Dyslexia Guild Gallery December 2013

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Guild Gallery December 2013
 
   DA HQ in winter

Guild Gallery 2013

The e-newsletter for all the Dyslexia Guild Members.  Christmas vacation will soon be upon us so I hope you will take the time to think about your CPD requirements for 2014. Save the date on the 19th of June 2014 for the Dyslexia Guild Summer conference in Lincoln.  We have several courses and events starting in the new year:

Upcoming Courses          

Postgraduate Programme         

Starts 12th May 2014 (programme will run three times a year in September, January and May)

The aim of these online programmes is to train teachers and support tutors to become informed, skilled practitioners who understand the theory and practice of teaching and/or assessment of dyslexic learners of all ages (we have three start dates per year in September, January and May)

Training PG Courses

 

CPD Programme                            

Starts 15th January 2014 (book by latest 8th January)           

Dyslexia Action's Continuing Professional Development Level 4 and 5 online courses have been designed specifically for:

Classroom Teachers

Teaching Assistants

Tutors working with those under the age of 18

(Several start dates available throughout the year)

Training CPD Courses

 

Supporting Adults Programme (for those working with Adults)

Starts 15th January 2014 (book by latest 8th January)           

This programme is suitable for those working in Further or Higher Education and with adult learners.

 

International Programme          

Starts 15th January 2014 (book by latest 8th January)

The Level 4 and Level 5 International Programme courses are designed to strengthen the expertise and confidence of international teachers, teaching assistants and support professionals in order to ensure the progress and achievement of learners from primary to 18 years with special educational needs.

In order to participate in the course you should be living outside the UK but be working with English speaking learners.

Exams Access Arrangements      

Starts 4th February 2014 (book by latest 21st January)

The course provides Continuing Professional Development on assessment in the context of dyslexia and other SpLDs and is for people who need more information or updating in this area of disability in order that they can write reports in support of examination access arrangement requests. The latest JCQ regulations and report writing requirements within this framework will be covered.

Other Events

International Conference for Academic Disciplines, Boston 26th May 2014)

This 5-day conference on the Harvard University campus brings together researchers from various disciplines, showcasing multidisciplinary research and the splendours or New England in Summer. Website: Click here

If USA is too far to travel, how about Europe? 

Barcelona, 16th to 19th June 2014.  Website: Click here

Venice, 30th June 2014.  Website: Click here

Guild Summer Conference 2014 in Historic Lincoln

Research News

How brain anatomy influences language acquisition in young children 

 Researchers from Brown Universisty and King’s College London are improving the understanding of brain anatomy and language in children between 2 and 4 years old.  Their study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, did not show more development in the left side of the brain as children enter the critical period of language acquisition.  "What we actually saw was that the asymmetry of myelin was there right from the beginning, even in the youngest children in the study, around the age of 1," said the study's lead author, Jonathan O'Muircheartaigh, the Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow at King's College London. "Rather than increasing, those asymmetries remained pretty constant over time."

That finding, the researchers say, underscores the importance of environment during this critical period for language.  For more on this story, click here

E-Readers of benefit to people with Dyslexia

 A study involving over 100 students, undertaken by researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in the United States in association with other institutions, compared students' reading comprehension using an Apple iPod Touch with the same text on paper. The test on the iPod Touch was formatted to display only a few words per line.

The study found that reading speed and comprehension using e-readers improved for those students with very poor visual attention when using the device compared with reading longer lines of text on paper.

Head of Research, Development and Policy Dr John Rack said: “This is a very useful piece of research - one of the best, so far, to try to measure the benefits of e-readers for people with dyslexia.

For more on this story, click here

News

Guidelines for use of Lucid Exact in Exam Access Arrangements

 These guidelines have been approved by JCQ in November 2013 and clarify how Lucid Exact v1.5 may be used when accessing students for EAA..  For details click here

New exam system causes concern

 Dyslexia Action wants assurances that appropriate support will still be in place for students with dyslexia who often achieve better through a modular assessment process.  This month, the Department for Education published the results of a 10-week consultation on subject content and assessment objectives for new GCSEs including English, mathematics and science. Dyslexia Action was among the 686 respondents.  Dyslexia Action Chief Executive Kevin Geeson said: “We currently need reassurance that a reasonable adjustment framework for children with SEN will be as good as the existing one.”

For more on this story, click here

 

12 and 13 Feb 2014 – How to close the literacy gap for boys – Manchester and London. The National Literacy Trust are holding a conference looking specifically at issues around boys' literacy, exploring practical strategies which will engage boys with literacy activities and a discussion of the evidence from projects in this area. 


The British Library not only provides free workshops, tours and activities for schools, teachers, adult groups and families but is also offering Teacher Events with information on CPD conferences.  For more details click here

 

Report Writing and Copyright 


Dr Barry Johnson, Head of Assessment Services at Dyslexia Action has raised this issue regarding quality assurance.  This is to do with test content being disclosed within assessment reports where examples are given of clients' mistakes to test items. When tests are purchased, one enters a contract with the test publisher to preserve the safety and confidentiality of the test.  Disclosure of the test's contents could cause the test to become invalid in extreme scenarios.
Test safety can also be weakened by disclosure of test items - this includes releasing these within assessment reports.  Our formal advice for training and field assessments should be not to state test items, but only give examples of types of errors being made.

 

Books and Technology


New Dyslexia Action Shop Catalogue launched – Guild members get a 10% discount on shop items so request your new catalogue here: 

Book offer on the Assessment of Learners with Dyslexic-Type Difficulties

Phillips, Sylvia, Kelly, Kathleen & Symes, Liz. (2013). Assessment of Learners with Dyslexic-Type Difficulties. London: Sage ISBN: 978144626023 will be reviewed in the Spring issue of Dyslexia Review.  In the meantime, Sage are offering a Guild Member discount offer: Now available to you at a special 20% discount. Enter the discount code UK13EM079 at checkout when ordering online at www.sagepub.co.uk. Offer valid till 31/12/2013 and cannot be used in conjunction with another promotional offer.  Find out more and order your copy here.

The Reading Agency to run World Book Night - The annual event, which sees thousands of volunteers give away copies of specially printed books, will take place for the fourth time in April 2014. It has been run by an independent charity since it launched in 2011, working with The Reading Agency and the BBC as partners. However it will now be operated entirely by The Reading Agency.  For more details click here 

Seasonal greetings to all Guild Members for Christmas and the New Year.

Next issue

The next issue of Guild Gallery will be sent out February 2014.
   
Dyslexia Action

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