Children are responsive to their social environment and their behavior is predisposed to adult influence. When you identify slow learners early, the diagnosis gives a chance for the use of remedial measures in preventing the occurrence of serious behavior problems. Identification of slow learners is possible through observation, educational assessments or social examination of the family history or cultural background the child comes from. Though the three techniques are sufficient if used separately, psychiatrist recommend a combined approach for a more reliable diagnosis.
Some of the obvious characteristics of a slow learner include poor coordination, poor memory, distraction and lack of concentration, poor communication, retarded speech and emotional instability. Dealing with slow learning children requires specially trained teachers with diagnostic skills, tactful negotiators as well as fair disciplinarians.
For slow learners to catch up with classroom activities, they need assistance to adequately deal with auditory and perceptual problems. Teachers engage special techniques such as remedial and corrective teaching. Corrective teaching aims at increasing reading accuracy, developing fluency and building reading comprehension for slow learners. Similarly, remedial teaching involves individual counseling of the child to evaluate and diagnose the extent of their difficulty and seeks to address the feelings of inadequacy and personality disorders that cause slow learning.
To help slow learners grasp concepts with greater ease, modify classroom instruction techniques to suit slow learners requirements. For instance, teachers facilitate direct practical experience rather than theoretical teaching approaches. Similarly, since slow learners have poor memories, it is important for teachers to repeat things because slow learners do not identify with transfer of learning. Teachers must also ensure they develop good work habits in slow learners. For instance, the teacher can encourage the student to study at home.
Often times, slow learners are aware of challenges and they resign themselves to low self-esteem and school avoidance due to past experiences of failure and rejection. They should look for every opportunity to affirm slow learners by praising them when they show remarkable progress. Additionally, teachers must not magnify the mistakes made by slow learners but rather correct them sympathetically. Teachers must choose to emphasize on the student’s strengths and use kind verbal motivation to build the student’s self-esteem.
Slow learners tend to have a bad attitude towards work. They exhibit poor concentration and lack of interest especially in any work that seems hard. Creating individualized study programs and follow up on the student's progress frequently. Since slow learners have a low sense of prioritizing of duties, administer deadlines and guidelines for each subject. Teachers can also reinforce progress of good study habits by creating customized curriculum content as well as encouraging organization which increases the student’s will to overcome difficulties.