[NIFL-LD:4872] LD and intensive phonics

From: John Nissen (jn@cloudworld.co.uk)
Date: Fri Sep 23 2005 - 17:27:23 EDT


Return-Path: <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov>
Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id j8NLRNG08884; Fri, 23 Sep 2005 17:27:23 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 17:27:23 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <01e301c5c085$64608e40$0202a8c0@Tomschoice>
Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov
Reply-To: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov
Originator: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov
Sender: nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov
Precedence: bulk
From: "John Nissen" <jn@cloudworld.co.uk>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-LD:4872] LD and intensive phonics
X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Type: text/plain;
Status: O
Content-Length: 4331
Lines: 129


Hello Christopher,

I am sorry I coming into this session rather late.  I hope I am not too late 
to join in with some questions.

1.  Do people with LD have different teaching requirements?

I am trying to find out whether there is any difference in the teaching 
requirements for teaching people with LD to read, and teaching people with 
dyslexia to read.  I haven't found any factor to distinguish them, as 
regards their reading (dis)ability.

2.  Is poor reading due to poor teaching?

Also I want to find out to what extent the poor reading, or non-reading, is 
due to misguided teaching.  I often see that there are attempts to teach 
whole word recognition rather than word decoding, especially for people with 
LD, who may be considered incapable of the necessary phonological awareness. 
In the Clackmannanshire study, it was shown that a 'phonics first and fast' 
approach worked marvels for all the children, and by the end of primary 
school they were three years ahead in reading age compared to their peers 
taught by the 'conventional' teaching of a mixture of methods (including an 
element of phonics, together with guessing strategies, etc.).  I suspect 
that anybody who has learnt to speak is also capable of the phonological 
awareness required for reading and writing, given appropriate teaching.

3.  Left brain development for rapid decoding

Finally I wonder whether the right brain development in some poor readers is 
because they have developed skills for whole word recognition, and with the 
right teaching, their left brain would be developed to enable rapid 
decoding, even in older children.


Cheers from Chiswick,

John

John Nissen,
director Cloudworld Ltd
maker of the WordAloud assistive reader
http://www.cloudworld.co.uk





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Christopher Lee" <christopherlee@mindspring.com>
To: "Multiple recipients of list" <nifl-ld@literacy.nifl.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 3:27 PM
Subject: [NIFL-LD:4853] Day One Response UDL and AT


David:

Thanks for the question related to UDL and AT.

Much like everything else there are several interpretations out there on UDL
and AT. Universal Design for Learning is a larger vision than AT.  Universal
Design for Learning incorporates assistive technology.  If the environments
are not set up to work with the assistive technology (e.g. operating systems
and web sites) students with disabilities prevented from accessing
information.

The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University (CAST)
has (I think) one of the best definitions of Universal Design for Learning.
CAST's definition states that UDL is " .the design of products and
environments with the goal that they are usable by all people, to the
greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized
design."

A great book on the subject is Teaching Every Student in a Digital Age:
Universal Design for Learning by David H. Rose and Anne Meyer, and you can
find information about the book online at
(http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/). The authors break
down the components of UDL which involve Origins (architecture, access, and
education), Principles, Implementation (role of Neuroscience, role of
digital media, and the new role of assistive technology), and Application
(goal setting, methods & materials and assessment)

CAST has a few streaming videos for a recent conference that have experts
discussing the definitions of Universal Design for Learning and AT.

Assistive Technology commonly refers to "...products, devices or equipment,
whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that are used to
maintain, increase or improve the functional capabilities of individuals
with disabilities...", according to the definition proposed in the Assistive
Technology Act of 1998.

David, I hope this response helps to clarify your questions. Please let me
know if you need more of a breakdown.

Christopher




Christopher

Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D., Director
Alternative Media Access Center
331 Milledge Hall
Athens, Georgia 30602-5875

Phone: 706.542.4589
Fax: 706.583.0001

www.amac.uga.edu




Christopher

Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D., Director
Alternative Media Access Center
331 Milledge Hall
Athens, Georgia 30602-5875

Phone: 706.542.4589
Fax: 706.583.0001

www.amac.uga.edu



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon Oct 31 2005 - 09:49:53 EST