Guidelines for Lecturers & Staff
Dyslexia, the most widely recognized form of Specific Learning Difficulty (SLD), is mainly associated with difficulties in processing language-based information including difficulty with reading, writing and spelling.
Others forms include dyscalculia (difficulty with numbers); and dyspraxia (difficulties in fine motor coordination). Individuals may have a combination of these, and the following notes are relevant to any of these students.
Guidelines for Marking Academic Work
Summary of Guidelines
- Agree an appropriate level of correction with the student;
- Correct for content following a defined and written marking scheme
- Read fast, looking for ideas, understanding and knowledge;
- If presentation is part of the marking scheme then the percentage for presentation should be indicated separately
- Identify main difficulty i.e. spelling, grammar, syntax and highlight examples
- Make constructive comments;
- Explain your comments straight-forwardly;
- Write legibly;
- If you have marked only for content and ideas, say so; use two pens, neither red; use one for content/ideas and the other for structure;
- Be sensitive, many students with SLD have had bad experiences in both primary and second level education because of a lack of awareness among teaching staff of the specific issues impacting on them in education.
Download Guidelines here: Guidelines for marking written work
Specific Errors to look out for:
- Word endings left out, e.g. 'ed', 'ing', 's', 'ment', 'ly'
- Small words omitted especially pronouns ( I, it, a, an, etc.)
- Phonetic spelling
- Words that sound the same, but are spelt differently, e.g. there/their/they're
General suggestions for lecturers/tutors
Tutors often ask how they can help a student with dyslexia. Here are a few suggestions. Some may seem too obvious to mention and others too difficult to implement. What can be done must depend on the circumstances and the ingenuity of the individual lecturer/tutor.
DO
- Praise wherever possible
- Encourage
- Consider allowing shorter assignments
- Mark written work on content (not on spelling) where possible
- Mark an oral response when possible
- Encourage him/her to sit at the front so he/she can catch your eye
- Ensure regular and individual tutorial times
- Give plenty of time to copy from the board or from overhead transparencies etc.
- Give resume of lecture if possible at the beginning of the lecture Allow the student to record lectures
- Encourage word processing
DO NOT
- Don't make a student with dyslexia read aloud in public if reluctant
- Never ridicule
- Don't correct all mistakes in written work - it is too discouraging
- Don't refer to his/her problems in public
REMEMBER
A student with dyslexia:
- Tires more quickly - far greater concentration is required
- May read a passage correctly, yet not get the sense of it
- May have great difficulty with figures, reading music or anything which entails interpreting symbols
- May be inconsistent in performance Experiences a constant nagging uncertainty
- May not be able to take good notes because he/she cannot listen and write at the same time
- May have great difficulty finding the place again if he/she looks away from the board or book (as in copying)
- May work slowly because of his/her difficulties, so is always under pressure of time
- May be more than usually disorganised Is likely to have difficulties following a string of instructions
- Is likely to be very creative
- May be able to 'see' the answer to a problem but find it difficult to explain his/her reasoning
Teaching Students with Disabilities: Guidelines for Academic Staff
The DAWN booklet 'Teaching Students with Disabilities: Guidelines for Academic Staff' (acvailable for download below) is intended as a resource for third level academic staff wishing to develop their awareness of disability issues and to improve practice in relation to students with disabilities.
The broad aims of the booklet are to focus academic staff on the individual student rather than on the disability, to develop an understanding of appropriate methods of communication and to create awareness of the need to be proactive in developing a curriculum which is accessible to all students.
Specifically, the booklet looks at disability in the context of higher education in Ireland, the role of Disability Support Services within our colleges, and best practice guidelines for supporting students with disabilities in lectures, tutorials and examinations.
This booklet was a collaboration between DAWN, the professional organisation of Disability Officers in Ireland, AHEAD, the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability, and a number of organisations that advocate on behalf of people with disabilities in Ireland.
Special thanks must be extended to the Asperger Syndrome Association of Ireland, Brainwave, DeafHear, the Dyslexia Association of Ireland and the National Council for the Blind, for their valuable contribution to this important booklet. NAIRTL, the National Academy for the Integration of Research and Teaching and Learning, provided the funding for this booklet.
Download the DAWN guidelines: Dawn Guidelines
