Dyslexic students’ self-directed learning of subject-specific terminology
Introduction
Every subject area has a specialist vocabulary consisting of words which often have long and complicated spellings. These words pose particular problems for dyslexic students who often find it difficult to learn to read and spell even relatively simple words. These problems both impede the fluency with which they can read and write subject-specific material and are a drain on mental resources that are required for higher level comprehension and organizational processes. So, providing dyslexic students with a strategy and a concrete tool to help them learn these problematic specialist terms, or, indeed, any problematic words, will reduce the level to which they are disadvantaged whilst not putting a burden on frequently over-stretched support services.
The aim of the project is to develop self-directed programmes of learning that help dyslexic students learn to read and spell problematic subject-specific terminology or, indeed, any problem word. This will be done specifically for Psychology and Nursing but the outputs will be adaptable to other subject areas.
The first objective is to develop paper based, self-directed programmes for learning to read and spell difficult subject-specific terminology. These programmes will consist of a set of instructions which the user would then apply to a self-selected corpus of problem words. They depend on another person (a human tutor) to help with preparing the items to be learned.
The second objective is to develop computer based, interactive versions of these programmes. These can be used either with the help of a human tutor or with an appropriate electronic dictionary.
The third objective is to develop an electronic dictionary of syllabified pronunciations and spellings of essential subject-specific terms, accessible by key word meanings and/or partial spellings. New items can be added by the user. There will be one dictionary for each of Psychology and Nursing but dictionaries for any subject area can be created from a template. The dictionary would replace the human tutor.
The project will extend over a period of two years and will be directed by Dr. Chris Sterling (South Bank University) and Dr. Candan Ertubey (Luton University). General aspects of the project will be managed by Ms Kylie Brownfield, Project Manager and Research Fellow. The development of software will be managed by Mr. Simon Noyce, Software Manager and Research Fellow. Data collection at Luton will be managed by Ms. Sarah O’Reilly, project and research assistant.
The learning programmes to be developed are based on the fact that dyslexic people have impaired phonological skills, which impede their ability to learn to read and spell words by breaking them up into manageable components. The programmes will address this problem by helping dyslexic students (1) to break up difficult words into more manageable components such as syllables and morphemes and (2) learn how to spell these components using simple rules and morphemic information. The results of pilot work indicate that learning is not only successful but is long lasting.
The project is concerned with developing and testing these learning programmes and with producing software that will enable dyslexic students to manage their own learning. This will be done with the help of dyslexic students at South Bank & Luton Universities and will be done for specialist terminology in Psychology and Nursing, in the first instance. The contracts for software development will be put out to tender.
An important aspect of the project will be the input from a steering group. Membership will consist of key members of the project team and external advisers with a range of relevant skills and interests. The steering group will meet a total of five times, at key points in the project.
Another important aspect of the project concerns evaluation, and this will be overseen by an evaluation group who will meet at four key points during the project. Their brief will be to specify the information they need to evaluate progress on the project and to examine these data which will be supplied by the project team.
A critical aspect of the project concerns dissemination of information about the project and its progress, and dissemination of its outputs. This dissemination will require developing and maintaining a communication network consisting of Special Needs Units of British universities, Learning & Teaching Support Networks, academic departments and interested organisations such as the British Dyslexia Association (BDA). Communication will involve giving seminars and conference papers, running workshops, disseminating literature and maintaining a website. The outputs of the project will be disseminated to Special Needs Units and Libraries of British Universities, as well as to relevant organisations such as the BDA.
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