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Dr.R.V.Anuradha
Department of Education
The English and Foreign Languages University
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

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Introduction:

Learning is a complex activity which involves many skills and sub skills. As a matter of fact,
learning is a continuous process i.e. learning and mastering of one concept serves as the
foundation for further learning. Therefore, each layer of learning should be strong and long -
lasting. Then alone one can say that the entire learning process went on well.

But as time passes, some gaps are formed in the learning. Because of law of disuse, pupils
tend to forget a part of their learning. Sometimes, some concepts are not correctly and fully
understood. All these drawbacks create obstacles in the process of future learning and it is
adversely affected. This can be compared to human body which functions well if different
systems of human body function well. A slight defect in one of the systems disturbs the
normal functioning of human body.

It becomes necessary to identify the defect, provide correctives in the form of medicines and
set it right. Contrary to what is said, remedial teaching is done perfunctorily without
identifying students¶ areas of difficulty and underlying cause for their lagging behind. Some
students are unsympathetically branded as `block heads' without an earnest attempt to know
the real cause of their slow learning.

There is a need to study the causes for defective learning and suggest remedies. Teachers play
a vital role in the entire remedial teaching process. This paper attempts to study the role of
teachers in Remedial Teaching and the effect of teachers¶ attitude in developing the slow
learners or under achievers in the context of remedial teaching. An attempt is made to suggest
strategies to achieve success in remedial classes.

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Each pupil is different in terms of learning ability, academic standards, classroom learning
and academic performance, and each pupil has his own strategy for learning. The objectives
of this paper are to,

î‘ Identify the pupils who lag far behind their counterparts in academic school
performance
î‘ Analyse teachers¶ attitudes towards remedial teaching
î‘ Suggest strategies to achieve success in remedial teaching
î‘ Plan strategies to organise remedial teaching
î‘ Propose measures to give additional help to pupils who, for one reason or another,
have fallen behind the rest of the class in various subjects.

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Remedial teaching is identifying slow learners and giving them the necessary guidance to
help them overcome their problems, after identifying their areas of difficulty.

µTo remedy¶ means to cure against a defect. The word "remedial," by both print and web
definition, means "to rectify, improve or remedy something." And so it should be in the
remedial teaching arena. It is a process of filling in the gaps in the previous learning, a
process of removing distortions that have crept into pupils learning. It is a type of instruction
through which errors are corrected and repetition of earlier flaws is prevented. It is a
purposeful effort to reinforce the forgotten parts introduced earlier. To sum up, it is an
instructional effort to upgrade underachievers by remedying their errors.

Need and utility of remedial teaching: Remedial teaching is useful to pupils and teachers
because of following reasons.

1. It fills in the gaps that have crept into pupil¶s learning.

2. It provides for reinforcement of the parts or structures that are forgotten due to disuse.

3. It rectifies the concepts of a subject that have been misunderstood.

4. It provides correct and necessary foundation which is useful for future learning.

5. It hastens the process of learning.

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 . Underachievers are encouraged to put in more efforts to update their learning as a
result of which there is homogeneity in the class.

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½ho is an under achiever? In the present system of education, students are identified as under
achievers purely on the basis of their poor performance in the examination, and the
performance in most cases deviates from what is taught. Consequently even talented students
are sometimes misconstrued as dullards. So, an under achiever is one whose performance is
very dismal in the examination. He is neither mentally retarded nor is on the lower rungs of
intelligence scale.

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The reasons for under achievement are innumerable. One of the main reasons is the
heterogeneous composition (mental age & physical age) of overcrowded classes in all
government and private educational institutions which produces slow learners. So the
incapacity of the teacher to pay individual attention to a student over a long period of time
makes a student a slow learner. A slow learner is thus a product of negligence of institution at
different stages of learning, in spite of his innate capacity to learn.

