What Does a Learning Specialist Do?

The duties of a learning specialist typically involve overseeing some form of education or learning, and the exact nature of this responsibility is often dictated by where the specialist is employed. A specialist at a college or university, for example, might assist other educators in creating lesson plans or oversee the operations of a student assistance center. In a similar capacity, this type of specialist employed at a primary or secondary school typically works with students who have special needs. There are also companies and other private organizations that employ a learning specialist to oversee training of employees and design programs to educate potential customers.

A learning specialist is usually someone employed at an organization or company responsible for assisting or overseeing some facet of learning. At a college or university, this type of specialist often assists professors with lessons or helps students in need of assistance with learning. A college might have a learning center, for example, at which a learning specialist works with students to help them better understand the learning process. This type of specialist can help teach new students study skills, test for learning disabilities, and provide students with various resources to help them during their education.

At a primary or secondary school, a learning specialist is likely to perform similar tasks. Since this type of specialist works with younger students, however, he or she may be more involved in testing for learning disabilities and handling other special needs. Students who are especially intelligent, for example, may be identified by a specialist through testing and allowed to take more advanced or challenging classes. A learning specialist might also work with teachers who have students with specific needs, help students deal with learning the dominant language as a secondary language, and assist with teaching students strategies for overcoming learning disabilities.

Some companies and similar private organizations may also employ a learning specialist to supervise development of training programs and customer education. A specialist at a large corporation might devise programs for training new managers, or assist trainers with learning to better facilitate training in the corporate environment. This type of learning specialist may also oversee development and deployment of programs to help educate customers. These programs may introduce new products or services to customers, as well as be used for creating workshops and similar programs in stores to develop relationships with customers through creative projects that use products offered in the store.