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Session 2. Common Learning Profiles in the Mainstream Class
Objective. Recognise six common learning profiles through what pupils do in class, choose a first practical move for each, and tell apart a teaching adjustment from a case that needs a prompt specialist check.
Every class has pupils who read slowly, drift off, squint, tire easily or cannot bear change. You do not need a medical vocabulary to help them; you need a few patterns in mind and a ready first move for each. This lesson goes beyond the idea cards by showing that one sign can have several causes, that surroundings matter as much as the pupil, and that a calm routine can prevent many difficulties before they start.
Key ideas
Reading and writing difficulties
- You may see: slow, effortful reading; guessing words from the first letters; inconsistent spelling; avoiding reading aloud; copying slowly. Often the same pupil explains ideas well in speech. Dyslexia is one well-known pattern; only a specialist can say whether it applies.
- First moves: read key texts aloud or in pairs; pre-teach five key words; shorter chunks with space between lines; let the pupil answer orally; never make him or her read aloud in front of the class without agreement; mark content separately from spelling when content is what you teach.
Attention and activity
- You may see: leaving the seat, calling out, losing the thread of a multi-step task, forgetting materials, drifting off in the middle of an explanation. This is often read as 'not trying' when it is difficulty holding and managing attention. Attention difficulties are real in many children; a specialist, not the teacher, decides what lies behind them.
- First moves: seat near you and away from the window; one instruction at a time, also on the board; tasks in 10-minute pieces with a checklist; movement jobs such as handing out notebooks; a quiet private cue instead of a public reprimand; praise the specific behaviour you want.
Hearing, vision and physical access
- Hearing: seat near the front with a clear view of your face; face the class when speaking, not the board; repeat classmates' answers; give key words in writing. Vision: large clear print, strong contrast, a seat with good light, read aloud what you write. A pupil who squints, tilts the head, asks 'what?' often or copies wrongly may have a sensory difficulty nobody has checked: ask for a hearing or vision check promptly.
- Physical: check the route to the room, desk height, time to move between rooms and extra time for writing. Ask the pupil, quietly, what makes things easier; do not ask him or her to explain to the class. Include the pupil in physical education with adapted roles.
Autism-spectrum and emotional-behavioural profiles
- Autism-spectrum learning profile: pupils may find change, noise or unwritten social rules hard, may take words literally, and may have deep interests and a strong memory for detail. First moves: a predictable routine and visual timetable; warn before a change; clear, literal instructions; a quiet corner; use the interest as a bridge, such as trains in a maths problem.
- Emotional and behavioural needs: behaviour is a message. Look for the trigger (which task, which time of day, which person) and the need behind it (help, rest, safety, belonging). First moves: a trusted adult, calm and consistent routines, a way to leave and return, consequences that repair rather than humiliate. Persistent distress, sudden change or any worry about safety goes to the school psychologist or head of studies the same day.
Six profiles at a glance
| Profile | You may see | A first move tomorrow |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | Slow reading, avoids reading aloud | Read the text aloud, allow oral answers |
| Attention | Leaves seat, loses steps | One instruction at a time, movement job |
| Hearing or vision | Squints, asks 'what?', copies wrongly | Seat near front; ask for a check now |
| Physical | Tires with writing, cannot reach the room | Check access and give extra time |
| Autism-spectrum | Upset by change, deep interests | Visual timetable, warn before change |
| Emotional-behavioural | Outbursts, withdrawal, sudden change | Find the trigger; trusted adult; same-day talk if worried |
One sign, three possible reasons
Seeing
Vision
- Moves close or squints
- Sit near the front
- Large print copy
- Ask for a vision check
Attention
Focus
- Loses place halfway
- Task in short parts
- Checklist on the desk
- One instruction at a time
Writing effort
Hand and posture
- Tires after two lines
- Printed copy to mark
- Extra time
- Allow typing or oral answer
One sign, several possible causes
A pupil who does not copy from the board may have trouble seeing it, may lose attention halfway, or may find handwriting very tiring. The sign is the same; the helpful move is different. You do not need to know which. Try the cheapest adjustments first (sit nearer, give a printed copy, break the task) and watch which one changes things.