There are some problems very specific to the individual. Ill health, lack of concentration, less
exposure to the subject taught and parental background are some causative factors for slow
learning. Talents differ. A child¶s capacity to learn different subjects varies from student to
student. For instance, learning mathematics is a knack. ½hile other subjects can be learnt at
any stage, it is very difficult for students to learn mathematics without the basics. Students
show interest in the subjects they like and neglect other subjects if not taken care of. An
urban child learns languages like English well while a rural child cannot, however well the
teacher tries to explain.

In a class, there may be some pupils who do not seem to make satisfactory progress in
learning a subject. The causes of their underachievement should be detected and they should
be set right with the help of correctives. It is very important to identify the students who need
remedial teaching. The following are some of the ways, which help a teacher to identify
them:

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î‘ Class interaction: An under-achiever will give wrong answers frequently to the

questions asked. He will appear to be confused. He may probably not respond to
the questions asked in the class at all.
î‘ Home assignment: An under-achiever will not do the homework. If pressurised to
complete the work, he may resort to copying, which may be easily detected.
î‘ Tests: He will show poor performance consistently in tests. He will either not
attempt the question(s) at all or, will do scribbling and overwriting. He may even
try to copy the solution to the problems from his peers.

    


 

î‘ Attitude towards academic activities: He will be disinterested in such activities.

He will try to refrain himself from such activities. He will try to avoid discussion
about academics with his peers or teachers.
î‘ Class escapism: He will try to bunk classes for one reason or another. He will give
excuses for not attending classes.
î‘ Fiddle with notebooks instead of studying: He will be found to fiddle with
notebooks and books instead of studying.

Having said and done all the above, the one question which arises time and again is ± are the
teachers really ready for teaching in remedial classes? Many of the teachers often are unable
or unwilling to make a complete gift of themselves to their profession for one reason or
another. They bemoan the weaknesses of their pupils and the conditions under which they
work and who fail to sense that it is their own half-hearted efforts that defraud them.

Here comes the need to discuss some important strategies which help the teachers in
successfully dealing with the remedial classes. However this comes true only when teachers
are ready and willing to take up the remedial teaching task.

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Remedial teaching is not re-teaching. Any remedy however costly or sophisticated is useless
unless it cures the disease. A remedial teacher should ± with the mentality of a sympathetic
doctor ± develop love and care for his/her students.

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Emma Golmam says ³No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness, and
generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to
unlock that treasure.´ A teacher should have sympathetic attitude towards the weaknesses of
some students who may learn at a slower pace. Instead of being rigid and demanding in his
behavior towards slow learners, he must make them feel that he is there to help them. Some
errors and unaccepted behaviour may creep into learning because of factors like lack of
motivation, poverty, bad health, ineffective teaching. Therefore, sympathetic treatment is a
must. It is a part of remedial teaching.

  
 
 

 
 


From kindergarten to college, labelling a student as "remedial" has in the past had a negative
impact. Academic professionals are working harder in today's learning environment to see
that students receive an opportunity to achieve and excel rather than be labelled "slow." For
example, it's not uncommon for a student who struggles with reading to be proficient in math
and have an average or above/average IQ. Identifying weak areas, however, is integral to any
remedial teaching program. According to K. Patricia Cross ³The task of the excellent teacher
is to stimulate "apparently ordinary" people to unusual effort. The tough problem is not in
identifying winners: it is in making winners out of ordinary people.´

   
 





Ann Lieberman states, µGreat teachers empathize with kids, respect them, and believe that
each one has something special that can be built upon.¶ It is essential for a remedial teacher to
understand thoroughly the strengths and weaknesses of his pupils so that appropriate teaching
approaches can be adopted to meet their individual needs. Although these pupils are low
academic achievers, they are not necessarily limited in abilities or that their attainment will
remain permanently low. ½ith proper remedial help, the use of stimulating teaching
strategies, and closer supervision and more individual attention, these pupils¶ interest in
learning will be aroused and they would make better progress.

