The effective teaching of literacy through
braille – online training course
Overview
This course has been designed to provide specialist training to
qualified teachers of children and young people with vision
impairment (QTVI) in how to teach literacy through braille. It has
been written by nationally recognised practitioners in braille and
created as an online course by an experienced instructional
designer.
Dates
The next course will start in October 2015 and finish in March
2016.
Cost
The cost of the course is £600 per place (£500 for VIEW
members).
Feedback from previous students
 “Altogether I thought it was a great course, I have really enjoyed
doing it and feel it has been very beneficial for my work and my
confidence working with and promoting braille”.
 “I have found this course to be both enjoyable and instructive. I
liked the way it combined reading, discussion, portfolio and test
and a complete absence of long essays!
 “I feel every QTVI teaching educationally blind children should
complete the course as the reading materials, discussions and
tasks were so relevant to teaching literacy through braille in
inclusive mainstream schools. I think this it is one of the most
beneficial VI courses I have ever done since the QTVI course.”
RNIB – supporting people with sight loss
RNIB charity numbers 226227, SC039316 and 1109
Course details
Entry criteria
 The course is open to qualified teachers of children and
young people with vision impairment.
 Students are expected to be competent in the contracted
braille code for English before studying the course
 Students will need regular access to at least one blind child
or young person who is learning or using braille for the
duration of the course.
Study arrangements
 The course involves around 80 hours of study time and is
organised according to a structured timetable.
 There will be one training day at the start of the course, to be
held at a central location in England. (NB. This training day is
optional for students from other countries.)
 All course materials will be studied online using the Moodle
virtual learning environment. No additional resources are
required.
 Assessment will be undertaken by a mixture of techniques:
o Online discussion activities on key themes
o Written portfolios applying course content to students’
own situations
o Multiple choice tests of factual knowledge
 The course will be tutored by qualified teachers of children
and young people with vision impairment who are specialists
in braille literacy.
Certification
The course leads to an RNIB/NatSIP certificate on successful
completion. It is not externally accredited.
rnib.org.uk
Course structure
All students will take the following core units:
1. Fundamentals of braille literacy
 Common methods/approaches to teaching reading through
print (phonics, whole word, language etc.)
 Differences between tactile and visual reading
 Impact of code changes
2. Emergent reading
 Developing pre-reading skills, emergent literacy for preschool children
 Working with parents (pre-school)
 Mechanics of reading for pre-readers
3. Early reading
 Early formal reading strategies (teaching letter shapes, letter
character recognition etc.)
 Braille reading schemes for early readers
 Deciding on contracted and uncontracted braille in the early
stages
 Mechanics of reading for early readers
 Working with parents (primary school)
4. Fluent reading
 Mechanics of reading for fluent readers
 Strategies for building reading fluency (speed, accuracy,
comprehension)
 Braille reading schemes for fluent readers; individualised
approaches; adapting sighted schemes
5. Implementing braille literacy
 Record keeping/assessment of reading performance
 Principles of braille writing and spelling
 Assistive technology (eg braille notebooks) and sourcing
braille equipment /resources
rnib.org.uk
 Modifying content for production in braille
 Developing and defining the role of professionals in
supporting braille users
Students will also choose two options from the following list of
supplementary units:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
Braille maths
Braille science
Foreign language braille
Braille music
Late beginners in braille
Learners with additional needs
Braille learners with English as an additional language
To apply:
To apply for the next course in October 2015 please complete the
application form at www.rnib.org.uk/eventsandtraining.
If you would like more information about the course please email
cypf@rnib.org.uk.
rnib.org.uk