Students with Learning Disabilities in Higher Education - Annotated Bibliography Example

A Literature Review of Students with Learning Disabilities in Higher Education Abstract Teaching is considered as a science and art of employing strategies, schemes, and different tactics to enhance the learning and development of the students. Since teachers are the front-liners in terms of improving the quality of education, teachers must be able to develop and implement teaching and learning strategies based on theories that are effective in molding the mental development of the child. In line with this, teachers should be familiar with different factors that could affect the learning and the overall school performances of the students. Upon knowing certain issues that hinders a student’s learning, teachers could easily make use of different teaching techniques and strategies that can motivate and encourage the students to improve their learning skills. Even though there is a significant increase in the number of students with learning disabilities in higher education, a large portion of these students are unable to complete higher educational program because of their inability to cope with the learning and teaching demands. There are some teaching and learning techniques that can be effective in one situation but ineffective with another situation. Therefore, it is important for higher education teachers to continuously search for new perspective in teaching. Aside from identifying the barriers to the learning of students in higher education, this report will focus on providing a wide-range of strategies that will make higher education teachers effectively remove barriers to learning and improve the learning performance of students with learning disabilities in higher education. Introduction Based on 2008 U.S. Department of Education report, approximately 11% of the total population in U.S. colleges and universities are students with learning disabilities (Mobility International USA, 2010). Among the types of learning disability these students have includes: learning disability or ADD (28%), mental disability (24%), other disability (24%), physical disability (15%), and sensory disability (9%) (ibid). Considering the case of students with learning disabilities, this study will focus on gathering literature review to examine how students in higher education are able to cope with the learning demands. In line with this, some of the barriers that could hinder students with learning disabilities in higher education will be identified followed by discussing strategic ways on how to effectively remove these barriers. Prior to conclusion, strategic ways on how teachers can effectively improve the learning performance of students with learning disabilities in higher education will be tackled in details. Barriers that Could Hinder Students with Learning Disabilities in Higher Education After exploring the difference between the learning capabilities of higher education students with and without learning difficulties, May and Stone (2010) revealed that students with learning difficulties are often times have lower level of intelligence because of their inability to process information they have received from the educators. Upon conducting a phenomenological research study to examine the factors that could create barriers to the learning abilities of the students in higher education, Denhart (2008) revealed that barriers to the learning abilities of the higher students with learning disabilities is often caused by external social factors which often times not understood by the teachers and faculty members. Absence of Special Accommodation in Higher Education for Students with Learning Difficulties Higher education is different from elementary and secondary education in the sense that special accommodation is usually not available in higher education. In line with this, Bruce, Parker, & Renfrew (2006) conducted a research study which aims to investigate the personal views and learning experiences of two women with aphasia who are enrolled in higher education after having stroke. Based on the research findings of Bruce, Parker, & Renfrew (2006), the two interviewees revealed that they are having difficulties in learning simply because they do not have any access to learning support. It is important for each of the higher education teachers to have a good understanding behind each of the students’ learning disability by learning more about each of the students’ strength and weaknesses when it comes to learning (Janiga & Costenbader, 2002). Upon examining the academic performance of students with learning difficulties who were able to receive and not receive accommodations from their teachers, Bolt & Thurlow (2007) revealed that students with reading and math difficulty who were able to receive accommodation from their teachers are more likely to achieve a better academic performance as compared to those students who were denied of accommodation. Reluctance of Students with Learning Disabilities to Seek Special Accomodation from Teachers in Higher Education Educational setting in higher education is very much different as compared to elementary and secondary education system in the sense that special teaching and learning accommodation that is commonly provided to students with learning difficulties are only available in the elementary and secondary schools (Barnard-Brak et al., 2010). As a common knowledge, students with learning disabilities often requires more time intervention in their studies as compared to students with normal learning abilities. Between students with learning disabilities