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Frequently Asked Questions - Postgraduate Certificate

Does the Postgraduate Certificate qualify me to become an assessor?

The Certificate course gives you the knowledge to assess for a 'teaching intervention'. You are able to assess for 'dyslexic tendencies'.

After successful completion of the Postgraduate Diploma course, your assessments can state that an individual is 'dyslexic'.  Eligible students are advised to apply for AMBDA status and an Assessment Practising Certificate (the latter is required if assessing for Disabled Students Allowance).

When do I receive my enrolment details?

You will receive your enrolment details 2 weeks before the start of the course

 

You will receive your enrolment details 2 weeks before the start of the course
When do I have to have my learner in place?

Learner 1: Must be in place for teaching for one hour per week during term-time (10 hours teaching) starting in the week immediately following the induction school. You will also carry out a formal assessment, mid-teaching, of this learner which will require a 2-hour slot. Regardless of your teaching situation, your learner must be aged between 8-14 years and be struggling, specifically, in literacy.

 

Learner 2: Criteria is the same as for Learner 1. Work with Learner 2 commences with a formal assessment followed by 10 hours of teaching over 7 weeks. Lessons will be 90 minutes per week (or equivalent over two lessons per week) and include higher reading skills and extended writing and so you must ensure that your chosen learner is able to manage such tasks. In some circumstances you may be permitted to work with an older learner but this must be discussed with the course manager. You are advised NOT to consider a learner in GCSE year.

How will doing this course help my career?

 

As a specialist teacher of dyslexic pupils you would be well placed to work as a SENCo or specialist teacher in a school. Some Local Authorities have a specialist dyslexia support service and you would usually need a specialist qualification to work for such a service. Alternatively, you could work independently as a 1-1 tutor and also offer literacy assessments. Some schools also buy in independent tutors to work with students (particularly independent schools)

 

Why does my learner have to be between 8 and 14 years old?

Our teaching programme and methodology is designed to develop literacy skills of all learners, regardless of age or experience. However, in the first year of training we recommend that your two learners both be between 8 - 14yrs and have literacy difficulties only. The reason we ask this is because, our experience is that this age range is best suited to enable you,whilst in training, to gain confidence as you learn new teaching techniques.  A younger or less able learner will not progress as quickly through the programme as would an older/more able learner and therefore would not reach the stage when complex concepts first appear and thus you, as a student, would not receive tutor support whilst teaching these concepts.

In addition we ask that your chosen learners have literacy difficulties but not additional overlapping conditions (ADHD, ADD Aspergers) that might interfere with progress. Once qualified, you will meet all sorts of learners with a variety of dyslexic and other overlapping SpLDs

Can my second learner be 16 or 17?

In some circumstances you may be permitted to work with an older learner but this must be discussed with the course manager. You are advised NOT to consider a learner in GCSE year.

What qualification can I obtain at the end of the Certificate course?

On successful completion of this course you will hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Dyslexia and Literacy, validated by The University of York. You may be able to apply for BDA Approved Teacher Status provided your teaching experience fulfils BDA* requirements. You will have completed a course which equips you to assess for Examination Access Arrangements competently once you have completed a supplementary short on-line course to give you details of current requirements.
 
*for more information www.bdadyslexia.org.uk

Can I use the DILP programme with colleagues at my school?

Please note that the DILP is a copyright programme and its use is restricted to trained persons. You may not make the programme available to others nor photocopy for your own use, apart from the copyright-free materials.

How will my tutor support and assess my teaching?

You will communicate with your tutor, mainly via the VLE. You will upload lessons and evaluations for comment and guidance every week. Several times throughout the course you will be required to video record lessons or assessments and send these to your tutor. Full instructions will be given to you on the course

Does the learner that I choose need to have been diagnosed as having dyslexia?

 

No. They will have noticeable literacy difficulties and will not have undergone any prior formal assessment or specialist teaching.
 