 
   

Each individual learner has his own pace and style of learning. The Rudolf Stenier College
Remedial Education Program points out that "by relating the individual learning differences
to students' developmental situations, teachers can develop appropriate activities that meet
the needs of their students in the classroom, small groups, or individual lessons." The first

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and most important strategy in remedial teaching is to identify students who have learning
difficulties in the classroom. Teachers should try to identify the students who have difficulty
in expressing their thoughts and ideas. By observing the specific areas of their learning
difficulties, teachers can help students have better and productive learning experiences. To
deal with the individual differences in respect to learning, every teacher should formulate
individualized educational programmes to enable every child to achieve success according to
his own needs and methods.

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The next thing that teachers should keep in mind is to make their classroom environment
approachable. The teachers need to make sure that the teacher/student authority structure is
always in place. However, they should not make their students feel uncomfortable. Many
students in remedial classes struggle by thinking that they are stupid. Teachers should not add
to that fear by making them afraid of approaching the teacher. The teachers should make the
students feel free to approach them. Otherwise they get too far behind and stop coming to
class because they did not want to approach the teacher or they do not have access to the
teacher. One way to start cultivating that relationship with the students is to find common
ground. Teacher should be able to provide secure and affectionate climate in classroom and
understand as well as accept each individual child.



     

Building on the students¶ previous knowledge is valuable and it helps in planning and gearing
the remedial teaching to the proper level. Pre-testing students on what they know helps to set
a baseline for what students know and understand. This also takes off the overall
psychological pressure of students who tend to µfreeze¶ when they are faced with new
learning material.

   

From an elementary school to a university, the best remedial teaching programs will include
constant feedback from students who attend them. This kind of communication provides a
comfort level between student and teacher which leads to a more proficient, positive and
rewarding outcome for both.

Too often, a lack of understanding among parents, school administrators and teaching staff
gets in the way of the success of remedial teaching. Remedial education programmes are

 
many times caught in this web. Proper training of teachers and administrators go beyond their
degree in education. Listening to each other, and listening to parents and children who live
with specific learning problems, is a huge first step in creating an exemplary remedial
teaching program as opposed to another "one size fits all" classroom. Requesting
conferences, discussing individual strengths and weaknesses, and respecting each other¶s
expertise and opinions are all important components, and are defining points of the best
remedial teaching programs.

It is very important that teachers should develop self-confidence. They should always have
time at their disposal to spend with the slow learners and underachievers. Teachers should
have thorough knowledge of the subject and they should be able to clarify difficult concepts.
They should not lack in expression. They should always adapt such teaching methods which
encourage even a poor learner and give inadequate scope for home assignments and problems
for practice. Improper way of correction of homework may lead to learn mistake and hence
care should be taken while correcting the assignments. They should be in a position to offer
guidance to students at appropriate time and stage.

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Remedial teaching is not revising the topics taught repeatedly. Careful analysis of the
students' performance in the examination and diagnosing the areas of difficulty are key
aspects in remedial teaching. Once the difficult areas are identified, and the reasons for draw
back are analysed the next task is to plan the learning experiences to teach the basics to
understand the given topic. Students should never get the impression that remedial work is
punishment for µbad¶ or µlazy¶ students.

Following are some of the strategies that help in successful organization of remedial
teaching:





 
 

In the famous words of Confucius, ³I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I
understand´ a teacher gets to understand that if the students are made to use their kinesthetic
and tactile senses, they understand and remember the learnt concept for a longer time. ½hat
Confucius failed to mention here was ³I try to teach someone else and I understand even
better.´ Peer teaching plays a vital role in remedying the students¶ problems in learning a
concept. Peer-to-peer teaching is very effective, and helps both the teacher and the learner.

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Students often learn better from someone of their own age who speaks their language, than
from an adult teacher.

Teachers involved in remedial teaching may train above average students in a subject to
become the peer group leaders who will be responsible for helping their classmates with
learning difficulties in group teaching and self-study sessions as well as outside the class.
This helps the students to reinforce their knowledge, and build their communication as well
as interpersonal skills. To enhance the effectiveness of this strategy, the teachers must train
the students concerned before hand and make regular reviews on its effectiveness.

