Terri Wattawa on "Tips For Helping A Struggling Student"

Whether your child is a struggling learner or you are a teacher with one or more students being challenged by the curriculum, figuring out how to best approach the situation can be tough. Struggling learners have to work harder to complete the tasks asked of them by the school system and can often feel overwhelmed and lost when they can’t understand something everyone else seems to be getting. Here are the ways you can help a child having a difficult time in school.

Tell them that everyone struggles with something
First and foremost, make sure they know that they are not alone. Provide a few examples of historical geniuses that had a hard time learning in school- there are plenty of them. This will allow them to feel like just because they are having a hard time now doesn’t mean that they are any less intelligent than anyone else.

Incorporate multi-sensory learning
Multi-sensory learning is a type of learning that involves the engagement of all the senses. The child may respond better to having sight, sound, and touch involved during the learning process or you may find that they do better with just one.

Introduce one concept at a time
Remember to take it slow. Introducing too much information can be distracting and hard to handle. Once a child becomes discouraged it can be hard to get them back on track. Introduce one concept at a time and make them feel good after they finish each task. They will be motivated to move on to the next one.

Make reviewing a priority
You want to re-cap the entire lesson at the end so all of the information has time to sink in. This is where it all starts to “stick” and can be a good measure of progress throughout a lesson.

Keep lessons short and frequent

Sometimes a big issue is simply a matter of attention span. Spending long hours doing anything can become a chore for anyone- no matter what age. Keep this in mind and try to keep your lessons short but more frequent.

Watching a child struggle while learning is tough- but there are a lot of things you can do to help get them on track, feeling confident in themselves, and motivated to learn. Follow these tips to help the children in your life have a positive learning experience.

Terri Wattawa originally published this article on her website.

About The Author: Dr. Terri Wattawa is an experienced educational consultant based in Phoenix, Arizona. For over twenty years Terri has worked in the education field in a variety of roles including as a teacher, principal, and consultant.