If a printed copy solves it, the board was the barrier. If a short task solves it, attention or effort was. If neither does and the pupil still squints or holds the page close, ask for a vision check. This 'try, watch, decide' loop is a teacher's tool, and it never needs a label.
Surroundings, routine and transitions
Many difficulties are largest at the edges of a lesson: the bell, changing rooms, lining up, a sudden visitor, a fire drill. Pupils who need predictability can manage the lesson itself and still struggle at these points. Tell the class the plan for the day, say what will happen in the next five minutes, and give a short warning before the end of each activity.
Noise and light matter too. A pupil who finds a loud hall exhausting may do better with a seat near the door and a job during assembly. A pupil with low vision may need the desk turned away from a bright window. These changes help many pupils and cost nothing.
Examples from the classroom
Five words before the text
Scene. Aziz in Grade 4 in Fergana reads slowly and avoids the new story. His teacher Dilnoza reads the title aloud, writes five key words on the board, and asks pupils to say them in pairs. Then the class reads in pairs, and Aziz reads with Malika. He still reads slowly, but he answers three of four questions about the story, and he stops hiding his book.
Insight. Pre-teaching vocabulary and pair reading lower the barrier without lowering the demand.
The bell and the corridor
Scene. Sardor in Grade 3 in Tashkent covers his ears when the bell rings and runs from the corridor. His teacher Jasur tells him, 'The bell will ring in two minutes; I will walk you out before the others.' He gives Sardor a job: carry the register. After three weeks Sardor leaves with the class on most days.
Insight. Predictability and a planned role reduce distress at transitions.
The laboratory upstairs
Scene. Dilnoza uses a wheelchair and her Grade 7 science room in Samarkand is up a flight of steps. Her teacher Aziz moves the weekly experiment to the ground-floor room on lab days and prepares a pre-labelled tray so Dilnoza does not need to write the table. She leads the group's conclusion aloud.
Insight. Check access first; then give the pupil a real role that uses her strengths.
Common pitfalls
- Assuming a slow reader is also a slow thinker.
- Taking away break time from a pupil who cannot sit still as a consequence for moving.
- Putting a pupil with low vision at the back to make the front 'free'.
- Treating a sudden change in a pupil's mood as bad behaviour before asking what happened.
Six Pupils, Six First Moves
- Open the Activity Kit: six SAMPLE pupil descriptions and a menu of 18 support cards. Alone (5 min): read the six descriptions and mark the one that needs a specialist check soon.
- Pairs (15 min): for each pupil choose three support cards that fit a 45-minute lesson in your own subject, and cross out one that would NOT help and say why.
- Groups of four (10 min): compare. Find the adjustment that would help at least three of the six pupils. This is your 'three-for-all'.
- Part B (15 min): choose one real lesson you teach next week. Redesign one activity with a three-for-all adjustment and write on one line how you will see whether it worked.
- Alone (5 min): write your school-based task from the Kit.
Your facilitator will guide you through this activity in the session.
Questions to discuss
- Which profile did you feel most sure about, and which did you want to label? Why?
- What did the 'three-for-all' show about how much good teaching and inclusive teaching overlap?
- For the pupil who needed a check soon, what exactly would you say to the family?
Reflect
- Which profile do you meet most in your classes, and what do you already do for it?
- When did a pupil's 'bad behaviour' turn out to be a different need?
- Which adjustment costs you nothing but a minute of planning?
Try it tomorrow
- Pick one sign (for example 'does not copy') and try the three cheapest adjustments for one week each, noting which helps.
- Tell the class the plan for the lesson and give a one-minute warning before each change of activity.
- Walk to a pupil's desk and look at the board from there; note one thing you would change.
Further reading and links
Notice patterns of what pupils do, try a first move, and ask for a check when senses or safety are in question.