and those with normal learning abilities, students with learning disabilities are the ones who often encounter ‘social emotional issues’ including low levels of self-esteem and insecurities which makes them isolate themselves from other people (Roer-Strier, 2002). Among the factors that has significantly contributed to the low levels of self-esteem among the students with learning difficulties includes their personal experiences of being bullied physically or verbally by their schoolmates who do not have problems in cognitive and emotional development (Luciano & Savage, 2007; Beran & Tutty, 2002). For this reason, students with learning difficulties are often a victim of peer rejection. Since students with learning disabilities are often reluctant and have fears in requesting special teaching support from the teachers in higher education, Denhart (2008) explained that their overall learning experience and learning performance suffer most. Similar to the research findings of Denhart (2008), Barnard-Brak et al. (2010) also acknowledged that the students’s reluctance to seek special accomodation from their higher education teachers is a common learning barriers to the learning progress of students with learning difficulty. Strategic Ways on How Teachers can Effectively Remove Barriers to Learning and Improve the Learning Performance of Students with Learning Disabilities in Higher Education Increasing the Teachers and Faculty Members’ Awareness of the Unique Teaching Intervention Requirements of Each Students with Learning Disabilities Some students with special needs have cognitive problems whereas other students with learning difficulty have physical or sensory impairments, behavioral abnormalities or emotional difficulties. Depending on the specific areas that hinders to a students’ learning process, higher education teachers should be able to directly address the main causes of each students’ learning problems. In line with this, higher education teachers should be able to identify and understand specifi factors that could affect the learning difficulties of each student. By doing so, higher education teachers will be able to think of effective strategies that will convince the students with learning difficulties to actively participate in class. Higher education teachers should be aware that students with learning disabilities are undergoing a transition from high school to post secondary school and from post secondary school to higher education. Several research studies revealed that higher education teachers should be aware and have a good understanding behind each of the students’ learning disability by learning more about each of the students’ strength and weaknesses when it comes to learning (Bruce, Parker, & Renfrew, 2006; Janiga & Costenbader, 2002; Roer-Strier, 2002). Aside from increasing the higher education teachers’ awareness about the special needs of the students with learning disabilities, Roer-Strier (2002) discussed the equal importance of building partnership between the higher education teachers and the students with learning disabilities. By lobbying about the equal rights of these students to have better access to learning, it is possible to lower down the rates of dropout among students with learning difficulties in higher education as well as improve their individual academic achievements. Although students with learning disabilities are capable of absorbing what is being taught to them in class, it is undeniable that majority of the students with learning difficulties would require more teaching time and intervention as compared to the students with normal learning capabilities. In line with this, Denhart (2008) explained that the higher education teachers can effectively remove the barriers to the learning of students with learning difficulties by increasing the awareness of the faculty members concerning the unique teaching approach that is applicable in the case of students with learning difficulties. By encouraging the college of learning disability specialists, it is possible for each of the higher education institution to make it a practice to implement training and development programs which aims to improve the teaching and learning for students with learning disabilities. For instance: By encouraging each of the higher education teachers to participate in the training and development which will be headed by the college of learning disability specialists, higher education teachers will become aware of the importance of using the ATRA in terms of measuring the attitudes of the students with learning disabilities in terms of seaking special teaching and learning accommodation from the higher education teachers. Barnard-Brak et al. (2010) explained that it is possible to effectively increase the learning achievements of students with learning disabilities since a positive improvement in their learning achievements could make them retain and be able to complete their learning in higher education as competitive students (Roer-Strier, 2002). Encourage Students with Learning Disabilities to Seek Special Accommodation from Higher Education Teachers After comparing a total of 191 college students with learning disabilities and 190 students with normal learning abilities in terms of the following areas: academic difficulties, learning strategies, examinations, and students’ perception about the factors that could either help or de-motivate them from achieving academic success, Heiman & Precel (2003) revealed that students with and without learning difficulties could equally achieve the same group grades on average except for the fact that students with