Summary:

In the peer-reviewed journal article, “The Brain within Its Groove: Language and Struggling Students,” Katherine D. De Mers describes how assistive technologies can support and enhance learning for all students, particularly students with disabilities and students struggling with
reading and writing. First, De Mers points out not all students perceive language easily or in the same way. Students have a spectrum of learning styles and sensory strengths—visual, auditory, kinesthetic, verbal, etc. Furthermore, many students have an uncomfortable relationship with words, letters, and numbers, and struggle because verbal learning is the privileged style in English Language Arts classrooms. Next, De Mers discusses how special needs can and should be addressed by administrators, teachers, and support staff. Inclusive school settings are recommended while being cognizant that labeling certain behaviors and appearances as normal can marginalize struggling students or students with disabilities. Finally, De Mers advocates teachers differentiate learning instruction using concepts of universal design, which can increase student interest and improve learning outcomes. These concepts include giving diverse learners options for acquiring knowledge (i.e. multiple means of representation); demonstrating what they know (i.e. multiple means of action and expression); and increasing interest, motivation, and accessibility (i.e. multiple means of engagement) (De Mers , 2010, p. 35). Not only can these accommodations benefit students with disabilities and learning differences, principals of universal design can benefit English Language Learners and students with ADHD and behavioral challenges.

Reaction:

How do teachers cultivate a joy of learning in students, especially foundational skills such as reading and writing? I believe teachers are often so focused on outcomes they forget to emphasize the process—and the pleasure—of reading. What makes a lifelong learner? I would argue someone who is also a lifelong reader. To create lifelong readers, we need to think of alternative ways for students to express themselves in ELA classrooms that aren’t dependent on traditionally verbal—or written—practices. Teachers need to expand the definition of authoring to include visual, auditory, and kinesthetic expressions. This article helped me imagine what it may feel like for language to be a painful obstacle rather than a pleasurable extension of daily life. It helped me imagine a “world full of life and sensations but [having] few words and little need for them,” as author Donald E. Lyman wrote in Making the Words Stand Still (De Mers, p. 31-32). In Lyman’s world, like many others’, the world is not made richer with words but more disorienting, uncomfortable, and threatening. The concreteness of objects, such as people’s faces and their voices, are what makes the world real and understandable, not the symbolic representation of the object—its name (i.e. the word for the object). These sensory differences are often viewed as disabilities in school settings but I see them as unutilized, unacknowledged, and invalidated strengths. As De Mers writes, “We naturally think of ourselves as normal until something occurs that causes us to reconsider this assumption” (p. 32). Students like Lyman are marginalized because their behaviors (e.g. sensory perception, learning style, etc.) go against the norm, as countless others do. How do we create inclusive environments so that all students can learn?


Conclusion:

Assistive technologies such as audiobooks, text-to-speech programs, portable electronic readers, close-captioning, and even texting help accommodate students of diverse needs and ability levels and create more inclusive environments. Teacher recognition of individual differences can work to enhance literacy development for all students. If we recognize that all students have differences and differences make us human, teachers and students can celebrate these differences in a safe, inclusive environment so all students can feel normal and worthy in and outside of school.

Reference:

De Mers, K. D. (2010). " The Brain within Its Groove": Language and Struggling Students. English Journal, 100(2), 31-35.

The article source can be found at the UMKC Library.

Copyright 2016. Robyn Allen. All Rights Reserved.