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Focus of the Month Newsletter
Identify Types of Learner Difficulty
While you have high hopes of success for learners entering your clinic, learners do occasionally arrive with academic or behavioral problems that have not yet been identified, either by themselves or by other faculty. As a preceptor or faculty, you have the opportunity to identify a problem and offer feedback and direction. However, you will want to familiarize yourself with the various difficulties a learner may exhibit.
There are four classes of learning difficulties: Affective, Cognitive, Structural, and Interpersonal. Affective difficulties may arise from life events that push learners into affective states that manifest as sleep disorders, memory loss, withdrawal, and failure to perform. Early identification and intervention is critical for positive outcomes. For example, you may observe a learner who has lost motivation, which can be an indication of an affective difficulty. Consult your institution’s guidelines on what steps to take if you identify a learner in difficulty. Read on to learn more about the other three types.
More Pages About Learners in Difficulty
You can learn more about this topic by visiting the Learners in Difficulty section, where you'll find the following pages:
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