Training Educators as Specialists in Teaching Students with Learning Disability:
Premise: Students with Learning Disability (Dyslexia, Dysgraphia) comprise largest group of struggling learners with Special needs in the mainstream schools. Further, given their average to above average intelligence, intervention outcomes hold significant promise. When assisted with right interventions, students with Learning Disability hold the promise of competing with regular students as well as participate in Nation's growth as equals.
At the same time, human resource crunch makes it very difficult for schools to ready this relatively large group of students, 10-15% of the students, in a typical inclusive school. Even when there are Special Educators, sheer number of students needing interventions makes it impossible for them to reach out to most students.
There are many personnel and teachers in a typical school, who want to help their students but do not always know how. After all, reaching best outcomes for students is not as intuitive as it may sound. There is years of research backing professionals working with Learning Disability. The field of remediation has reached a stage where interventions do not only have to be effective (i.e. demonstrate positive changes in students' learning profiles), these also need to be efficient (time and resource sensitive) with clear exit trajectories.
Aim: With this perspective in mind, the training program has been designed to create a skilled human resource pool within inclusive schools, which will have the knowledge of research based strategies and the skills to formulate efficient interventions to reach out to all students with Learning Disability.
Structure: This training program consists of 10 modules. Ideally, the modules are spread over 10 months, in order to give trainees ample time to read, rehearse, ponder and internalise the learning experience.
Outcome: Teachers who have undergone this training are able to --
- Participate in the school inclusion committee
- Provide individualised intervention to students with Learning Disability
- Support students' learning within the main classroom
- Effectively collaborate with parents
- Systematically screen and support students for need of various accommodation to reduce the impact of Disability