Responding effectively to learning needs

Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:39)

Today's classroom is more diverse than it ever was before (Tomlinson, 2001). In one class you have students from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, different academic abilities, and different degrees of special needs.

Before you can respond effectively to your students’ learning needs you must first identify them. There are many avenues available to the teacher for assessing these needs. The most important of these is identification through the establishment of relationships (blog post 3). By getting to know my students I gain valuable insights into their specific learning needs. One student might come from a household where English isn’t spoken at home and therefore might require extra help with literacy. Another student might be more interested in sports than science, meaning that I should try to incorporate sporting examples to help engage him in the subject. Such relationships will also help meet their relational needs. Building relationships with the student’s parents is another important avenue for discovering their child’s needs. Parents are the most likely people to be able to discern whether their child has a special gifting or special need. Other avenues include speaking with other teachers or through testing such as PATs and e-asTTLes.

Another important consideration is their prior knowledge. There is no point boring students by teaching things they already know. Assessing prior knowledge is an essential part of planning to meet their needs.

Armed with this knowledge, I can then plan lessons to address their needs. This will involve incorporating as many modalities of learning as possible in each lesson (blog post 4). Some students will learn best visually, others aurally, others through reading and writing and still others kinaesthetically (Flemming, 2012). Science a subject is well-suited to meeting these needs. For the gifted and talented, I will need to plan extension activities. For the lower ability students, I will need to plan understandable activities that challenge them. I will also plan a range of individual, paired and groups activities to help them develop self management, and participating and contributing skills. Consideration also needs to be made for the differences of genders. Boys in particular thrive with competition, and active and kinesthetic activities (Irwin, 2009). 

Another important need is a safe and inclusive learning environment (Sapon-Shevin, 2008). For an inclusive classroom to exist, the atmosphere must be welcoming and supportive. Put-downs and name calling must be unacceptable. I will influence the atmosphere through how I act and relate to the students as their role model. I will also be quick to address unacceptable behaviour. I will have clear boundaries. 

There are many factors to bear in mind when attempting to meet the various needs of the diverse classroom. I must first discover the needs of my students and then use this knowledge to develop lessons incorporating activities that meet the different learning styles and needs of my class. All this will be of limited benefit if I don’t also create a safe and inclusive environment.


Sapon-Shevin, M. (2008). Learning in an inclusive community. Educational 
       Leadership, 66(1), 49-53.

Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCD Publication.

Flemming, N. (2012). VARK - A guide to learning. Retrieved from
      http://www.vark-learn.com/english/index.asp

Irwin, M. (2009). Educating boys. Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins
      Publishers.