No 3- Teaching Students with Specific Learning Difficulties

Learning and Teaching: Essential Guides

Learning and Teaching Essential Guides

No 3: Teaching Students with Specific Learning Difficulties Specific Learning Difficulties ( SpLD), for example, Teaching a group of students which includes dyslexia, dyspraxia, aphasia, may result in the students with a specific learning difficulty learner receiving and processing some information inaccurately. The most common SpLD found in • Provide reading lists well before the start of the university environment is dyslexia. a course so that reading can begin early.

Consider tailoring reading lists, and provide Specific Learning Difficulty is to all intents and guidance to key texts. purposes a ‘hidden’ difficulty. Often the first • Whenever you are introducing procedures or indication for staff will be a discrepancy between processes, or giving directions, for example the knowledge or ability a student demonstrates in a laboratory or computing exercise, ensure in class or in discussion and results on written that stages or sequences are made clear, and assignments or in examinations. While it is never are explained in verbal as well as written form. desirable to generalise about any difficulty or to rely on stereotypes, there are a number of • Use as many verbal descriptions as possible characteristics considered common to students to supplement material presented on with specific learning difficulty and these are whiteboard or overhead. Students with manifested particularly in written work through specific learning difficulty often have a marked unusual and inconsistent spellings; reversals or preference for an auditory mode of learning. transpositions of letters in words, or of numbers • Present information in a range of formats— in figures, formulae, dates; omission of parts handouts, worksheets, Powerpoint, DVDs/ of words or sentences, or omission of auxiliary videos—to meet a diversity of learning styles. words, pronouns and prepositions; and lack Ensure font size is at least 12 or 14 point and of proper order or demonstrated sequence in use a font type such as Arial. (this guide is writing and mathematical calculations. Students produced in Arial 14 pt.) may also mispronounce or misread words, and have difficulty acquiring new vocabulary or a • Ensure that Power Point slides are available new language. Reading rate is generally slower on Moodle in advance of the lecture. This than average, though not necessarily in all areas. allows the student to familiarise themselves Students may exhibit difficulties in time and task with the topic in advance, which is helpful for management, and in prioritising and organising processing the information. It also minimises generally. the amount of writing they are having to do in the lecture.

• Use a variety of teaching methods so that students are not constrained by needing to acquire information by reading only. Wherever possible, present material diagrammatically— in lists, flow charts, concept maps etc.

Keep diagrams uncluttered, and use colour wherever appropriate to distinguish and

Learning and Teaching: Essential Guides

highlight.

• Ensure that lists of technical/professional terms which students will need to learn are available early in the course.

• Students with specific learning difficulty find it hard to listen and write at the same time. Being able to record lectures or having access to pod-casted lectures will assist those students who have handwriting or coordination problems, those who write slowly, as well as those who have a tendency to mishear or misquote. Students will be more likely to follow correctly the sequence of material in a lecture if they are able to listen to the material more than once.

Teaching staff should ensure that they are familiar with the requirements of the following legislation relating to disability: Equality and Diversity Act 2010. Details may be found on the Equality Tab on Portia.

Queries regarding the needs of individual students should be referred to the Disability and Dyslexia Services Tel: (external) 01243 812076 (Internal) 2076.

• Repetition is important for students with specific learning difficulty. Wherever possible, ensure that key statements and instructions are repeated or highlighted in some way.

• Students with specific learning difficulty are generally not efficient users of time, and so will benefit from discussion on timemanagement and organisation issues. Such discussions can be built in to tutorial activities.

Extra tutoring in subjects where processes and sequences are important may be desirable.

• Students with specific learning difficulty may benefit from having oral as well as written feedback on their written assignments. See also the guidance on Marking the Work of Dyslexic Students (Good Practice Guide 1a.).

• Do not make students over-anxious about making mistakes, asking questions, getting through the work, or meeting learning goals.

It may be helpful for students with specific learning difficulty to have an individual orientation to laboratory equipment or computers to minimise anxiety.

Centre for Learning and Teaching/Disability and Dyslexia Service Enhancement Guides The University promotes an inclusive approach to learning and teaching, based on equity and equal entitlement.

The university’s aim is to increase the proportion of students who are currently under-represented in higher education in order to widen participation and its objective is to provide suitable facilities, and implement policies that enable all students to undertake and complete their studies successfully.