Introduction to Module 5

Previous modules identified: characteristics of learning disabilities; suggestions for screening and assessment, along with supports such as learning and organizational strategies; accommodations; and assistive technology. The need for practitioners to increase their knowledge of assessment and supports in order to develop effective training plans was emphasized. In Module 3, the focus was on the learner's approach to learning a task. A variety of learning strategies, including a description of how to teach a learning strategy using the Strategic Instructional Model (SIM), were addressed. The SIM provides learning strategy instruction that focuses on training learning disabled adults how to learn. In this final module, the focus will be on the practitioner's approach to an instructional task. This practitioner approach encourages the learning of critical skills and knowledge. It is based on learning mechanisms that help learners with diverse needs. The approach focuses on how practitioners think about, adapt, and present skills and critical knowledge in a "learner-friendly" fashion.

The Center for Research on Learning has concluded that both practitioner-focused interventions and learner-focused interventions are needed if learners are to succeed and be capable of demonstrating real-world use of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.¹

Effective instruction that focuses on becoming more responsive to individual needs will be beneficial to all adults, regardless of a disability. Practitioners are not expected to provide an approach to instructing adults with learning disabilities that is different from the instruction they provide for the rest of their learners. The focus in this module will be to provide strategies and tools to enhance practitioners' instructional outcomes by becoming more responsive to learners' needs.