EDN328 Teaching English & Literacy to Students with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities

1. Topic 7: Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties in Spelling

1.1. Stages of spelling development; strategies good spellers use and areas of difficulty for students with LD

1.2. Phonological awareness and phonics. Teaching phonological awareness and phonics in context

1.3. Strategies to spell unfamiliar words; the role of etymology;

1.4. Explicit teaching of Spelling; Proofreading and editing skills, strategies to spell unfamiliar words; the role of etymology;

1.5. Assessment of spelling competence. Diagnostic assessment of spelling skills.

1.6. Learning disabilities in Spelling

1.7. Interventions and programs for spelling: Sounds-Write, Letters and Sounds, Words their way, Tune into the Sounds of English, THRASS, Spelling Mastery, etc.

2. Topic 8: Teaching students with Learning Difficulties in Writing

2.1. Writing essentials -purpose, enagement, opportunity, audience, tone, language devices, ideas, structure, vocabulary, cohesion.

2.2. Components of the writing process include planning, drafting, sharing, evaluating, revising, and editing.

2.3. Key Stages: understanding the task (model text, annotation), planning (text type, generating and organising ideas), writing and revising (editing/ proofreading), and publishing.

2.4. Grammar and role of meta-language for writing, including punctuation. Role of proofreading and editing. Teaching handwriting and keyboarding skills.

2.5. Learning difficulties in Writing

2.6. Strategies for Teaching Writing including Self Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), Gradual release of responsibility, Talk for Writing, The four resources model for writing, explicit teaching etc.

3. Topic 9:Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties in Comprehension and Fluency

3.1. Components of Comprehension and fluency:retrieving, interpreting, integrating, reflecting and evaluating information.

3.2. Strategies for improving comprehension. Monitoring comprehension, Working Memory, Metacognition, Graphic and semantic organizers, Responding to texts, Questioning, Explicit insturction in comprehension strategies, Extending Vocabulary.

3.3. Key stages: Activating and using prior knowledge to make connections, Predicting, Visualising, Asking and answering questions, Summarising, Synthesising, and Critical thinking

3.4. Learning difficulties in Comprehension

4. Topic 10: Literacy development for bilingual learners, EAL/D and Aboriginal/Torres Straight Islander students

4.1. Research on issues related to bilingual students language and literacy instruction

4.2. Sociocultural, psycholinguistic and educational research frameworks

4.3. Societal factors related to language, literacy and academic achievement, modes of bilingualism, role academic achievement, modes of bilingualism, role of linguistic minorities in society; impact of bilingual policies

4.4. Research-based instructional approaches for bilingual literacy development including Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP), Use of First Language, Shared writing, Stress, intonation and phonics, Managing silent periods, and listening.

5. Topic 11:Teaching Literacy in a mixed ability English classroom.

5.1. Adjusting outcomes; modes of language; Group work (guided v independent);Multi-level explicit teaching. Adjusting assessments for EALD/low levels of literacy; Group work (guided v independent);

5.2. Adjusting assessments for EALD/low levels of literacy; Group work (guided v independent);

5.3. Literacy matters – control of language; current and future learning; Negotiating the world: accumulating literacy, Providing opportunities for continual improvement;

5.4. Environmental literacy; digital reading; making connections; Life skills: proliferation and diversity of literacy needs;

5.5. Gibbons’ High-challenge High-support classroom model.

5.6. Technology and literacy development: digital natives and concepts of screen. Review of software to support early literacy. Using software to extend individuals and support learners with learning difficulties.

6. Topic 1: Introduction

6.1. Scope and importance of Literacy

6.2. K-12 Literacy continuum

6.3. Cognitive, sociocultural and critical theoretical perspectives

6.4. The relationship between literacy and language

6.5. Approaches to Literacy education

6.6. Literacy learning in the Early Years

6.7. Learning Difficulties - Facts and Myths

7. Topic 2:Teaching English and Literacy

7.1. Critical analysis of models of literacy learning, including the role of phonological awareness and phonics.

7.2. The implications of these models for literacy learning and teaching.

7.3. The reading, spelling and writing process, the common literacy difficulties students experience and strategies to support literacy development.

7.4. The role of Assessment and Identification procedures for students who are at risk of, or who have developed literacy learning difficulties.

7.5. First Steps resources.

8. Topic 3: Learning Disabilities in Literacy

8.1. The psychological and social profiles of children with learning difficulties and learning disabilities

8.2. Oral language development: Delays, disorders, and deviations in listening and speaking. Receptive and expressive language. Speech and Communication.

8.3. Written language development: reading, writing, spelling, grammar. Deviations, disorders and delays in development of written language.

8.4. Fluency, Comprehension and Reasoning: organizing and integrating thoughts.

8.5. Memory: processing and remembering information

9. Topic 4: Identification of Learning Disabilities in Literacy (Diagnostic Assessment)

9.1. Whole class Literacy assessment

9.2. Assessment types and purposes

9.3. Gathering evidence of student achievement and difficulties

9.4. The role of diagnostic assessment

9.5. Analysing the evidence

9.6. Using the information for planning, programming, and teaching

9.7. Common indicators of literacy learning difficulties

10. Topic 6:Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties in Reading

10.1. Dyslexia and other specific reading difficulties

10.2. Common problem areas including phonological awareness, phonics, decoding, fluency comprehension, and vocabulary.

10.3. Random rapid naming difficulties

10.4. Information processing disorders and Working memory

10.5. Strategies to support students: Explicit reading instruction that incorporates five essential elements: 1. phonics (Including synthetic phonics) 2. phonemic awareness 3. fluency 4. vocabulary 5. comprehension Strategy development (cognitive strategy instruction, self-regulated learning, memory strategies, reciprocal teaching, etc.)

10.6. Intervention strategies and Programs: SRSD, Letters & Sounds, THRASS, MiniLit, MultiLit, Alpha to Omega, Beat Dyslexia, Heather Harvey's IRP, Direct Instruction, RR, Reading Mastery, Orton-Gillingham based reading instruction etc.

11. Topic 5:Teaching students with learning difficulties in Listening and Speaking:

11.1. Diversity of oral language (EALD/LOTE and codeswitching, register and dialect).

11.2. Importance of listening (comprehensible input) and speaking (comprehensible output).Oral language involves expressive and receptive skills. Expressive language - the words and actions used to convey meaning, including tone, volume, pauses and inflections. Receptive language - the understanding of language expressed by others. Expressive and receptive oral language are often referred to as ‘speaking and listening’.

11.3. Literacy focus for speaking and listening. Phonological awareness; Vocabulary; Pragmatic conventions for oral language;Speaking and listening across the curriculum; Purposeful listening

11.4. Strategies including: Accountable talk, Extended talk and dialogic talk, Teacher talk, Discussions in the dialogic classroom, Talk for writing, Language experience. Modelling through think alouds Readers’ theatre, Games for listening, speaking and playing with words/sounds.