learning difficulties are mostly having more difficulty in studying subjects related to humanities, social sciences, and foreign language as compared to students without learning difficulties. Since majority of the students with learning difficulties need more oral and visual explanations to enable them to fully understand the context behind a specific subject (Heiman & Precel, 2003), students with learning difficulties need special assistance from their higher education teacher. Given that most of the students with learning difficulties are experiencing social emotional issues like low levels of self-esteem and insecurities, Roer-Strier (2002) explained that it is important on the part of the higher education teachers to improve the self-esteem of each student with learning difficulties by constantly giving them praise for any little signs of improvements in their academic achievements. This strategy is useful in terms of encouraging students with learning difficulty to have the courage to seek special accommodations from higher education teachers. Another way of encouraging students with learning disabilities to seek special accommodation from their higher education teachers is to promote the use of Attitudes Toward Requesting Accommodations (ATRA) in local colleges and universities. In line with this, the ATRA was developed in order to examine any significant changes in the students with learning disabilities’ attitude towards developing the habit of requesting accommodations from their higher education teachers (Barnard-Brak et al., 2010). Implementing Higher Educational Culture that Widely Accepts the Practice of Peer Tutoring Peer tutoring is a type of cooperative learning technique which can be applied to the learning process of students with learning difficulties. In line with this, the research study results of Evans & Cuffe (2009) and Buckley & Zamora (2007) revealed that encouraging highly competitive students from higher levels to conduct peer tutoring to students with learning difficulties could not only make the volunteer tutors enhance their own teaching and learning skills but also make them able to develop positive attitude towards a more lucrative teaching profession in the near future. For this reason, higher education teachers and the rest of the faculty members should promote the importance of establishing an educational culture that widely accepts the concept of cross-year peer teaching. In most cases, students with learning difficulties need more oral and visual explanations to enable them to fully understand the context behind a specific subject (Heiman & Precel, 2003). By regularly communicating to students with learning difficulty, students who are academically achievers as tutors in peer teaching can easily adjust to the special teaching and learning needs of students with learning disabilities (Evans & Cuffe, 2009). As a result, it is possible to improve the learning environment which is suitable to the case of students with learning disabilities. Aside from conducting peer tutoring in school, the research study of revealed that conducting at least 3 minutes tutoring sessions of home-based peer tutoring for a time span of 3 to 5 months is effective in terms of improving the ability of four girls with learning deficits in mathematics to solve math-related problems. Importance of Modifying the School Curriculum that is Applicable to Students With and Without Learning Difficulties Students with special needs are expected to have difficulty understanding complicated subjects. For this reason, it is necessary for higher education teachers to remove all barriers that could hinder the learning experience of students with learning difficulty. One of the best strategies that could effectively remove the barriers to learning complicated subjects in higher education is to simplify the entire educational curriculum. Aside from the importance of making special accommodations available to students with learning difficulty, Johnson & Monroe (2004) suggested the need to use simplified English words in math-related problems even though the overall scores of students with learning difficulties is still below the average score of students with normal learning abilities. Likewise, it is highly advisable for higher education teachers to develop and implement step-by-step learning instructions and procedures to enhance the learning process of students with and without learning difficulties. This strategy will enable students with learning difficulties easily cope with the teaching and learning demands in class. It is possible for students with learning difficulties to become de-motivated in higher education after receiving continuously unsatisfactory marks in college and universities. Since the learning capabilities of students with and without learning difficulty are different from one another, it is advisable for higher education teachers to practice the concept of educational inclusion when developing learning assessment tools and methods or by extending a special project to encourage low academic achievers to continuously improve their learning performance. The combination of establishing a common group goal and having an individual accountability are considered a common factor that could maximize the effects of cooperative learning on the students’ academic performance. Although the use of individual grading system combined with group grades and team rewards could increase the motivation of students to participate in the group activities, the use of a combined grading and team rewards could result to the possibility of promoting a free-rider effect among the