Specialist dyslexia teaching:
what does it look like?
Jane Warren
jcw12@soton.ac.uk
Education School
A learning difference
Dyslexic people learn differently because of
the neurocognitive differences:
"If they can't learn the
way you teach, can you
teach the way they learn?"
2
The learning process
Learning is a process
Information processing cycle
Input
Cognition
Output
3
Input Stage
 Present information in small chunks, or help
learner break information down into
manageable sections
 Over-learning - using a variety of methods
and materials e.g. review PowerPoint slides
with notes taken/recording of lecture
 Key points - are they presented and
signposted as such?
4
Cognition Stage
 Organise new learning into meaningful
chunks
 New information - link to previous knowledge
 Strategies to help memorisation e.g. mind
mapping, mnemonics, student’s preferred
method
5
Output Stage
 Provide a structure for written work e.g.
paragraph headings
 Break information down into manageable
chunks e.g. written work into separate
sections/files/pages
 Summarise key points in sections e.g. start
with bullet points then expand
6
Difficulties in literacy learning can
be seen as
A combination of interaction between within
learner and environmental factors
If this is the case then there needs to be an
assessment of
Within learner characteristics
and
The learning environment
7
Dynamic and Metacognitive
learning
 Focuses on the process of learning
 Strategies being used by the learner
 Can be a useful teaching tool e.g. reciprocal,
scaffolding
 Can be achieved by asking the learner
questions
8
Learner
Needs an understanding
of the learning process
– metacognition
Needs a self
monitoring
process
= greater
efficiency and
quality of
learning
Metacognitive strategies enable
the learner to monitor their success
and become an active learner
What is metacognition?
 Metacognition refers to an individual’s self
knowledge of learning
 The structure and organisation of the learners
knowledge base & efficiency of learners self
monitoring
 Metacognition looks at the content as well as
the process e.g. how the individual learns and
how their knowledge base changes with
learning
Why is this important for dyslexic
learners?
 Learners who are weak in analytic and
discrimination skills can learn to process
information more efficiently and effectively
 A structured sequential approach to learning
needs to be balanced by global activities such as
creative work, language experience & visual
imagery
 Dyslexic learners may become ‘hooked’ into the
method that causes them the most difficulty e.g.
decoding that they fail to develop other ways of
learning
Cognitive skills, learning style,
metacognition and literacy
 How can you identify the skills required?
 How can the learner use this knowledge?
 What strategies can you use as a SDT to help
the learner develop the skills that they need?
Balancing act
At the same time a balance needs to be
maintained within the context of the learner
 What is required? Specific skills e.g. memory,
organisation, time management
 Awareness of course/curriculum demands,
presentation of information e.g. note taking
 Learner’s ability to access learning
Lower order skills v higher order
skills
 Individual language development programmes tend
to focus on lower order skills e.g. decoding, spelling,
handwriting
 The development of underpinning skills can
sometimes be overlooked
 The awareness of these underpinning skills
(metacognitive approach) will empower the learner
 These underpinning skills help to form the ‘glue’ that
holds everything together
Challenge for the SDT
Is to balance the needs of the learner and
 Increase functional literacy
 Develop academic and personal skills.
 Identify where the skills gap is? (Underlying
skills needed to function in various
environments)
within the learner’s current context
Overcoming barriers to learning
 Information on learner and the curriculum is
needed
 A balance between assistance for the learner
and refining objectives to make them more
accessible
 Important to avoid a checklist approach
 Emphasis on barriers to learning and not what
the learner cannot do
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Different stages of education
Support at each stage of education is:
 Often closely linked to curriculum needs
 Often teacher driven
 The sessions are often led and organised by
the teacher