Level of Difficulty - Challenge:
Is the activity/concept too challenging? Is the child avoiding challenge and not willing to take risks? Does the child have the prior knowledge required?
Attention:
Does the child have difficulty sustaining attention? Is the child able to focus? Is the time on task too long for the child? Alternate strategies are often required when a student has been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.
Motivation:
Is the child lacking motivation or is the child lethargic? In this case, why is the child lacking motivation? If the child is lethargic, do you know why? Perhaps some dialogue with parents will help to clarify.
Independence:
Is the child able to work on the task independently? Some children need to be buddied up with a peer as they gradually learn to work independently. Sometimes children have a fear of 'getting it wrong' when required to work on their own and some self-esteem boosting is required.
Understanding:
Does the child fully understand what is expected? Some children just shut down instead of asking for clarification. It may be necessary to have some children repeat what they are supposed to be doing in order to check for understanding. Again, does the child have the prior knowledge needed to move forward with the current learning activity? Be sure to address the needs in the child's IEP if the child has a learning disability.
Attitude:
Children with behavior issues often have negative attitudes toward many learning activities. It's important to establish learning activities that address their strengths. Negative attitudes also stem from the activity being beyond their developmental level. Be sure that the learning activity is worthwhile, authentic and at the child's level.
Tiredness:
Some days, children are just plain tired. Unfortunately they'll need reminders to finish tasks and if it becomes chronic, a conversation with parents will help.
Meaningful Activity?:
Is the activity meaningful? Does the child understand why they are doing the activity? All learning activities should be relevant and authentic. Children need to know why it is important. Using a differentiated approach is most helpful.
Responsibility:
Sometimes you'll find that some students need to be taught what it means to act responsibly and take responsibility over their learning activities. They need to take ownership over their own learning, to help them with this, tracking sheets are often helpful.
In Summary:
It is important to try to determine the 'why' behind a child who isn't learning. When teaching, stick to the Model, Practice and Reinforce model. It is also important to differentiate instruction and to use multiple intelligence theory to maximize all student's learning strenghts. Another useful strategy is to find out your student's preferred learning needs with this checklist.
All students can learn given the right amount of time and support. If you are committed to student learning, learning will happen. When learning doesn't happen, find out why and address those needs.