students who chose not to participate in the group activitiy or extend their maximum capabilities to improve the group performance (Michaelsen, Knight, & Fink, 2002, p. 223). The grading system or learning assessment is crucial when using collaborative learning because of the possibility that high achievers could take over all the academic work and leaving the low achievers doing nothing. It is important for higher education teachers not to make use of group grades without taking into consideration the individual accountability of each students in order to avoid de-emphasizing the students’ personal ability and perseverance to strive hard in school activities (Cohen, Brody, & Sapon-Shevin, 2004, p. 67). As part of calculating group grades, Michaelsen, Knight, & Fink (2002, p. 227) suggest the need to make use of peer evaluation scores. Importance of Selecting the Best Teaching Method Applicable for Students With and Without Learning Difficulties Regardless of their educational level, cooperative learning or small group learning has been considered as effective instructional strategies when it comes to enhancing the students’ social skills, student learning process and their academic performances because this type of teaching and learning strategies enables the students to become active in learning (Gillies & Ashman, 2003, p. 36). Aside from improving the academic performance of students with learning disabilities, the use of collaborative teaching and learning method can also benefit students with learning difficulty to have an active social life. Since students with learning difficulties are given the opportunity to learn together with the normal learning students, there is a strong possibility for students with learning difficulty to learn from other students as well. This will increase their overall motivation and perseverance in improving their academic performance. Aiming to develop a variety of effective teaching methods that could promote cooperative learning, researchers like: Johnson & Johnson developed the concept of ‘Learning Together’; Sharan’s ‘Group Investigation in the Cooperative Classroom’; and Slavin’s ‘Student Teams Achievement Divisions’ (STAD) model (Cohen, Brody, & Sapon-Shevin, 2004, p. 21, 68, 72). Even though these teaching methods promote cooperative learning, each of these methods has its own especial functions and proper applications. Aside from effectively improving the students’ learning performance, the application of Slavin’s ‘Student Teams Achievement Divisions’ (STAD) is very flexible since it can be used in any subject at all levels (Omoshehin, 2004). With regards to the use of STAD method as a preferred teaching method for higher education, Omoshehin (2004) revealed that students could end up developing positive attitude towards themselves and other people while they take time to enjoy learning. For example: Higher education teachers can group 4 – 5 students as one team when trying to solve a given case study. Learning Together by Johnson & Johnson is a model that organizes teaching instruction based on the principles of good interdependence, individual accountability including the importance of developing social and collaborative skills through the promotion of one-on-one interaction (Ghaith, 2003). The function of individual accountability in Learning Together is important since it avoids allowing some students to from enjoying a ‘free-ride’ from the work performance of their team members. For this reason, higher education teachers should consider Learning Together as a conceptual framework on how teachers should plan and develop their teaching instruction based on the students’ specific needs and school context. The Group Investigation in the Cooperative Classroom by Sharan & Sharan provides the students with more choices and control over their own learning process as compared with other cooperative learning methods. In the learning process of the students, learners are given the opportunity to be a part of the planning the teaching and learning process by allowing the students to gather information that will be used throughout their class discussion aside from allowing each of the students to synthesize their personal ideas into a group project (Brown & Ciuffetelli, 2009, p. 513). For this reason, students are more likely to develop their own critical thinking. Cooperative learning has been widely used by educational institutions for the reasons that the teaching method is purely based on theory, proven effective by several research studies, and is easily applicable to students of all ages (Evans & Cuffe, 2009; Buckley & Zamora, 2007; Omoshehin, 2004). Similar to the of positive result of Omoshehin’s (2004) study on the impact of cooperative learning on the students’ academic performance, the research study that was conducted by Evans & Cuffe (2009) and Buckley & Zamora (2007) regarding peer tutoring as a form of cooperative learning revealed that this type of learning strategy could effectively improve the students’ academic achievement as well as their interpersonal relationship skills regardless of the subject matter, educational level, or geographical location of the schools (urban, rural, and/or suburban). This study also shows that the application of cooperative learning is proven to improve the learning and academic performance of students that are high, average, and low achievers. Since cooperative learning is usually conducted in group of students which is primarily composed of high, average, and low achieving students belonging to different ethnicity and gender, peer tutoring and learning support being extended to the low achieving