“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its reason for existing.”
Albert Einstein
Starting from learning how to pronounce A for apple to learning the complex theorems of mathematics, we have been on a journey of continuous learning right from childhood. You as a teacher might also agree with the fact that learning is a continuous process.
Besides, you might also agree with the fact we are only able to learn about something when we are curious about anything. Imagine, if Thomas Alva Edison would never have been curious about creating a bulb, we would have never been able to get familiar with the term electricity. In short, curiosity is the mother of learning.
However, unfortunately, some unique kids might have difficulty comprehending like all other kids. These learning disabilities are also known as dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, and dyscalculia. Online tutoring provides students with learning disabilities the individualized support they need to succeed. These learning disabilities are neurological dysfunctions that make it difficult for students to process information. But as said above, curiosity is the mother of learning, cultivating curiosity among these students can effectively assist in making them equally competent as other students.
Now, if you are a teacher of students with learning disabilities, you have a major role in formulating curiosity among these students. But if you are also stuck on identifying different methods through which you can accomplish the same, then this blog is for you. This blog will effectively explain the top 5 ways in which you can make students curious about their curriculum. So, let’s dive right into the blog and find out.
5 Methods To Cultivate Curiosity In Students With Learning Disabilities
1. Model curiosity
For students, the first and foremost role model will always remain their teachers. Hence, if you want to foster curiosity among your students, then it is essential for you to be curious yourself. This is the reason why this is our first strategy that can assist in enhancing the sense of curiosity among students battling with learning disabilities. Science lab experiments should be accessible and engaging for all students, including those with learning disabilities. For this, you need to create a sense of comfort level for your students and assure them that it is good to be curious.
To accomplish the same, you can try adopting a new hobby, reading a book, or playing a sport, and then share the first-hand experience of every new thing you try. You need to explain to students how being curious about things assists you in learning and experiencing new adventures every day.
Along similar lines, your students will also understand the fun experiences they will have in trying new things. This will encourage them also to be curious about new subjects or activities that can assist them in enhancing their learning experiences.
2. Value and reward curiosity
The reward has always been one of the most impactful ways to keep students motivated and engaged in the classroom. Especially, for students who are dealing with learning disabilities because some might already feel a little complex because of being unique than others. In such situations, valuing their opinions and questions would be a golden pathway to cultivating curiosity in students dealing with learning disabilities.
Hence, valuing and rewarding the curiosity of students can be another crucial step taken to enhance the sense of interest of students dealing with learning disabilities in the classroom. Students with learning disabilities can develop physics skills with appropriate instructional support and accommodations. When you value the fact that your students are coming up with unique questions or are curious about different subjects, it will boost the morale and confidence of the students as well.
Moreover, when you reward the students based on their questions reflecting their curiosity, it will encourage them to come up with more unique ideas. Besides, it will encourage other students to brainstorm on different topics and be curious about learning new things to get the desired rewards. All this together will encourage and enhance the curiosity among the students dealing with learning disabilities. Besides, it will also create a productive space for your students to encourage their learning progress.
3. Utilize visual aids to the fullest
We are all very well aware of the fact that an image can tell a thousand stories. This is the reason we have this as our third strategy that can assist in enhancing the curiosity among students.
Students dealing with learning disabilities might already have issues comprehending even the simpler things. This is where visual aids can assist them in understanding the processes a little better. The major reason behind the same is that when you will explain to students with visual aids of different colors you are directly capturing their inventiveness and boosting their interest in the subject.
Another strategy could be that you can conduct various activities where you can generate different visual aids in the classroom. For example, you can ask your students to come up with one unique story that comes to their minds after seeing the provided images. This will assist you in capturing their imagination and making them curious about things while looking at their visual aids. In fact, there are many learning apps that can assist you in explaining your concepts with visual aids.
4. Gamify their learning experiences
Today’s world is running around technologies and it opens up multiple opportunities for teachers to effectively bring these technologies into the classroom and capture the attention of the students. One of the most engaging forms of technology for students is the gamification of their educational concepts. Besides, this is our very last but definitely not the least strategy that can assist you in formulating curiosity among students dealing with learning disabilities.
In fact, statistics also validate that students who were taught with the unique challenge-based gamification enhanced their performance by 89.45% compared to those learning only through lectures. This implies that if you gamify the learning experiences of students with learning disabilities, it will engage them more efficiently which will increase their chances of understanding the concepts more effectively.
Besides, the latest technologies excite everybody. So, if you will bring gamification into your teaching strategy, then it will boost the curiosity of your students to learn more and more about their curriculum.
5. Bring storytelling into the picture
It does not matter whether we are 7-year-old school students or 35 years old doing our post-graduations, storytelling has always been everyone’s favorite way of learning. This brings us to our very fourth strategy that can assist you in capturing the curiosity of your students dealing with learning disabilities.
To continue, by using the art of storytelling, you can add various characters and objects that will assist you in explaining things better to the students. It will also infinite a sense of enthusiasm in your students because everybody gets excited about understanding things with engaging stories.
However, you need to make sure that the stories you use should be engaging and unique so that you can successfully grab the attention of the students. For this, you need to have an effective understanding of the communication strategies to ensure that your story reaches your students exactly the way you want it to be delivered.
Besides, explaining concepts through the effective art of storytelling, you can make the educational concepts more fun and enjoyable for the students which will engage them effectively. Once you get successful in engaging your students effectively, this will generate curiosity among the students to know more about the subjects that grabbed their attention effectively.
To encapsulate, students with learning disabilities might have issues with speed or grasping knowledge, or comprehending things but this does not mean that they can not have a successful learning experience. The only need is to effectively generate curiosity among them and effectively deliver your message using the 7Cs of communication and they will also pass every exam of their life with flying colors. Moreover, the above-mentioned ways can effectively generate curiosity among students dealing with learning disabilities.