I am constantly striving to find useful information and inspiration that supporters of dyslexic learners can use to help our young people learn more effectively from home.  In this article, friend of the blog and SENCO, Faye Favill shares some useful insights on how to ensure successful learning from home.

Faye, what advice would you give to teachers who are supporting children and young people remotely?

I have two main tips that teachers could easily implement that would make a significant difference to the remote learning experience for their pupils.

These are: 

Record your live lessons so that pupils can watch them back at their own pace.

At St David’s College in Llandudno, we are keen to make use of technology that helps with learning. 

We know that the time-based element to learning in the classroom can bring about anxiety for students with dyslexia and other special educational needs (SEN) and so imagine what this is like for a student engaging in remote learning without direct access to the teacher in the same room!

We recommend that all live lessons are recorded and for the students to have access to those recordings. This means that students can check back on points that they didn’t initially understand or even listen again to those parts of the lesson when the student may have ‘zoned out’.  With the lesson recorded, the information is captured, the student can play and replay these recordings as much as they need to.  This reduces anxiety and helps to embed the learning.

Chunk your lessons and minimise the number of instructions given out in one go.

For many pupils and students with dyslexia and other SEN, challenges with slow processing is common.

At St David’s we recommend that teachers ‘chunk’ their lessons and don’t make them complicated.  In any part of the lesson, students will know exactly what the learning outcome of any lesson chunk is.  This helps with focus.

More importantly, with any instructions given, as teachers we should minimise the number of instructions given out in one go.  This reduces complexity and allows our students to process the request given to them.  Giving out multiple instructions will lead to ‘gaps’ in the information received.  The students don’t want to fail at doing what they are told, so as teachers we are setting them up for failure if we bombard them with multiple instructions.  If we do this then we risk, for our students with slow processing, negatively impacting on their confidence and engagement.

Faye, that’s great advice for teachers.  What advice could you give about remote learning for pupils and students, that parents can help with?

Albeit it the norm at the moment, our children and young people are in the unusual situation of remote learning from home.  Just the simple fact that we are not meant to leave home, means that they do not have that mad rush to get up and get ready to leave for school.  The simple act of getting ready to go to school puts the mind on the path to engagement with school.  On a day-to-day basis, our pupils and students are living and learning within the same four walls, with the distractions of home around them. 

The following tips are essential for successful remote learning whilst combatting the monotony of this enforced way of living.

Waking up.

Although you may have some extra time in bed without a commute, aim to wake up around the same time every day. This helps stabilise your internal clock and improve your sleep overall. You’ll feel less tired, more refreshed, and find it easier to concentrate throughout the day.

Getting ready.

Keep to your established morning routine if you can – get ready, washed, and dressed as if you are going outside. This will help you get into the mindset that you are at school.  Don’t laze about in pyjamas!

Setting up your workspace.

Try to set aside a work area separate from your bedroom, as this will help to prepare you for school mode and make it easier to switch off at the end of the day. A small desk set up in a corner of your room, or a laptop at the end of the kitchen table can do the trick.

If you’re working within a small space, you could try setting up temporary ‘zones’ by hanging blankets or screens to visually separate your work area from your bed or living area.                                                                           

EXERCISE – SOOOOO IMPORTANT!

Try to get 10,000 steps in per day or other forms of exercise. Healthy body! Healthy mind!

Our parent advice sheet on dyspraxia includes useful information for anyone wanting to help their students with understanding how their body moves and how to keep healthy.

Be kind to yourself and get what you need to work at your best!

Be kind to yourself and if you need to take some time out to reset, do it!

If you are struggling with the pace of work or social isolation, teachers want to know because they genuinely want to help you.  Don’t be afraid to say what is happening for you and ask for help.  These are difficult times, and no one will judge you for that.

Faye, thank you for these useful tips, are you available to answer further questions from parents and teachers?

Coming up on Saturday 6th February, St David’s College is holding a virtual Open Day and I will be available to answer any questions regarding supporting pupils and students with special educational needs.  All are welcome and to register your place simply click the banner below.