teaching dyslexic adult students

Dyslexia - learning and teaching.

In order to be able to teach we should first examine how we learn. Yes, not everybody learns in the same way, but a good starting place for any research we do into learning is ourselves. So ask yourself "how do I learn things".

Can you remember what you did yesterday? Can you remember what you read in the newspaper of saw on t.v.? Can you remember what you learnt two weeks ago?

The answer is probably 'not all of it', 'not much of it' or even 'no' ! So how do we remember and learn things?

When I ask myself that question I come up with the following answers [though not necessarily in any particular ranking]-

by repetition - things I do regularly (whether I want to do them or not!).
by doing it; by testing it to see if it works or makes sense; by discussing it with others or teamwork.
by trial and error - learning from mistakes.
by having the opportunity to think about what I am learning ('reflection').
completely new experiences - the details of unexpected things stick in my mind.
because I need to learn it.
by association - linking it something else that I have already learnt or remembered.
by making notes of things that might be useful in the future or that I need to remember.
by somehow getting things from my short-term memory into my long-term memory!

So can I then incorporate these ways of learning into my teaching [at present this list is no particular order]?

find out what the students already know, what they are in your class and what they want to learn.
never forget that the group of students bring a mixture of experiences and knowledge to the course.
remember that the students are there for several different reasons - some want to be taught, some want to be entertained, some are looking for "guided self learning" ....
to be able respond to the needs of the individual and the whole group at the same time.
build on existing knowledge - someone once told me that the secret of a good lecture is to start by telling the audience something they already know!
don't just lecture and expect the students to learn; however exciting the surroundings are or how enthusiastic I am, two hours of me talking will become boring and is hard work for me!
be unpredictable - do something different that will be memorable, even if it is remembered for the wrong reasons. But remembering that dyslexic students (and tutors) don't like change - so avoiding changing times, places or plans once they have been agreed.
use humour, including the bad jokes that get a groan everytime tell them!
variety - mix the type of teaching to give a varied learning experience for the students
by pausing and giving the class a chance to think about what I am telling them.
by revision - "what did we do last week?"; sum up at the end of each session.
by making associations - "how does that tie in with the fieldwork?"; "do you remember when we were discussing...?"
talking about your experiences and in particular about how you learnt from your mistakes.
by asking questions - audience participation.
by asking questions for students to think about between sessions and report back.
by practical work - students using the information they have been given.
by group work - giving students the opportunity to share discuss things between themselves without feeling pressurised by the tutor.
by asking the students what they already know and what they would like to learn.
empathy - I am a learner too.
enthusiasm - if I bored with learning about the subject I will be a boring teacher (in fact I could not teach) !
honesty - I do not know everything, but I will do my best to help you find out the answers to your questions.
"ham it up, don't dumb it down!"
setting boundaries - there are somethings that are outside the scope of this present course, but will be better covered in a subsequent course or elsewhere.
"joint ownership" - by consulting with the students and agreeing changes to the course content.
by being flexible - sometimes it is exciting to explore things you had not planned; better to spend longer on one aspect of the syllabus to meet the needs and wishes of the students or drop some parts of the course because you do not have time to do them justice.
by letting go of 'control' - allow the students to share their experience with each other - either in groups, or in class discussions or even by letting them 'teach'.
avoid 'suffering'- just because you have spent a huge amount of time and effort preparing something it is does not follow that you have to do it regardless of the students. Never get into the "I've started so I'll finish" or ''I've suffered for my subject and not it's your turn to suffer" syndrome.
encourage people to take notes even if you have everything written down in a handout.
remember that most people will not read a handout anyway!
think very carefully about what you put into handouts and why you are using them.
check that the class understands one thing before going on to the next - and not just by asking "does everyone understand?" because the answer is nearly always "yes".
by getting feedback - not just via a questionnaire at the end of the course, but by reading body language and by gauging the level of participation.
by building in assessment as part of the course rather than making it a daunting "test" on the last week.
by "walking the floor" - a good management technique of wandering around and chatting.
by giving feedback on the students work throughout the course.
by providing "closure" - not leaving things hanging and vague "we've looked at this and found out that, now it is time to move on to the next thing".
review and change the course in light of experience - keep the things that went down well and change the bits that went wrong. Take notice of student feedback - the students are your best teacher!!

Things to avoid -

information overload - check that students have understood one part of the course before moving on to the next.
expecting dyslexic students to multi-task - they may have difficulty in reading notes off an overhear, listening to you talk and writing their own notes at the same time.
embarrassing a dyslexic student or slow reader - get to know them and find out how they feel about their problems; if they want to keep it confidential then be discreet.

Handouts and notes.

Think carefully about why you are giving notes to students. Is it -

to give a summary of the work individuals missed when they were off
to help those with learning difficulties
to provide extra information for all students
to give more detail
to give optional extra information for students to use if they wish
to provide necessary instructions in writing (e.g. safety)
to provide a worksheet - information and instructions for individual learning
because the worksheet is and integrated part of your teaching and you expect them to use it during the meetings (e.g. fill in the gaps)
to save time in the classroom
because you are too lazy to spend the time answering their questions ("it's all in the handout/on the website")

Think carefully about how the students will use the notes.

will they actually read them?
will they see them as a substitute for doing the learning themselves?
will they all have the time to read the notes? Is it fair to expect them to?
do the notes enhance their learning? Are they to stimulate further learning?
is it fair to assess their use of the handouts if you have not covered the topic in class?

Are the handouts appropriate for your students? For instance an 'GCSE'-level worksheet for 15 year olds may be very helpful, but when you give it to adult learners they may think that it is patronising.

One problem that I have observed with giving out notes to the class in advance is that some students do not pay as much attention to what you tell them; they rely on your notes and then struggle with assessed work as a result. The students then think that the problem is not theirs but the fault of the tutor for not being 'comprehensive' in the handouts.

Back to School :

If you are teaching adults then bear in mind that some do not want to be reminded of experiences they had at school. So avoid using terms used at school - in particular terms associated with assessment and examinations. I have found that if I use school terms then some adult students produce poorer quality work because they are more aware of the fact that I am assessing their work and try to impress me rather than express their own views and learning for themselves. So, from experience, I have learnt to avoid terms like 'essay', 'test', 'homework' and 'assignment', and prefer to use 'report', 'quiz', 'project' and 'task'.

I also ask what sort of feedback each student would find most helpful and try to provide it.

(updated 31/10/5)

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