Abstract:

Slow learners were the students desiring special needs due to their limited cognitive abilities and deficits developmental skills, as for their adjustment in the regular class room setup and improvement in mental health is concerned. These special needs only possible to be addressed through interventions, incorporated in the traditional class rooms set up. A study on interventional teaching plan to enhance the developmental skills of slow learners was carried out in Sargodha city, Punjab, Pakistan during 2008. Shaw’s model of mental health issues of slow learners (Shaw, March, 2002) provided the theoretical frame work for this study. The sample consisted of 10 slow learners identified by using subjective screening (teachers appraisal and attained achievement scores) and objective screening (by their attained scores on Ravens Colored Progressive matrices (Raven, 1977) percentile range for slow learner’s i.e.10th to 25th percentile) methods. The slow learners were pre-tested for their baseline measurement of developmental skills on Battelle Developmental Inventory-2 (BDI-2) (Newborg, 2005) consisted of five domains of developmental skills (Adaptive, Personal-Social, Communication, Motor and Cognitive) further divided into 13 sub-domains (self care, personal responsibility, adult interaction, peer interaction, self concept and social role, receptive communication, expressive communication, gross motor, fine motor, perceptual motor, attention & memory, reasoning & academic skills and perception & concepts). After ward they were exposed to interventional teaching plan i.e., modification in curriculum, study material, classroom environment, and time demands, peer tutoring and use of groups, daily good behavior exercises, provision of encouragement and immediate feedback and review of concepts on a weekly basis in their regular class room setup. It was hypothesized that Slow learners who will be exposed to interventional teaching plan will improve their developmental skills by improving their mental health (deficit social skills, inadequate coping mechanisms, poor self image, and immature interpersonal relationships. Results by post-test of developmental skills with the help of BDI-2 indicated that interventions profoundly enhanced the developmental skills of slow learners and our hypothesis of study was confirmed as high significant results were found in all domains and sub-domains of BDI-2 (quantitative analyses). Qualitative analysis yield that 4 months interventions enhanced the mental health of slow learners and they were proved to be more adjusted in regular classrooms than their previous situation. The interventions gave them a new horizon of thinking and opportunities were given in order to experiment their abilities at maximum level. Turn by turn and step by step repetitions, immediate feedback, peer tutors help and encouragement gave them a hope and push back to move ahead. These findings had enormous applicability for education policy makers, educators, developmental and school psychologist of Pakistan in order to understand the mental health issues of slow learners and how this group having some special needs can be accommodated in the regular classroom setup without threatening their very being. These interventions proved to be helpful in flourishing the idea of true education i.e., every one had the right to learn and experience the world in all odds.

Keywords:

academic interventions, slow learners, developmental skills, mental health.