Students with learning difficulties tend to learn better in the online environment, but institutions are not doing enough to prepare instructors to meet their needs, says Mary Beth Crum, an online instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

The National Centre for Education Statistics concludes that students with learning difficulties might be affected by a group of disorders that affect their ability to acquire and use listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or maths skills. This makes the challenges each student faces unique.

However, it is possible to make generalisations with respect to some common patterns of behaviour each student experiences, such as decreased motivation to learn and not being proactive in their learning. This is especially noticeable in science and maths classes, which develop students’ skills in making conclusions, analysing and problem-solving.

So it is interesting that students with learning difficulties tend to learn better in an online environment where researchers say more motivation and self-discipline is required.

Crum explains that online learning provides students the opportunity to hide their learning disabilities from classmates, which can be a welcome relief from the unwanted attention they receive in their face-to-face classes.

My student frequently forgot to inform me of test and assignment dates and had trouble recalling which topic was being taught in class. This was problematic because it resulted in a disconnect between what I reinforced in our tutoring time and what he was being assessed in class. And often this resulted in poor grades on tests, despite tutoring.

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In these past few weeks, he has taken the initiative to inform me of impending assignments and quizzes. He said: “I have everything I need around me, so it’s easy to remember.”

He is able to manage an online learning environment and he can choose the extent, and nature, of his interaction with other participants.

A 2015 study conducted by Miri Shonfeld and Ilana Ronen from Israel’s Kibbutzim College of Education compared the performance of students with learning difficulties to that of excellent students and average students in an online science class. The former reported higher levels of self-directed learning in comparison to the others.

So how can teachers best support students with learning difficulties during online instruction?

The challenges most often reported generally fall into two broad categories: first; a mismatch between students’ specific learning style preferences and the online learning environment, and second; challenges in communication.

Detailed and timely feedback on assignments is one way to maintain effective communication with students online. Extending deadlines with follow-up reminders helps students stay on top of assignments.

Crum has found that when students who need extra time initially receive it, they tend to get subsequent assignments in on time. Planning becomes a way for them to reach their potential once the obstacle of a due date is removed.

My student still finds processing large bodies of text difficult. Summarising key points, concepts and formulas facilitates his recall.

Unfortunately, my teacher training programme did not include teaching online or identifying students with learning difficulties. Most teachers learn to work with these students through trial-by-fire. The reality is, it does not matter how many professional development courses a teacher has attended, teachers learn how to reach kids with learning deficits only through practice – by a willingness to commit time to collaborate with families, trying out strategies that improve their learning, and by tweaking lesson plans to accommodate these students in their classrooms or via online teaching.

Also, schools need to provide teachers the time to undertake these changes to their instruction because one size no longer fits all.

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I have noticed an increase in the number of students with learning difficulties over my teaching career.

Ann Bridgewater, a clinical psychologist in Hong Kong who specialises in children and adolescents, attributes this to a greater awareness amongst teachers and parents, better tools for assessment, clearer diagnostic criteria and guidelines, and more access as well as willingness to seek professional help and testing. “Many students would have gone undetected previously,” she says.

And because of more integration into mainstream classes, the average teacher is seeing more students with learning difficulties in his or her class.

“Class sizes are bigger now and curriculum is harder. Therefore, expectations of students is higher and learning difficulties are becoming more visible,” Bridgewater says.

I asked my student how he felt about his ability to handle online learning. “I am doing good,” he said with a confident smile.

Anjali Hazari is a retired international-school biology educator who has taught for three decades in Hong Kong and has received several accolades in her teaching career. She continues to tutor and write extensively on education policy and practice.