The art of
remedial teaching
The art of
remedial teaching lies in drafting an effective lesson plan and an IEP for the
student.
Remedial
teaching must be completely child centric. So it automatically follows that
there is no prescribed syllabus or text book that will be suitable to all
children at all times. The remedial teacher should understand the profile of
the child. Profile would mean strengths & weaknesses. The teacher should
use the child’s strengths to address his weaknesses. The Individualized Educational
Plan(IEP) and the lesson plan should
be customized to suit that particular child.
Of course,
there are common mandatory activities like flash card drill, phonetics,
spelling rule, reading intervention etc. which are applicable to all. But at
what level we will begin, what modality will be used, what supplementary
intervention is required (ex: OT, speech therapy etc.) should be child
specific.
Remedial is
not merely a cluster of five/six academic activities. Ex: if a child has done
some reading, writing, spelling, math & comprehension activities along with
some random worksheets, it does not mean that the class is complete. This will
not be beneficial if adequate thinking has not gone behind it. Planning &
goal setting are very important. The teacher should always be alert & have
a reason behind every activity/worksheet/game given. Why am I asking the child
to do this? How do I choose a particular reader/ comprehension passage/math
activity etc.?
Each and
every session is important for the teacher because there is scope to observe
the child & gain some insight about his learning behavior. Every session
should be used by the teacher to understand the child better and to hone her
own skills. With every such experience, her ability to reach the child will get
better. If one cannot reach the child, she cannot teach the child.
Remedial
plan should be purposeful, specific, cumulative and customized. It should
simultaneously be challenging and fun. If it is too easy, the child will not be
motivated & if it is too tough, he will get frustrated. Intervention should
be done with total sensitivity to the child’s level of functioning. It should
have variety, should be multi-sensory and there should be enough scope for
flexibility.
Teachers
will be able to reach the child only if they show some amount of sensitivity
and thought in creating an appropriate lesson plan. IF not improvement of the
child will soon plateau and attending remedial class will become a monotonous,
routine drudgery!
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