It is not advisable to work with a learner who has complex difficulties during the course. You may after, and undoubtedly will, but for training purposes it is recommended that you choose learners whose main difficulties are in literacy.
 
All learners must be able to hold age-appropriate conversations in English and be educated in a mainly English speaking environment.
 
 

 

How much time per week will I need to allow for study?

This course is delivered at Master level and you will need to set aside a minimum of 15 hours private study time per week throughout the course (a minimum of 600 hours overall) and will be expected to have timetabled as such prior to the start of the course. This is an average number of hours per week, some weeks may require more time, some less.

Your teaching practice is in addition to this.

What are the hardware requirements for the course?

You will need access to:

To access our virtual learning environment, any computer capable of browsing the internet will suffice. Any internet browser will work although we recommend Firefox. Generally, any computer sold in the past 5 years should be sufficient. Broadband connection is ideal but even a dial-up will allow you to access online readings,  submit assignments and participate in forum conversations. You will need a broadband connection to take advantage of our multimedia content (videos, audio). However, you can access those from an alternate location. Broadband is also ideal for participating in webinars, although even that may be possible over dial up. You will also need access to an office application suite such as OpenOffice or Microsoft Office. For access to readings, multimedia and webinars, you may be asked to install Adobe Acrobat, Flash and Java Engine, however, these are typically preinstalled on any computer or can be installed for free on demand, when needed.

  • your own, personal email account
  • a video camera for videoing lessons. This MUST have sufficient memory and battery to record for up to TWO HOURS.
  • a printer
  • a scanner
  • a digital camera
  • a USB Flash drive/Memory stick (2-4GB) (onto which you must transfer your video submissions)

If you have an Apple Mac computer please see the Apple Mac FAQ item for further information.

What happens after I've submitted my application?

After we received your application, we will immediately notify you of receipt. The application will then be forwarded to the Course Director for review.

If you haven't received a notification of receipt within one week, please call +44 (0)1784 222304. There have been instances of applications being intercepted by spam filters.

What books and tests do I need to use on the Certificate course?

Core texts, assessment materials, teaching and study resources

Pre-Induction School 

Once enrolled you may begin reading for your course.  The first module you will study is about the structure of spoken & written English for which you need to have a copy of English Language: Description, Variation and Context which is available from online bookshops.  This is a reference text and you should not feel that you need to read it cover to cover. You will also find the first 5 chapters of ‘Dyslexia in Practice’ a valuable introduction to specialist teaching.

At Induction

DILP (Dyslexia Institute Literacy Programme) will be issued to you during the induction school. This is given to you on loan for the duration of the course but remains the property of Dyslexia Action until you pass the course.

Induction School 

You should bring with you:

  • The usual stationery items, coloured pens, scissors, paper clips, calculator etc.
  • Laptop, charger and memory stick – few sockets available in lecture rooms but you may want to write up notes in your room.
  • Camera – to photograph sample resources if required.
  • WRIT and WRAT4 plus copies of the diagnostic tests downloaded from the Assessment Resources module.

THE FOLLOWING TEXTS WILL NO LONGER BE USED FOR THE OCTOBER 2011 COURSE:

The Psychology of Dyslexia (Thomson)
The Study of Dyslexia (Turner)
Dyslexia (Snowling)

They have been replaced by 'Reading Development and Difficulties' by K. Cain (2010)

A: Compulsory core texts and resources

Author

Available from

English Language: Description, Variation and Context 

Culpepper, Katamba, Kerswill, Wodak and McEnery

Available from Amazon.  If you use this link Dyslexia Action will receive a small donation

http://bit.ly/culpeper

 

Dyslexia in Practice

Townend & Turner

 

Some items are available from Dyslexia Action Shop Limited.

 

Please place your order allowing plenty of time for delivery.

 

The shop will NOT be able to bring your items to the induction venue as they are delivered from a warehouse.

