are in no position to diagnose.

What could we be doing to help? Students who have been diagnosed with a learning difficulty early in their schooling and have managed to get to university are often quite self-aware. Often, to overcome the constraints of learning in a traditional school setting, students have had to develop alternative ways of learning, based on their learning strengths. If they have disclosed that they have a learning disabilty, you could ask them to meet with you and talk about their areas of difficulty and the strategies they have found useful.

But not all students will choose to discuss these issues with every one of their lecturers. An alternative approach is to notice how students respond to certain activities in a learning situtation and adopt inclusive teaching strategies which can help support:

  • participation
  • self-directed learning
  • reading
  • information processing.

The behaviours listed in this section are in no way restricted to students with a learning disability, but taking an inclusive teaching approach, the strategies suggested can benefit a range of students having difficulties - whether because of their language background, their previous education, a personal crisis, or physical impairment.

Many of the strategies suggested can become part of an inclusive teaching repertoire which effectively supports all learners meet the challenges of learning in a university setting.

Participation strategies
Student behaviour Inclusive teaching strategies
When information is delivered verbally a student may
  • have difficulty in responding quickly to verbal requests
  • have difficulty identifying main points or key concepts.
When asked to participate in discussions or give a presentation a student may
  • hesitate to participate because of a fear that an answer is not 'correct'
  • not contribute because language skills are limited.
Language strategies
  • Use literal language and very precise meanings.
  • Use carefully worded, unambiguous questions to elicit and test learning.
  • Limit oral questions to a manageable number.
  • Provide a glossary of key terms if a teaching session introduces a large amount of new terminology.
  • Use as many concrete examples as possible when explaining ideas.
  • Do not assume students have understood instructions simply because they can restate the information.
    • Check for comprehension by asking specific questions.
  • Provide step-by-step instructions and say things more than once.
  • Keep the number of key points to a minimum, sequence the items clearly and avoid any language that is likely to confuse the issues.
Learning activities
  • Extend 'wait' time for answers or opinions.
  • Ask students to turn to their neighbour and explain to him or her what they understand of the issue or principle or opinion being discussed.
  • Get them to write down one or more questions that the session has raised for them.
  • Ask them to write down one question that they would like answered in the next session.
  • Use diagrams, charts, tables, flow diagrams, and graphs where they can be used instead of text, or where they can make verbal instructions or explanations clearer.
Self-directed learning strategies
Student behaviour Inclusive teaching strategies
When asked to prepare material for a subsequent class a student may
  • come to the class unprepared
  • misunderstand the requirements of the task
  • not attend the class
  • lack confidence in presenting what he or she has done.
Strategies to support organisation
  • Present visual schedules and calendars for due dates of assignments and exams.
  • Help students to use 'to do' lists and checklists.
  • Encourage students to use a diary, or palm pilot, to organise their schedules and timelines.
  • Help students to develop their own topic-based vocabulary lists, personal dictionaries, emergency numbers, further resources etc.
  • Encourage students to organise their folders and files using coloured dividers, dating and numbering information so they can easily find it when revising for tests.
  • Provide a clear and identifiable member of staff or peer mentor who can offer students support for organisational issues.
Learning activities
  • Put students into pairs and assign each pair to complete one part of the tutorial assignment or some of the tutorial questions for the following week. At the beginning of the next class each pair is given 10 minutes to formulate a response which they can then present to the whole class.
  • Split each tutorial into smaller groups of three or four. Students then discuss tutorial questions or issues (give a time limit) and then one person in the group reports findings back to the whole class. Choose confident students the first few times you do this activity.
Reading teaching strategies
Student behaviour Inclusive teaching strategies
A student may have difficulty
  • understanding printed material.
Accessible handouts
  • When preparing handouts, pay attention to how easy they are to read and consider using more accessible sans-serif fonts. For example use Arial rather than Times Roman.
  • Some students will benefit from having information written on different types of coloured paper as it can cut down the glare of white paper and can aid students with visual perceptual difficulties. It can also help students to organise their information according to different 'colour categories'.
  • Offer a range of lined coloured paper for students to write on (this may have to be photocopied or specially ordered). If students have a colour preference, ensure all handouts are printed on it for them.
  • Use as many visual aids as possible, making sure that they are clear and precise.
  • Make copies of visual aids available to students in electronic format if requested.
  • Number the overheads and slides, and refer to the numbers during the teaching session.
  • Make notes available electronically so that students with an audio learning preference can use screen reader software to listen to the information. Students with visual impairments will also benefit.
Information processing teaching strategies
Student behaviour Inclusive teaching strategies
A student may have difficulty
  • identifying main points
  • in synthesising written texts
  • in processing written texts
  • in following the requirements of a task.
Support for information processing
  • Break up teaching sessions into chunks to allow time for information to be processed.
  • Provide extra time after group sessions to check content has been understood and encourage students to ask for instructions to be repeated, simplified or written down if they misunderstand.
  • Allow time for students to process and answer questions.
  • If students have to move from one activity to another, allow time for some students by giving explicit instructions beforehand to prepare for the new activity.
Learning activities
  • Encourage students to become 'expert' readers. Put students into groups of three or four. Give each student in the group a section of the week's required reading. Model an approach to reading the text. At the next class ask them to explain to the other members of the group what they read about:principles, applications. Each person in the group speaks about their section. The others in the group are encouraged to ask questions either of clarification or to probe meaning.
  • Choose vocabulary or concepts that students will probably find difficult. Allocate one to two words or concepts per student. Ask students to 'investigate' these words and teach them to their group the following week.
  • Provide a glossary of new words.
  • Outline the steps needed to complete a task verbally and visually if possible and then ask the students to tell you what they have to do.
  • Ensure that the learning objectives for the session are clear by presenting them visually. At the end of the lesson ask students to get into their groups and discuss with one another what they have learnt. Then compare what they have learnt with the tutorial objectives.
  • Ask students, at the end of a class, to write down one question they would like answered in the following session. Encourage them to avoid asking questions about facts. The following sites are two of many which give examples of how to question critically.
    Introduction to Socratic Questioning Opens in a new window
    Socratic questions Opens in a new window
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