Teaching is a notable profession that should be driven by passion and the desire to help others improve. This is attributed to the fact that teachers usually encounter several challenges in their quest to disseminate knowledge and skills to the learners. However, there are cases where the duty of a teacher may be hindered by the challenges that may be faced by the students. In the event where students are faced with the challenges such as depression, hearing loss or even autism, a teacher will find it challenging to issue instructions compared to what could have been the case when the students do not have any challenge. This paper seeks to outline three selected challenges that might be faced by the students. For this reason, the paper will highlight how the challenges faced by the students will impact how they function in the classroom and the approaches that can be undertaken by a teacher to meet the diversity of their learning needs.
Hearing Loss in Classroom
The loss of hearing is a significant learning challenge that may be encountered by students. In this regard, modifications and accommodations characterizing the classroom environment can be undertaken as a significant approach aimed at helping such students. Such modifications and accommodations will help ensure that those with the hearing loss are not alienated in the entire learning process (Provenzano, 2018). Therefore, a teacher will be prompted to adjust the teaching strategies when dealing with the specific needs among students characterized by the loss of hearing. Other necessary modifications can also be done in terms of the seating placement and even keeping the classroom door closed for the purpose of minimizing the extraneous noise. Besides this, it should be noted that there are other audio technologies can be adopted by a teacher in the classroom to work in conjunction with other hearing aid being used by the students experiencing hearing loss. Such approaches will be beneficial in facilitating easy communication processes of such students. It is for this reason that the respective parents should consider meeting the audiologist, the special education teacher and the pathologist to determine the appropriate modifications and accommodations that can be explored to suit the needs of a student characterized with the hearing loss(Hearing Loss in the Classroom | Decibel Hearing, 2018). Some of the available classroom technologies that can be implemented for the case of students with hearing problems include the induction loop system, FM systems, and even the remote microphones. For instance, it should be noted that the FM systems are usually designed to help people hear the speech appropriately in noisy environments.
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In most cases, it can work as a standalone system or even in conjunction with the cochlear implant hearing aids and other auditory management technologies. It is an important consideration because its deployment can help a student characterized by any level of hearing loss. Conducted studies have established that having FM systems in the classroom environment can be beneficial to all students, even those that may not be having hearing loss.
The challenge of hearing loss in the classroom will also imply that the schools have to use hearing loops and the induction loop system frequently. For the case of hearing loops, their deployment in the classroom environment can help connect students and the teachers using an audio system and the microphone. In this case, its implementation also helps the cochlear implants and the hearing aids that may be used by students with hearing the loss in the classroom to pick up communications. Such students will be able to pick up sounds from the microphone devoid of the unwanted background noise.
Hearing assistance technology (HAT) is another approach that can be pursued by teachers to help the students characterized by a loss of hearing. In this case, HAT will assist in remotely connecting the audio devices and the microphone to ensure easy access of students to all information being disseminated by the teacher. Furthermore, the HAT devices can help the loss of hearing students interact with others by bringing the sound and speech directly to the cochlear implant and the hearing aid devices being used by the students with a loss in hearing capability. Strategically positioned speakers can also be used by the teachers and school administrators to meet the learning needs of students with the hearing loss in the classroom. Besides helping them, this approach can also be beneficial to other students at the school (Provenzano, 2018). Even though dealing with the students characterized by the hearing loss in the classroom may be overwhelming to be addressed strategically, several approaches can be pursued by teachers to meet the learning needs of such students. Therefore, implementation of such measures will help ensure that the students with hearing loss in the classroom are provided with an equal platform to meet their learning needs like the normal students.
Autism
Autism is another learning challenge that may be faced by students, thus impacting significantly on their normal functioning in the classroom. In such a case, transition warnings and a routine can be implemented to help students with autism (Smith, 2018). However, caution should be exercised to avoid scenarios that can cause anxiety such as fire drill, field trip or even a substitute teacher. For the learning needs of such students to be met, teachers can adopt a visual schedule as a helpful tool to enhance the teaching of students with autism (Provenzano, 2018). Considering that a student having autism will need extra time for processing the language, a teacher should consider using short sentences and simple language in the entire teaching process. For instance, a teacher can achieve this by giving the respective students with autism for at least three seconds for them to respond to the asked questions and statements. If there is a need to repeat during the teaching process, a teacher should not rephrase.
