Dyslexic Thinking
What works for dyslexic students helps absolutely all students
During the current academic year I have been leading this INCLUSIVE PRACTICES project where (amongst others) Listening comprehension materials have been adapted for our dyslexic students. Here is an activity based on Netflix The Good Doctor with helpful accommodations (in the box) suggested in the Guía de enseñanza del inglés para alumnos con dislexia y otras dificultades – Consejería de Educación, Juventud y Deporte de la Región de Murcia.
«For dyslexic students to complete their Listening Comprehension tasks it is recommended to take extra time, not because the listening task is not understood by the dyslexic student but because T-I-M-E is needed to read and process the questions and answers before they can tick the correct choice» (Boelo van der Pool in Aprobar el B1 de inglés con dislexia es posible).
«Visual Listening Comprehension tasks» with accommodations for dyslexic students
As a teacher I feel frustrated when our dyslexic students cannot pass their writing tests following standardised assessment criteria and would like to contribute to changing this by learning and teaching new skills with the support of dyslexia specialists. I have therefore set up my mind now to further learning and to creating dyslexia-friendly materials for Adult learners of English
Intensive research sessions have taken me to Made By Dyslexia where transformative training videos can be found that will help teachers support our dyslexic learners. After watching these videos Three tools for Dyslexia-friendy Classrooms was posted to simplify work for fellow teachers interested in creating a more inclusive learning environment.
- Dyslexia Awareness (part one) = empower teachers to understand dyslexia, both its strengths and challenges, gain essential knowledge in how to spot and support dyslexia, create a dyslexia-inclusive classroom to empower dyslexic learners, understand when and where to seek further help.
- Dyslexia Awareness (part two) = how to support dyslexia in a general education setting, empower teachers with evidence-based practices to help learners with dyslexia, build awareness of the emotional impact dyslexia can have for students and give a deeper understanding of how dyslexia affects memory, organization, and concentration, describe how technology can transform outcomes for dyslexic learners.
- Dyslexia Teaching (part one) = identify signs that a student may be dyslexic, identify strengths to empower a learner with dyslexia, describe classroom instructions that benefit all learners.
- Dyslexia Teaching (part two) = use reading strategies to empower learners with dyslexia, identify new spelling strategies to help students with dyslexia, describe ways to support and empower students in writing tasks.
- Dyslexia Teaching (part three) = strategies and tools to improve memory, organization, and concentration, game-changing technology tools for students with dyslexia.
- Dyslexia and Technology = identify practices for supporting dyslexic thinking. explain solutions to help learners with dyslexia meet challenges, describe technology tools to support learners with dyslexia and build on their strengths.
