Spotting and Supporting Students Who Learn Differently

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Spotting and Supporting Students Who Learn Differently

Educational Psychology · Chapter 7: Individual Differences, Intelligence, and Inclusive LearningSection 7.6 · lesson 64 of 10010 min · free with a free account

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Earn 3 college credits for Educational PsychologyRecommended for credit by NCCRS · Psychology 120 · self-paced · one payment, lifetime access
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In this lesson

Learning disabilities, what they are not, and the framework that finds them early.

  • Define learning disabilities and rule out what they are not
  • Describe dyslexia and dyscalculia and their interventions
  • Explain the three tiers of the RTI framework
  • Identify evidence-based instructional strategies

Transcript

Everything said in the video, section by section (1,208 words). Read along, or search it.

Individual Differences, Intelligence, and Inclusive Learning

Spotting and Supporting Students Who Learn Differently

Some students work hard, receive good teaching, and still cannot read. That combination is not a contradiction. It is a diagnostic signal. This section is about learning disabilities, and about finding them early. We start with the legal definition, which is built mostly out of exclusions. Then dyslexia, and the popular belief about it that is simply wrong. Then dyscalculia, its mathematical counterpart. Then the Response to Intervention framework, and its three tiers. And finally why the grade level at which you catch it matters so much. One theme runs through all of it. The intervention has to match the specific processing deficit. More of the same instruction, delivered louder, is not an intervention.

Definition

What a Specific Learning Disability Is

A specific learning disability is defined under IDEA, so the wording is legal. It is a disorder in one or more basic psychological processes. Processes involved in understanding or using spoken or written language. That can show up in a number of different ways. Difficulty with listening, thinking, or speaking. Difficulty with reading, writing, or spelling. Or difficulty with mathematical calculation. But the definition is really made out of what it excludes. The disability must not be primarily the result of visual or hearing disabilities. Nor of motor disabilities, intellectual disability, or emotional disturbance. And not of environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage. Those exclusions are what distinguish an SLD from every other explanation.

Unexpected

The Diagnostic Signature Is Surprise

So what is left once you have ruled all of that out? What is left is unexpected underachievement. Underachievement that is unexpected given the student's intellectual potential. The difficulty cannot be explained by limited intelligence. Nor by inadequate instruction, nor by environmental disadvantage alone. Surprise, in other words, is the diagnostic signature. Learning disabilities affect roughly five to fifteen percent of school-age students. That makes them the largest category of special education eligibility. They are a heterogeneous group, with different neurological profiles. They present challenges at different levels of language processing. And many of these students possess average or above-average intelligence. These are specific processing differences, not general cognitive limitations.

Dyslexia

It Is Not About Reversed Letters

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability of them all. Estimates put it at five to seventeen percent of the population. That is to varying degrees, which is why the range is wide. It is primarily characterized by difficulties with word recognition. Accurate and fluent word recognition, along with poor decoding and spelling. Now the misconception, which is worth correcting carefully. Contrary to popular belief, dyslexia is not primarily about letter reversals. It is about phonological processing. The difficulties typically stem from deficits in phonological awareness. That is the ability to recognize and manipulate the sound structures of language. The problem lives in sound, before it ever reaches print.

The Intervention

Structured Literacy Has the Evidence

If the deficit is phonological, the intervention has to be phonological too. That is not a slogan. It is the whole logic of the treatment. Structured literacy approaches do exactly this. They systematically teach phoneme-grapheme correspondence. That is the relationship between speech sounds and their written representations. Phonemes are the sounds. Graphemes are the letters that represent them. Structured literacy has the strongest evidence base for students with dyslexia. The key features are that it is explicit, and that it is systematic. Not incidental, and not left to be picked up along the way. Notice why this follows directly from the diagnosis. A student who cannot map sounds to letters reliably will not be rescued. Not by more reading practice on its own.

