Date
16 March 2024

Ask the student what will help

Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Identify student needs and how to provide support’

On this page:

Ask what helps

Ask what helps

Ask students, “What do I do that makes learning easy? What do I do that makes learning hard?”

Discuss possible supports and make these available to all students.

Tate from Onslow College explains what works for him in the classroom.

Support self-advocacy with learner profiles

Support self-advocacy with learner profiles

Having students create a learner profile for themselves is a great way to have them develop a better and fuller understanding of who they are as learners …

This develops their independence and places them in a better position to self-advocate for the tools, learning materials, and presentation options that can optimise their learning experiences.

Naryn Searcy

Source: UDL Resource (opens in a new tab/window)

Source:
UDL Resource

Take a strengths-based approach

Take a strengths-based approach

Know your learners – understand what they can do, what their strengths are, and what their specific needs are.

Find out about:

  • what motivates them
  • what they are good at and enjoy doing 
  • what rewards them and reinforces their behaviours
  • important people in their lives
  • cultural connections and experiences and languages spoken
  • how they like to unwind and relax
  • dislikes and things they avoid
  • how they like to learn and what helps them learn
  • things that make it hard for them to learn
  • what they do when they need help.

Create a safe environment

Create a safe environment

Create an environment where your students are comfortable asking for what they need.

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Source: Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

Source:
Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

Useful resources

Useful resources

Developing learner profiles

Developing learner profiles

Read time: 3 min

This document provides general support and guidance when developing a learner profile. It includes prompts and questions, alongside purpose and benefits for students.

Publisher:

Download PDF (211 KB)

About me

About me

This learner profile template is a companion to "Developing learner profiles". It is an interactive PDF with questions for students to answer.

Download PDF (596 KB)

Next steps

More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Identify student needs and how to provide support”:

Return to the guide “Dyslexia and learning”

Guide to Index of the guide: Dyslexia and learning

Strategies for action:

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