2. What Is Teaching?
Teaching is the art of making information accessible to
others.
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3. What Are Learning Disabilities?
Learning disabilities are
discrepancies
between general intelligence
and performance of specific learning
tasks
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4. Formerly known as:
 Lack of intelligence
 Lack of maturity
 Laziness
 Personality defects
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5. Adults with LDs Choose Real Estate
1. To make the most money possible without much
formal education
2. To find a fulfilling career outside academia
SURPRISE!
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6. (Often) Who Are They?
 Adults with addiction problems (treated or untreated;
past or present)
 Adult workers who have problems with working under
supervision
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7. Do We Have More Than Our Share?
 Intake screening is practically non-existent
 Most actual work time is unsupervised
 Results count, but only favorable results are seen by
brokers
 “Set your own hours”
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8. How the Brain Works
INPUTS BRAIN
OUTPUTS INTEGRATION
STORAGE/
RETRIEVAL
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9. Input Disabilities
Visual Auditory
 Difficulty organizing position  Difficulty distinguishing
and shape of what is seen (E sounds
= M or W)  Difficulty picking one sound
 Inability to focus on out of several
significant figure (skipping
lines, jumping over words)
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10. Integration Difficulties
Sequencing (arranging bits of information into generally
understood form)
S T O P
TOPS
POST
STOP
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11. Abstraction Difficulties
Abstraction is the ability to convert sequenced
information into correct meaning.
1 apple + 1 apple = 2 apples
1 airplane + 2 airplanes = ????
Why did the golfer bring two pair of pants to the
game?
In case he got a hole in one.
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12. Memory Difficulties
Learning disability
Age Related
Learning Disability + Age Related
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13. Short Term Memory
 Information retained as long as concentration is not
disrupted
 Affected by learning disabilities
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14. Long Term Memory
 Information can be recalled at will
 Usually not affected by learning disabilities
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15. Output Disabilities
 Language disabilities
 Muscle disabilities
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16. Language Disabilities
Spontaneous Language
 Speaker initiates conversation
 Speaker selects topic
 Speaker has taken time to organize thoughts before
speaking
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17. Demand Language
 Asking a direct question
 Asking for in-depth explanations of specific wording
or parts of problems not thought out in advance
 Coping behaviors: changing subject, making jokes,
leaving the room or conversation
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18. Muscle Disability
Lack of gross motor skills, usually seen as clumsiness
Lack of fine motor skills, usually seen as bad
handwriting
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19. Signs of Spontaneous Language
Disability
 Unable to concentrate on topic
 Unable to answer questions even when topic was
originated by speaker
 Do not appear to understand the gravity of business
situations
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20. Emotional Difficulties of LR
Students
 Shame
 Fear
 Environmental and Emotional Sensitivity
 Emotional Regulation
 Difficulty Adjusting to Change
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21. Part 2: Behavorial Problems of LD
Students
 Poor Time Management
 Poor Social Skills
 Short Attention Span
 Poor to No Organizational Skills
 Slow Processing Speed
 Memory Storage Problems
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22. Low Reading Level
 Many times learning disabilities result in low reading
level
 Very dangerous for real estate licensees
 We can’t cure it
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23. But We CAN Help!
 Simplify instructions
 Use bulleted lists
 Present verbally as well as in writing
 Read materials out loud (instructor or students)
 Leave instructions on screen
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24. Writing Understandable
Instructions
 Difficult to do, but necessary
 Can never be too elementary
 CAN have too many steps
 Can always be misunderstood
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25. Problem 1: Procedure
1. What solutions are being sought in the problem?
2. Is it necessary to separate the solutions sought into
separate parts?
3. Is it necessary to rank the solutions into steps?
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26. Problem 1: Low Reading Skills
Develop a list of instructions to solve this problem:
A building site has the dimensions:
 162 ft. (side)
 78.5 ft (front)
 77 ft (back)
 157 ft (side)
Write the dimensions in correct order and calculate the
square footage of the site.
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27. Poor Time Management
 Inability to keep up with flow of information or class
activities
 Asked about one problem, answer with information
from another problem
 Late for class and/or returning from breaks
 Electronic communications devices sound during class
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28. Managing Time Techniques
 Prioritize tasks
 Use watch
 Use daily calendar
 Use reminder software
 Use screen timers
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29. Problem 2: Procedure
1. What solutions are being sought in the problem?
2. Is it necessary to separate the solutions sought into
separate parts?