Dyscalculia

The Mathematics Equivalent

Dyscalculia is the mathematical counterpart, and it is less widely understood. It is a specific learning disability in mathematics. It is characterized by difficulties with number sense. Also with arithmetic fact retrieval, and with mathematical reasoning. And with procedural computation. Students with dyscalculia may struggle to relate numerals to quantities. They may have poor working memory for numerical information. And they often experience high math anxiety. Effective interventions follow the same matching logic as before. Concrete-representational-abstract instructional sequences are the main one. Plus explicit instruction in mathematical language. And frequent spaced practice, to build arithmetic fluency.

Five Profiles

Core Deficit, Then Matching Intervention

It is worth seeing several profiles side by side. Because in each case the intervention is chosen from the core deficit. Dyslexia is phonological processing and decoding. So structured literacy, Orton-Gillingham, and repeated reading. Dyscalculia is number sense, arithmetic and mathematical reasoning. So the CRA sequence, explicit instruction, and number line practice. Dysgraphia affects written expression, fine motor skill and spelling. So keyboarding, graphic organizers, and reduced writing demands. Auditory processing disorder affects sound discrimination and processing. So preferential seating, FM systems, and visual supports. Visual processing disorder affects visual discrimination and tracking. So large print, oral alternatives, and minimized visual clutter.

RTI

Three Tiers, Increasing Intensity

Now the framework that finds these students in the first place. Response to Intervention is a multi-tiered prevention and intervention system. It was formally incorporated into IDEA two thousand four. It came in as an alternative to the traditional discrepancy model. At Tier one, all students receive high-quality, evidence-based core instruction. That happens in the general education classroom, for everybody. Progress is monitored regularly, which is what makes the tier work. Students who fall below expected benchmarks receive additional Tier two support. That support is delivered in small groups. Students who do not respond adequately move to Tier three. Tier three is intensive and individualized. And it may accompany a referral for special education evaluation.

The Shift

From Wait to Fail, to Watch and Act

RTI represents a genuine philosophical shift, not just a procedure. The old approach has an unkind but accurate nickname. Wait to fail. You waited for the gap to grow large enough to measure. RTI replaces that with proactive, data-driven early intervention. It documents a student's response to progressively intensive instruction. Evidence-based instruction, delivered in a defined sequence. That documentation then serves two purposes at once. It guides instructional planning, and it feeds the identification process. Critics of the model raise a fair objection about implementation. Full implementation requires substantial professional development. It also requires collaborative structures and reliable progress-monitoring systems. Those are not universally available, which limits the model in practice.

Classroom Example

Three Students, Eight Weeks, Two Outcomes

Here is RTI running in an actual second-grade classroom. A teacher uses weekly oral reading fluency probes. Three students are performing below the class mean. She refers all three for Tier two support. A reading specialist provides thirty-minute daily small-group instruction. It uses a structured phonics program, and it runs for eight weeks. Then the results separate the three students. One responds strongly, and returns to Tier one monitoring. Two show limited progress, and are referred for comprehensive evaluation. Look closely at what that intervention accomplished. It did not only help one child catch up. It produced evidence about the other two that no single test could supply.

Early Matters

Why the Grade Level Changes the Outcome

One finding should shape how urgently you act on all of this. Learning disabilities identified and treated early produce far better outcomes. Ideally that means kindergarten through second grade. Substantially better long-term outcomes than identification in later grades. There is a neurological reason behind that finding. The reading brain is most plastic in early childhood. So intensive early phonological intervention is especially powerful. Particularly for students at risk for dyslexia. This is also the strongest argument for RTI over the discrepancy model. Waiting for a measurable gap costs you the years that matter most. The delay is not neutral. It spends the window while it is open.

About Educational Psychology at UPI Study

Educational Psychology (Psychology 120) is a self-paced online course of 100 video lessons in 11 chapters, from memory, conditioning and child development to motivation, individual differences, assessment, instruction and educational technology. It carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits.