Furthermore, receptive and expressive languages can be deployed in the entire teaching process to help meet the learning needs of the students with autism. Even though such students may understand much more than what the teacher may initially think, they may not be able to put them into worlds. It is for this reason that such students are likely to quote complicated long phrases during the learning process without even understanding the meaning of the specific words. Therefore, this reiterates the need for teachers to deploy specialized strategies aimed at addressing the learning needs of such students. This is attributed to the fact that students with autism have the likelihood of getting stuck on one subject. For instance, a child with autism may want to dwell on Disney movie characters for long or even get stuck in a continuous loop. Therefore, it will be the duty of teachers to incorporate such topics of interest into their learning to effectively meet their needs. There are also cases where a student with autism may need the help of teachers with social interactions. In this case, a majority of such students are usually disinterested in their peers, implying that they may end up not learning social skills unless the teachers intervene to help them keep trying (Provenzano, 2018). It is for this reason that when dealing with such students, teachers should also subject them to various scenarios aimed at teaching them social skills. This is a necessary consideration since such aspects cannot be recreated at home. Therefore, teachers should use every available opportunity in school to teach them various social skills (Smith, 2018). However, such measures should be adopted by teachers when knowing that students with autism usually use stereotypic behaviors when they are bored, excited or stressed. Therefore, positive reinforcement should be embraced during the entire learning process as opposed to punishments.
Depression
Depression is another learning challenge that may be faced by students. In this case, it can occur during the adolescence, at a time of significant personal change among the students. This is attributed to the fact that a student will be facing changes when they go to school, amongst their friends and even when undertaking the after-school activities. In most cases, this can be manifested in terms of the different feelings regarding the type of person a given student aspires to be as well as the visualized future plans. Considering the grave concerns regarding depression among students, teachers should incorporate it into their teaching strategies to help enlighten students regarding it. For instance, a teacher can teach how students can establish if they have depression, its symptoms, and the possible causes. In this case, the provision of such information can help students learn appropriate ways in which they can avoid possible problems of depression as they transition from one stage to another (Provenzano, 2018). Furthermore, teachers can also play a major role in such cases by enlightening students regarding various aspects related to depression and their mental wellbeing. For instance, lessons can be provided on how to treat depression and its possible causes, thus equipping students with crucial knowledge on the approaches they can undertake to avoid the challenge of depression in their life.
Conclusion
Depression, autism, and hearing loss in the classroom have been highlighted as the key challenges that may face students. As such, the loss of hearing is a significant learning challenge that may be encountered by students. In this regard, modifications and accommodations characterizing the classroom environment can be undertaken as a considerable approach aimed at helping such students. Besides this, Autism is another learning challenge that may be faced by students, thus impacting significantly on their normal functioning in the classroom. On an additional note, Depression is another learning challenge that may be faced by students. In this case, it can occur during the adolescence, at a time of significant personal change among the students.
References
Depression and High School Students Answers to students’ frequently asked questions about depression. (2018). Retrieved from https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/safeschools/Resources/NIMH%20National%20Institute%20of%20Mental%20Health/NIMH%20depression-high-school-students.pdf
Hearing Loss in the Classroom | Decibel Hearing. (2018). Retrieved from https://decibelhearing.com/hearing-loss-classroom/
Interview: A Very Special (Education) Teacher | All Education Schools. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.alleducationschools.com/blog/special-education-teacher-interview/
Provenzano, N. (2018). 3 Ways to Make Meaningful Connections with Your Students. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/make-meaningful-connections-with-students-nick-provenzano
Smith, L. (2018). 12 Things I’d Like Teachers to Understand about Autism | Autism Speaks. Retrieved from https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/12-things-id-teachers-understand-about-autism
Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss | Accommodations for Students with Hearing Loss. (2018). Retrieved from https://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/for-professionals/accommodations-for-students-with-hearing-loss/
