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Educational Psychology, Studying and Learning Strategies

Introduction

The ability to learn effectively is imperative as it motivates the child and encourages positive perception of education. This enables the child to be able to acquire quality education and have lucrative career prospects. Learning disabilities on the other hand compromise the ability of the learner to attain this goal. It is because of the fact that they make the process frustrating and difficult when the respective child fails to keep up with the pace of other students. This is the case with Joe, a seven year old in the second grade in elementary school. He is suffering from dyslexia, a learning disability that has made it difficult for him to acquire literacy skills effectively. In particular, he experiences significant problems with processing language education. As such, he can not read, write, spell and speak effectively. This has frustrated his efforts to keep the pace with other students and as such, he has become disinterested in education. There are different effective strategies that can be employed by his parents in helping him to cope with the problem effectively.

To begin with, the parents need to address the emotional problems that Joe faces in school. In their review, Perogoy and Owen indicate that students with dyslexia tend to get frustrated when their efforts to catch up with other students fail (50). There is a possibility that Joe could be facing intimidation from the classmates or schoolmates. This can be used to explain inherent disinterest in education. In this regard, the social theory indicates that social inclusion is important and imperative for effective functioning. The rebellious attitude assumed by Joe is a normal reaction to the “hostile” environment provided at the school. The parents should therefore liaise with the teachers to ensure that Joe is not intimidated in schools and that his efforts are appreciated by both the students and teachers.

Since Joe is already frustrated, professional psychological help could be a good starting point. In this respect, the parents can take him to a professional counselor for him to be given guidance with regard to dealing with the relative social issues. Woolfolk cites that psychotherapy is also imperative because it enables the patient to accept his or her condition (92). With respect to Joe’s case, acceptance of the situation at this tender age can enable him to devise viable learning strategies. Furthermore, this would prevent him from being frustrated in incidences when he fails to keep up with the pace of other students.

The second strategy that can be employed by Joe’s parents is to increase the complexity of the tasks when helping them with language problems at home. This strategy is derived from the realization that students problems related to dyslexia tend to experience problems with recognition of the breaks between different words (Sprenger 69). Furthermore, they also experience difficulties with accurately remembering the spelling of the words. In other words, they can not effectively differentiate between different syllables. Most importantly, the children experiencing this learning problem find it difficult to differentiate between different sounds of the words that they come across. According to Sprenger, increasing the complexity of tasks is important because it exposes the child to different words and enables the same to decipher differences (74). Repeated exposure to similar tasks can lead to frustration, especially when the child fails to grasp a particular concept.

Notably, children with this learning disability experience difficulties with regard to recalling words. Perogoy and Owen explain that this is because they process the words at a much slower rate than their counterparts. (88) This is regardless of the fact that they could be familiar with the respective words that they could be finding difficulties to recall. In this regard, parents can assist by encouraging the child to use English language more often. In addition, they can provide the same with various story books and assist in reading the same for instance during bedtime.

In his study, Wooflock notes that irrespective of the fact that Joe has a literacy problem, the fact that memory in children of his age can be easily trained makes it possible for him to overcome the challenge (78). This can be attained through employment of a wide range of mnemonic techniques. Some of the suggested techniques that the Joe can use to enable him recall the word easily include acronyms, keywords, peg words and use of spelling mnemonics. For example, the word cemetery can be easily associated with the sound screaming. Thus every time a cemetery is mentioned by the parents, Joe in this regard can be able to recall the sound screaming. Alternatively, the parents can assist Joe to enhance his spelling by relating the numbers to letters. Effective employment of this however requires the student to have the ability to relate the words with the letters easily.

When helping Joe with school work, the parents need to lay great emphasis on employment of multisensory strategy of instruction. In particular, the auditory, visual and kinesthetic approaches need to be employed either in rapid succession or simultaneously. In this regard, the cognitive theory postulates that the method of instruction needs to be in line with the student abilities in order to attain optimal results. Since Joe already lacks an interest in literacy education, employment of passive approaches of instruction are likely to further compound the situation. Sprenger cites that passive modes of instruction trigger incidences of misbehavior especially amongst young scholars (69).

In order to avoid incidences of misbehavior that could further aggravate the situation, a more engaging approach needs to be adopted. For instance, parents can talk for five minutes, use visuals for another five minutes and employ the kinesthetic approach for another five minutes. This does not only improve concentration but it also enhances understanding of the topic being taught. This would have positive impacts on the learning process as the resultant developments would encourage the parents and Joe to continue with the practice. Moreover, the fact that the learning would be taking place in a less crowded environment would enhance understanding. According to psychological studies, a less crowded environment for such students enhances concentration. Further, it reduces incidences of competition that yields counterproductive effects.

Conclusion

Learning disabilities have adverse effects on the process of learning because of the inherent frustration and difficulties. This can be particularly intimidating for young scholars like Joe who attend group sessions. The efforts of the parents can be fruitless if they do not base the same on professional help. Seeking therapeutic help, increasing the complexity of the tasks, employing mnemonics to enhance memory and using multiple methods of instruction can be imperative in helping Joe to cope with the challenges.

Works Cited

Anita, Woolfolk. Educational Psychology. (11th Ed). USA: American Psychological Association, 2010.

Marilee, Sprenger. Learning and Memory: The Brain in Action. USA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1999.

Suzanne, Perogoy & Owen, Boyle. Reading, Writing and Learning in ESL. USA: Allyn & Bacon, 2008.