 

Please note that the profits from Dyslexia Action Shop Limited are all ploughed back into the charitable work of Dyslexia Action

The Psychology of Dyslexia

Thomson M. (Whurr) 2nd edition
Reading Development and Difficulties Cain, K (2010)

Large Uppercase Wooden Alphabet

 

B: Compulsory assessment tests to buy or access. 

 

Wide Range Attainment Test 4 (WRAT 4)

Wilkinson G. and Robertson G.

Wide Range Intelligence Test (WRIT)

Glutting J, Adams W, and Sheslow D.

C: Recommended Texts for psychology modules

 

The Study of Dyslexia

Turner M. & Rack J.  (Kluwer)

Dyslexia

Snowling, M.(2000) 2nd Edition

D: Optional  – Use of these books is not permitted before Module 3B

 

DILP Core Materials

 

E: Useful teaching resources

 

Stile Dyslexia books & Tray

 

Lower case letters for word-building – plastic/wooden

 

Handwriting for windows – or similar

 

Whiteboard, flipchart or similar

 

Various

Dyslexia Action Shop Ltd

Once enrolled on the course the list of books & resources above (with the one exception of the Structure of Language text) will be available from our trading company at 10% discount.  To claim your discount please ring 01784 222339 or 01784 222337 or email trading@dyslexiaaction.org.uk quoting course reference PG/CBL.  You can view the shop online at www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk  

If I am unable to attend the Induction School, what are my options?

The Induction school is a compulsory part of the course, so if you are unable to attend then you must look at starting the course at a time when you are able to attend the Induction school.

How I can I get access to a student if I'm not working at a school/college at the moment ?
It is advisable to approach your local school /college or parent.  We can supply letters of introduction that you can use and which will explain the nature of your studies.
Can I interrupt my studies and start again later?

You can request a Leave of Absence or extension but these are taken into very careful consideration and are only considered for exceptional circumstances.

Can I complete the course in less than 1 (2) years?

No, there are milestones spread over the 1 (2) years. Also, interaction with your fellow students is an integral part of the course which means that by finishing early you would be missing important learning experiences.

I have an Apple computer running MacOS. Can I still access all the features of the course?

Yes, you should be able to access all the key elements of the course on MacOS.  Moodle, our virtual learning environment works within the browser so if you can browse most of the internet, you can access the course materials. We recommend that you use Firefox as your browser for greater compatibility.

However, there is some accessibility software that only runs on Windows machines. If you want to use that you must install Windows on your Macintosh using a virtual machine software (VmWare, Parallels, or the free VirtualBox) or BootCamp. For this, you need a system that runs on the Intel platform.

How will I do my practice teaching?

 

You will be expected to start your teaching practice immediately following the Induction School, initially in weekly 1:1 sessions each of one hour (with Learner 1). You will need to teach this learner for a minimum of 10 sessions.
You will be sent letters requesting permission from schools and parents together with consent forms, as you will be video recording your teaching and assessments - these consent forms must be signed and sent to the Training Office before you begin teaching practice. Each of the two learners with whom you will work during this course must be age-appropriate speakers of English and it is advisable to choose a learner who, although not having been formally assessed as having dyslexia, is struggling in literacy. For the purposes of your teaching practice for this course, you are advised to avoid learners with complex difficulties.
Regardless of your teaching environment, the age range of your first learner should be between 8 - 14 years and it is your responsibility to find appropriate learners in order to be able to begin teaching immediately following the induction school.  
You should expect to teach your learner each week throughout term times - a minimum of 10 hours with your first learner in one-hour sessions. For the majority of students, timing for teaching is very tight as we are constricted by school term-times. It is vital, therefore, that you plan the teaching of your learners as a priority. You will need access to a video camera as you will be recording lessons and assessments throughout the year and sending these recordings to your tutor on a USB stick.
Whilst the learner you choose for your Case Study (Learner 2) may be any age, it may be useful for you to know that for the Diploma course you will begin with a 16+ or adult learner and diploma year covers working with adults in depth. Sessions with Learner 2 will last for 90 minutes or 2x 45 minutes each week. You should avoid learners in their GCSE examination year.