The University of Arizona Reprinted with permission Faculty can enhance the learning of students with learning disabilities, as well as that of other students in their classes, without fundamentally altering critical course content. Instruction plays a key role in student learning. Enhancement can be accomplished when faculty analyzes the methods they use to transmit information in the classroom. Faculty may give little thought to the learning styles of the students in their classrooms, however a variety of learning styles will be present.
Some students have preferences for visual input to accompany standard lectures.
Others will prefer merely to listen and record important information for later study. Finally, some students will prefer learning through more kinesthetic approaches. Using a multi-modality approach will assist all students in deriving meaning from the course. Many students have a preference for a specific learning style, but are able to utilize visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities to learn material. Students with learning disabilities differ from the typical student in that they often have a significant deficit in one or more of these modalities.