 
   

Paying individual attention reinforces the foundation of learning, and helps pupils overcome
their learning difficulties and develop their potentials. This strategy should include short-term
and long-term teaching objectives, learning steps, activities and reviews to ensure that the
programme is implemented effectively. Teaching can be done in small groups or for
individuals. If necessary, teachers in charge of the remedial class can invite other teachers,
parents and pupils alike to participate in designing the programme. Teachers should hold
meetings regularly to evaluate the effectiveness of work and gather opinions for further
improvement.

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Rewards play a vital role in enhancing students¶ motivation. They initiate students to set
their own objectives, plans, and positively reinforce their good performance. No matter what
reward is offered, the most important thing is to help the learners develop an interest in
learning and gain a sense of satisfaction and achievement during the teaching-learning
process. ½hile designing the rewards to offer, teachers should take note of the following:

î‘ Set clear and specific targets ( for example: number of assignments submitted)
î‘ Set achievable targets
î‘ Give rewards instantly
î‘ Invite parents to help children improve their work


    



  



Teachers should keep in mind the following points while dealing with the behavioural
problems of the students:


 î‘ Students¶ behaviour in and out of the class must be observed.
î‘ Developing good rapport with the students and creating mutual trust and listening
carefully to what they say helps a lot.
î‘ Let the students understand the effect of their behaviour on others as well as their own
selves.
î‘ Help them building healthy image of their own self and self-confidence.
î‘ Not to pay undue attention to their misbehaviour.
î‘ Not to try to change all the deviant behaviour in one go.
î‘ List out the problems and set the priorities with an aim to improve one or two of them
at a time.
î‘ Provide positive reinforcement for their good behaviour.
î‘ Keep in touch with the parents.

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Teachers should help the learners develop positive attitudes and good learning habits. These
could include completing the assignment tidily; being responsible and disciplined; developing
constructive attitude which lays foundation for life-long self-learning and enhancing learning
effectiveness. Students should be made to master basic self-learning skills and abilities like
time management, note-making, note-taking, reading and writing skills, examination writing
skills etc. Information and Communication Technology goes a long way in helping the
teachers to motivate the students and brings in the concept of µindividualised learning¶.
Students can be taught to solve problems by different methods, approaches or drawing insight
from their past experiences.

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Marya Collin says ³Don't try to fix the students, fix ourselves first. The good teacher makes
the poor student good and the good student superior. ½hen our students fail, we, as teachers,
too, have failed.´ Teachers should acknowledge this and know that mistakes are a natural
part of learning and something which teachers should celebrate because,

î‘ Mistakes indicate that students are stretching their communicative skills.

î‘ Mistakes are learning steps towards greater mastery.
î‘ Mistakes are opportunities to learn something new.
î‘ Remedial work is similarly a natural part of learning.

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Teachers should develop a positive attitude towards the slow learners and underachievers
and show willingness to teach them. George Bernard Shaw says, µYou see things; and you
say ³½hy?´ But I dream things that never were; and I say ³½hy not?´. All the teachers have
to develop this attitude. No text book, no methodology, no curriculum can rise up to the level
of a teacher. History has proved that through his µPanchatantra¶ Vishnu Sharma could make
imbeciles learn. After all there is no concept called µbad learners¶. It is in the hands of the
teacher to mould the students to fit them as useful citizens in the society. This could be
achieved only when teachers foster positive and sympathetic attitude towards remedial
teaching. As Henry Brooks puts it ³A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his
influence stops.´

REFERENCES

1. Arnold, J. B., et. al. Room for all. ?

 

    v. 181 (October
1994) p. 22- .

2. Larrivee, B., & Cook, L. (1979). Mainstreaming: A study of the variables affecting teacher
attitude6 ?
 

 , 13, 315-324.
3. x

 
 

 article from Ernest O.Melby¶s book ?
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4. Tomlinson, C. A., Brighton, C., Hertberg, H., Callahan, C. M., Moon, T. R., Brimijoin,
K., Conover, L. A., & Reynolds, T. (2003). Differentiating instruction in response to student
readiness, interest, and learning profile in academically diverse classrooms: A review of
literature.  
 

, (2-3), 119-145.

5www.quotegarden.com/teachers.html

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