Online support for students with diverse learning needs at an inclusive private school in South Africa

Teachers of diverse classes often include different forms of support in their teaching to accommodate the varying learner needs, while some benefit from the services of Learning Support Educators (LSE) who manage the learning needs of students who experience barriers to learning. With the onset of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the shift to online teaching and learning left students with diverse learning needs feeling adrift and on their own to grapple with the change, without prior preparation. As teachers also had to adapt to the shift to online teaching, the diverse learner needs became a secondary concern to them. The LSE were also unable to offer support in the traditional form due to physical distancing and lockdown rules. This paper explores possible ways in which teachers of diverse classes and LSEs can assist learners with diverse needs to succeed in their online learning. The study followed action research methodology that was conducted by an LSE who case-managed seven learners in a Johannesburg private school with inclusive teaching practices. The qualitative research study explored new ways to support diverse learners in their online learning by finding possible alternatives to the challenges that online learning posed for them. Observations, self-reflections, and information collected from students, their teachers and parents, were analysed using content analysis technique to propose possible workable solutions. Checking in on learners and their parents regularly during lockdown and giving them strategies for coping was found to be helpful. Teachers who had previously incorporated 'blended' teaching in their practice were found to be generally more collaborative: they varied their teaching, had their students produce better results, were able to include online inclusive activities and groupwork activities in their teaching in order to avoid learner boredom, and they were found to be giving quality feedback to the learners and their parents.