Improving Slow Learners

By: Dr. Karla Hylton

The ability to learn, as with most things, fall within a spectrum. Children learn at different rates.
In the classroom, there will be many average learners, a few quick learners and a few slow
learners. A ‘slow learner’ is not a diagnosis, rather it means that your child’s rate of learning is
less than the average child’s rate. This student is still very capable of learning, however, the
pace of learning is lengthier.

I personally dislike the use of labels but for the sake of this article, I will refer to those children
who need extra help (without learning disabilities) as slow learners. A slow learner typically has
difficulty with higher order thinking or reasoning ability which likely makes learning new
concepts more challenging. If the majority of a class has already grasped the concept, this
presents obstacles to the slow learner as the teacher may jump ahead in the lesson.

It is important to note that slow learners typically do not have a learning disability and they
most definitely are not mentally retarded. They simply need extra support. If your child is a
slow learner, it does NOT mean that he is incompetent, dumb or not trying hard enough. This is
not true. The most common characteristic of slow learners is their limited attention span.
These students also have the characteristic of ‘fear of failure’, often times due to pressure from
parents and/or teachers. The fear of failure is so great that they give up on even trying because
they feel that they are not good enough.

The greatest factor for any child’s academic success is motivation and encouragement.
Teachers and parents must work together to lift up slow learners. As educators, we cannot only
be focused on the ‘fast’ learners at the expense of the ‘slow’ learners. It is our job to build
confidence and to support all our students.

Slow learners have the same potential as the ‘bright’ students. Encouragement can potentially
change the entire landscape and positively influence the whole personality of the child.

The following strategies can be employed in improving the slow learner:

 Building a relationship- Prioritize the relationship between teacher-student. Create a

safe environment where trust is foremost. Teachers must show empathy and warmth to
all students. A personal rapport should be established. A teacher’s encouraging smile to
a slow learner who lacks confidence can actually be more valuable than the verbal
instruction.
 Use effective praise- use encouragement and positive words to fuel students’ desire to
learn. Do not be sarcastic. Sarcasm has no place in the classroom. Praise the effort and
praise with sincerity.
 Promote independence- while you will serve as a guide, be careful not to make your
student wholly dependent on you. Allow the learner to make mistakes and then point
out how and why these errors were made.
 Encourage a growth mind-set- Discourage the notion of ‘giving up’. Remove this from
your student’s vocabulary. Get students focused on learning one step at a time through
extra support and scaffolding. Do not focus inordinately on poor performance, rather
persuade your students to strive again.
 Hold high expectations-whether your student is a slow or fast learner, it is necessary to
have and to make known that you have high expectations from every single student. It is
important that all students sense that you care and that it is important to you that all
students succeed. Your belief in their capacity to do well is invaluable.
 Frequent feedback- slow learners require detailed and recurrent feedback to correct
and guide them in the right direction. Slow learners respond favorably to frequent
reinforcement of small segments of learning. Return homework and tests in a
reasonable timeframe.
 Incorporate different modalities of teaching- A mixture of audio and visual materials
such as films and videos will enhance the learning experience of the slow learner
providing variation in gaining knowledge. Playing learning games and engaging in
interactive tasks are also recommended activities.
 Make classes relevant- Let students see how the lesson content relates to the world
around them. These real life scenarios strengthens learning.
 Teach study skills and good work habits- You can improve learning by teaching good
study strategies. Discover the child’s preferred learning style and provide tips to
promote good studying. Teach your student how to take good notes and how to read
actively.
 Tutoring-if necessary, small group tutoring can provide the extra assistance needed to
build confidence in slow learners.