Diverse Learners Top Hat Organizer
Article One:
Johnson, V. (2019). Dyslexia what teachers need to
know. (Links to an external site.) 0(0), p. 1-
8. International Literacy Association.
This article focuses on dyslexia and the
misconceptions that people may have. Dyslexia is a
neurobiological disorder that affects a person’s
phonological processing and memory” (Johnson,
2019). It also mainly goes over what to teach and
how to teach it. It gets into the specifics of dyslexia
and what having a dyslexic student could be like. The
article mentions that “Teachers often provide
instruction through sight and sound only; however,
the most effective teachers use methods that support
an explicit, systematic, cumulative, and multisensory
approach that integrates listening, speaking, reading,
and writing” (Johnson, 2019). Many teachers are not
very well rounded in the knowledge of dyslexia and
what it entails for students. There are different
severities of it. Different students need different help
with their dyslexia. The article suggests help with
phonology, orthography, and syntax.
Article Two:
Armstrong, T. (2017). Neurodiversity: THE
FUTURE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION?  (Links to an
external site.)Educational Leadership, 74(7), 10–16.
This article focuses more on neurodiversity over the
idea of special education. Neurodiversity can be
defined as an “understanding that neurological
differences are to be honored and respected just like
any other human variation, including diversity in
race, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual
orientation, and so on” (Armstrong, 2017). It focuses
on neurodiversity. It discusses that although we need
to appreciate every student regardless of who they are
or what they have, that we also understand that we
still need special education classes for those students.
Some problems currently are that people are trying to
normalize special education in a way that takes away
from the remediation of these students. This means
that they are recognizing their special abilities but are
taking away from the fact that these students are still
special education students. Many parents have
concerns that “without the constant push of
traditional special education programs to remediate
weaknesses, students with special needs would fail to
meet the increasingly rigorous academic-focused
educational realities” (Armstrong, 2017). This article
also discusses more than just dyslexia, it overviews
all different types of students in special education. It
also discusses the different strengths and weaknesses
that comes with having different disabilities. It shows
that some are actually abilities in certain jobs. For
example, a student on the autism spectrum can pay
more attention to close detail for computing codes
because of how their brain works more than someone
who is not on the spectrum (Armstrong, 2017).
Similarities
The articles both discuss dyslexia regarding neurodiversity in the classroom. The articles explain learning
disabilities affect the brain in different ways. They both discuss that every student is different and is going to
need different help. They are many ways teachers can help these students in the classroom by studying
different ways depending on the content presented to the students. Both articles also suggest ways to help
students with different strategies. They both mention helping students understand that their “disabilities” are
not what makes them who they are. The students are smarter than they think and just because they have a
small set back in education, it does not define them.

My Thoughts
I think that in the math classroom it is so crucial to know about diverse learners because you need to know
how to work with these students and give them the best learning experience possible. Students have all
different needs and cultures. It is important to keep an open mind when teaching and try different things to get
every student a good outcome. Every disability has its own strengths and weakness, but teachers should
consider them when making lessons.