3. Is it necessary to rank the solutions into steps?
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30. Problem 2: Time Management
Develop 3 techniques for prioritizing the tasks used in
this problem:
A building site has the dimensions:
 162 ft. (side)
 78.5 ft (front)
 77 ft (back)
 157 ft (side)
Write the dimensions in correct order and calculate the
square footage of the site.
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31. Poor Social Skills: Hostility + LD
 1 member does all group work
 Allow others to have all ideas and do all work
 Refusal to engage in class
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32. Surviving Poor Social Skills
 Let them work alone
 Put them in “smallest” group
 Don’t put all of them in same group
 Give a “job” (that does not involve verbal
communication)
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33. Problem 3 Procedures
1. What solutions are being sought in the problem?
2. Is it necessary to separate the solutions sought into
separate parts?
3. Is it necessary to rank the solutions into steps?
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34. Problem 3: Social skills
Several students are consistently late returning from
breaks and feel they must explain why they are late.
Develop scripts for teaching these students to better
manage break time.
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35. Problem 4: Procedure
1. What solutions are being sought in the problem?
2. Is it necessary to separate the solutions sought into
separate parts?
3. Is it necessary to rank the solutions into steps?
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36. Problem 4: Social Skills
One student always shouts out answers, sometimes
before you have completed the question; this deprives
other students the opportunity to think out the
problem and give answers.
How can you defuse this student without further
disruption?
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37. Short Attention Span
 Not accustomed to sitting for hours
 Not interested in academic learning
 Electronic conditioning to get most information in
least time
 Require more than one source of stimulation
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38. Dealing with Short Attention Span
 Assign more than one task to be completed
simultaneously
 Keep the interactive learning experiences coming
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39. Problem 5: Procedures
1. What solutions are being sought in the problem?
2. Is it necessary to separate the solutions sought into
separate parts?
3. Is it necessary to rank the solutions into steps?
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40. Problem 5: Short Attention Span
Several students are using their electronic
communication devices while you are teaching.
Confronting them will be even more disruptive than
leaving them alone.
What techniques can you use to return their attention to
the class topic?
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41. Poor to No Organizational Skills
 Students are unable to organize information and
experiences
 Sometimes LDs are exacerbated by the medications to
control them
 Trouble locating class materials and other tools
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42. Organizational Skills Aids
 Printed material in the order in which it will be
presented
 Printed materials explain concepts being taught
 Extra copies of printed materials
 Sufficient number of breaks
 Supply of extra pens and other materials
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43. Problem 6: Procedure
1. What solutions are being sought in the problem?
2. Is it necessary to separate the solutions sought into
separate parts?
3. Is it necessary to rank the solutions into steps?
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44. Problem 6: Organizational Skills
Your course is based on state or federal law. A booklet
provided by the legal body has required information.
You also have several very good brochures and a
magazine article.
Design the best plan for presenting course information
to students who have poor organizational skills.
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45. Slow Processing Speed
 Processing speed does not always relate to intelligence
 LDs or meds may influence processing speed
 Slower processing students must be considered when
course in being developed.
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46. Processing Speed Accommodations
 Repeats of most important information
 Comprehensive take-home materials
 Visuals to reinforce important points
 Repeat visuals each time point is made
 Allow individual work
 Never put on spot
 Tie class information to known facts
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47. Problem 7: Procedures
1. What solutions are being sought in the problem?
2. Is it necessary to separate the solutions sought into
separate parts?
3. Is it necessary to rank the solutions into steps?
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48. Problem 7: Processing Speed
A student in real estate math class is not working as fast
as others. You have a lot of material to cover within
the class time.
What can you do in course development and classroom
to help this student?
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49. Memory Storage Problems
 Do not remember what they have seen, heard or were
shown
 Difficulty with memorization
 Difficulty remembering sequences in directions or
instructions
 Sight vocabulary is weak
 Often have low reading skills
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50. Memory Aids
 Rhyming
 Mnemonics
 Song Lyrics
 Handout Sheets
 Page-size “Posters”
 Print important scripts on back of business cards
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51. Problem 8: Procedures
1. What solutions are being sought in the problem?
2. Is it necessary to separate the solutions sought into
separate parts?
3. Is it necessary to rank the solutions into steps?
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52. Problem 8: Memory Aids
You are teaching the differences between stick built
houses and manufactured homes.
What memory aids can you develo p to help students
with memory storage problems hold on to the learning
as long as possible?
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53. Summary
 Almost all of our students will have some type of LD
 We can’t cure the LDs, we can only deal with the
behaviors
 We can offer learning aids built into our courses
during development and in the classroom
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54. The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the
book.
~Author Unknown
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