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Why students take Educational Psychology with UPI Study

How people learn, and how to teach themEducational Psychology explains how students learn, develop and stay motivated, and how teachers assess and support them. It is a standard course in education and teaching degrees and a common psychology elective.
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130,000+students helped with college creditsACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Where the credit goes

Universities that work with NCCRS

Educational Psychology carries a NCCRS credit recommendation. These universities work with NCCRS; some are UPI Study's signed partners. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Thomas Edison State UniversityThomas Edison State UniversitySigned partnerUniversity of the PeopleUniversity of the PeopleSigned partnerCharter Oak State CollegeCharter Oak State CollegeSigned partnerStrayer UniversityStrayer UniversitySigned partnerColumbia Southern UniversityColumbia Southern UniversitySigned partnerIndiana TechIndiana TechSigned partnerPenn StatePenn StateWorks with NCCRSSouthern New Hampshire UniversitySouthern New Hampshire UniversityWorks with NCCRSSUNYSUNYWorks with NCCRS +many more cooperating universitiesFind my college →

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FAQ

Questions students ask us

About Spotting and Supporting Students Who Learn Differently

What is a specific learning disability?
Under IDEA, a specific learning disability is a disorder in one or more basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using spoken or written language, affecting skills such as listening, reading, writing, spelling or math calculation. It must not be primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor disabilities, intellectual disability, emotional disturbance, or environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage. Its signature is unexpected underachievement.
Is dyslexia caused by seeing letters backward?
No. Dyslexia is not primarily about letter reversals; it mainly stems from weak phonological awareness, the ability to recognize and manipulate the sound structure of language. It shows up as difficulty with accurate, fluent word recognition, decoding and spelling. Structured literacy, which explicitly and systematically teaches how speech sounds map to letters, has the strongest evidence base for students with dyslexia.
What is dyscalculia?
Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability in mathematics involving difficulties with number sense, arithmetic fact retrieval, mathematical reasoning and procedural computation. Students may struggle to relate numerals to quantities, have poor working memory for numbers and experience high math anxiety. Effective support includes concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) sequences, explicit instruction in mathematical language and frequent spaced practice to build fluency.
What are the three tiers of Response to Intervention?
Response to Intervention (RTI) has three tiers of increasing intensity: core instruction for all, small-group support and intensive individualized intervention. Tier 1 is high-quality, evidence-based classroom instruction with regular progress monitoring. Tier 2 adds small-group support for students below benchmarks. Tier 3 is intensive and individualized and may accompany a referral for special education evaluation. Formally incorporated into IDEA 2004, RTI replaces the "wait to fail" discrepancy approach.

About the Educational Psychology course

How many college credits is Educational Psychology?
Educational Psychology (Psychology 120) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
How much does Educational Psychology cost and what is included?
$250, paid once, with lifetime access: all 100 video lessons, a practice quiz after each, the graded work and final exam, and an official transcript when you finish. Students who want several courses choose UPI Study PRO instead.
Which universities accept UPI Study credits?
UPI Study has signed partner agreements with universities such as Thomas Edison State University, University of the People and Charter Oak State College, and works with universities such as Penn State, SNHU and SUNY. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Use "Find my college" on this page to check yours.
How long does Educational Psychology take?
It is self-paced with no deadlines. The 100 lessons total about 15 hours of video; most students add reading and practice time and finish in a few weeks to a few months, on their own schedule.
How are the exams done?
Quizzes and assignments are online in the course. The final exam is taken online with proctoring; a person on the UPI Study team checks assignments, usually within two days.
How do my credits reach my college?
When the course shows 100% complete, request the official transcript from your dashboard. It is sent to the college you name, and you can send it to more than one. Check your college first with "Find my college" on this page, or ask Athena.

Ready for the full course? Earn 3 credits in Educational Psychology.

100 video lessons, a quiz after each one, and the graded work that earns the credit. Recommended for credit by NCCRS.

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