Nigel Lockett is a seasoned academic, Associate Dean, Head of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, co-author of a popular entrepreneurship college textbook, award-winning teacher, and serial entrepreneur who recently embraced his dyslexia and began blogging as “The Dyslexic Professor.” Listen to Nigel’s story below. In the video below, see how he introduced PhD […]
Q: I am an Language Arts Teacher. How Should I Give Feedback About Spelling for Dyslexic Students?
Great question. The degree of accommodations and or modifications should be individualized. SPELLCHECK Severely dyslexic students may need to dictate written work or keyboard work using spelling check. One favorite teacher of ours told us that she had a breakthrough...
How to Help a Dyslexic Student in a General Education Classroom
From the Connecticut Longitudinal Study, up to 1 in 6 students are dyslexic, but only a minority of these students will be found in special education classrooms. What does this mean for regular classroom teachers? 1. Get Basic Facts about Dyslexia - Dyslexic students...
Your Brain on Math Anxiety [Premium]
This is your brain with math anxiety. In children as young as 7 years old, researchers found that activation in areas such as the amygdala and hippocampus were seen in children who had high math anxiety. The amydala and hippocampus are areas of the brain associated with fear condition and negative emotions. The children were […]
The Teacher Who Didn’t Know How to Read
If you haven't heard John Corcoran's story, it's a great one. He became a teacher, never knowing how to read, getting by through good social skills, athletic ability, and cheating with the help of friends. He even taught for 17 years (showing more films and visuals...
[PREMIUM] Letter for Teachers
As the school year starts, it’s time to open up the word processing program and get to work on a letter for your student’s teachers. Letters should be customized for the particular class, subject, grade, and student’s needs. Here’s a nice example from Trish: “You have our son, *** in your second period AP Lang […]
[PREMIUM] What is Dyslexia? – Fast Facts for Teachers
THE MOST COMMON LEARNING DIFFERENCE Dyslexia is the most common learning difference, seen in up to 15-20% of the population. Dyslexia tends to run in families, but it can vary a great deal from family member to family member. IT’S NOT JUST READING Reading challenges are a central feature of dyslexia, but dyslexia-related brain differences […]
Dyslexia-FRIENDLY Foreign language Instruction [PREMIUM]
Because dyslexia has significant challenges that make foreign language learning difficult (e.g. impaired phonemic awareness, limitations on auditory verbal working memory, weak rule-based memory and syntax, etc.), many students request and are granted foreign language waivers. That being said, there are many students who can do well at foreign language learning, and alternative classrooms should […]
[PREMIUM] Reading and Spelling: When Sights and Sounds Don’t Match
TRICKY WORDS: WHEN SIGHTS AND SOUNDS DON’T MATCH Spotlight: Inflectional Suffixes Because many dyslexic students don’t have a visual imprint of words, there are common spelling or pronunciation errors that occur when word endings seem to vary. In most cases, being explicitly taught the different patterns can reduce a great deal of distress later. The […]
The Fight over Rote Math
If you think you've been hearing conflicting information about rote math in the news or from schools, you're absolutely right. The fight is spilling over into educational policy makers and makers of standardized tests such as the College Board. For dyslexic and...
Surviving Parent Teacher Conferences [Premium]
Parent-Teaching Conferences can be stressful for both parents and teachers. Keep your eye on the big picture, think strategically, and work toward a positive year for your student in the classroom. Often the amount of time you have with the teacher is quite short because of the total number of students involved. As a result, plan […]
Tips for Supporting a Student with Dyscalculia – Steve Chinn
Thanks Steve Chinn of Maths Explained for this post. Steve also has several books with practical strategies to help with math and dyscalculia. There's The Trouble with Maths and an eagerly awaited Mathematics for Dyslexics and Dyscalculics - 4th Edition which is now...