students improve the mutual concerns of each students. Considering that cooperative learning enhances the social interaction among the students, the special learning needs of the low achieving students can be fulfilled (Buckley & Zamora, 2007; Ghaith, 2003). In some cases, randomly selected team members could develop and enhance each of the students’ knowledge, skills, and talents to meet their specific end-goal. Importance of Presenting Proper Documentation Regarding the Students’ Learning Disability before Higher Education Admission It is a standard protocol for US higher education admission to gather necessary documentation from each student with learning disabilities concerning their individual needs to receive academic support and added teaching services from higher education teachers. Upon examining the standard of disability documentation submitted by the students with learning difficulties prior to the admission to post-secondary education in Canada, Harrison, Nichols, & Larochette (2008) revealed that the disability documentation that was submitted by a total of 247 students who wanted to apply for academic support were incomplete. Almost half of these students failed to submit psychological report, diagnostic statement which clearly indicates the students’ learning problems or either no documentation at all. With regards to the presentation of proper documentation prior to higher education admission process of students with learning disability, Durlak, Rose, & Bursuck (1994) explained that stating or documenting each of the students with learning disability about their individual learning disability and their individual need for specific instructional accommodations and teaching and learning strategies is important in terms of enabling each of the higher education teachers to be able to provide and address the specific needs of each student with learning disabilities. Conclusion Students with learning difficulties can still achieve good academic performance provided that they can receive strong educational support coming from the higher education teachers. Heiman & Precel (2003) explained that one of the most common differences between higher education students with and without learning difficulties is that majority of the students without learning difficulties could effectively concentrate on their studies through the use of written techniques whereas students with learning difficulties requires the use of more visual and oral explanation in order to enable them to easily comprehend with each subject. For this reason, higher education teachers should be more creative when developing their higher education curriculum and selecting the best teaching method that can make them easily accommodate the special teaching and learning needs of students with learning difficulty. Aside from effectively removing all barriers to learning, higher education teachers can make students with learning difficulty cope with the stress associated with meeting the learning demands in higher education. To encourage more students with learning difficulty to successfully complete their higher education, higher education teachers should work together with students with learning difficulty. By knowing more about the special learning needs of these students and making the learning environment more suitable for their individual learning needs, the success rate in which they will be able to achieve a better academic performance is possible. *** End *** References Barnard-Brak, L., Sulak, T., Tate, A., & Lechtenberger, D. (2010). Measuring College Students’ Attitudes Toward Requesting Accommodations: A National Multi-Institutional Study. Assessment for Effective Intervention , 35(3):141-147 . Beran, T., & Tutty, L. (2002). Children's Reports of Bullying and Safety at School. Canadian Journal of School Psychology , 17(2):1-14 . Bolt, S., & Thurlow, M. (2007). Item-Level Effects of the Read-Aloud Accommodation for Students With Reading Disabilities. 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The Transition From High School to Postsecondary Education for Students with Learning Disabilities. A Survey of College Service Coordinators. Journal of Learning Disability , 35(5):463-470 . Johnson, E., & Monroe, B. (2004). Simplified Language as an Accommodation on Math Tests. Assessment for Effective Intervention , 29(3), pp. 35-45 . Luciano, S., & Savage, R. (2007). Bullying Risk in Children With Learning Difficulties in Inclusive Educational Settings. Canadian Journal of School Psychology , 22(1), pp. 14-31 . May, A., & Stone, C. (2010). Stereotypes of Individuals With Learning Disabilities: Views of College Students With and Without Learning Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disability , 43(6), pp. 483-499 . Michaelsen, L., Knight, A., & Fink, L. (2002). Team-based learning: a transformative use of small groups. Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Mobility International USA. (2010). Retrieved December 6, 2010, from Open Doors Disability & Education Abroad Statistics: http://www.miusa.org/news/opendoorsdisabilitystats Roer-Strier, D. (2002). University students with learning disabilities advocating for change. Disability and Rehabilitation , 24(17):914-924. Omoshehin, M. (2004). Effects of a training programme in cooperative learning of pre-service teachers’ classroom practice and pupils learning outcomes in social studies. In Adesoji, F.A. & Ibraheem, T.L. (eds) "Effects of student teams-achievement divisions strategy and mathematics knowledge on learning outcomes in chemical kinetics. The Journal Of International Social Research . 2009. 2(6):15-25. Read More