Supporting Struggling Learners: Skill Deficit vs Performance Deficit

 

Participation of students in class provides teachers with valuable information about their students. When students are not participating, it is the responsibility of the teacher to determine why and how to help their students. Some students may be struggling with understanding content while others might lack motivation or interest. The first thing a teacher needs to do is to figure out why the student is not participating, then they can determine how to respond and help the student. The “can’t do/won’t do” assessment is a method many teachers use to determine if a student is unmotivated or suffering from a skill deficit. This assessment method involves offering a highly desired individualized reward before having the student redo a task (without any additional instruction) that they already completed but did not do as well as expected. If the student improves by fifteen percent or more, then motivation is the issue. If they do not improve by at least fifteen percent, they have a skill deficit. Additionally, if a student improves by fifteen percent or more but is still not passing, they are a combination of skill deficit and lack of motivation.

            To support students who may be struggling with the content because of a skill deficit, teachers can employ resources such as supplemental materials, one-on-one instruction, and even peer instruction/tutoring may be beneficial. Additionally, discussing with the child’s family to gain a better understanding of the student could help uncover methods that could help the child understand the content. Try different teaching methods and/or assessment methods, and ask the family to work with their child at home too. If the deficit persists or affects other areas of learning, perhaps discussing with the school counselor/psychologist or the child’s pediatrician may be in order.

            Students that lack motivation may need additional support as well but in a different way than students with a skills deficit. There are numerous reasons why a student could be unmotivated to participate. Perhaps, something is going on in their personal life which is affecting their schoolwork. Maybe the work is too easy, or maybe they are just not interested in the content. To understand how to help motivate the student, communication is critical. First, I would schedule a one-on-one meeting with the student to discuss their thoughts on their performance deficit. If it is a personal issue and the student is comfortable discussing, I would provide them with any resources that could help them. If they are uninterested in the content, finding a way to relate the content to the student and “real life” can be a good motivator. Another general way to motivate students is by instilling a reward for improvement system, however I would not rely on this method as a long-term solution because while it may temporarily motivate students it does not get to the root of the problem and does not increase their intrinsic motivation.