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Survey of OK Teacher Knowledge of Dyslexia: Preliminary Results. Tiffany Peltier, M.Ed. University of Oklahoma. Survey of OK Teacher Knowledge of Dyslexia. Current OK Teacher knowledge of dyslexia. Teacher knowledge on Dyslexia “Does OK recognize dyslexia?”.
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Survey of OK Teacher Knowledge of Dyslexia:Preliminary Results Tiffany Peltier, M.Ed. University of Oklahoma
Effects of Training on Teacher Knowledge of Basic Language Constructs • Phonemic awareness is… • Is the sound /th/ clipped or continuous? • How many speech sounds are in the word “brush”? “through”? • Is the word “right” regular or irregular for reading? “of”? “said”? • What is the pattern that governs the use of ‘dge’ in the final position for the sound /j/?
Teachers were asked to “provide any additional comments or expand on any of your previous answers” Previous question: What trainings do you feel would benefit you?
Comments from special ed certified teachers • Please help our state! The training I have had on Dyslexia is what I have reached out and gotten by myself. My daughter has Dyslexia. In order to have her diagnosed I traveled to Texas and paid for it on my own. There are not ANY teachers trained in Dyslexia in this part of the state, Regular Ed teachers are unaware of the modifications and accommodations available for Dyslexic students therefore unwilling to implement them. The toughest part of being a SPED teacher with a Dyslexic child is that I can't ruffle any feathers re:her IEP or I lose my job. This happened at my last district. My daughter is the one that pays the price because I teach.
Comments from special ed certified teachers • I feel more emphasis needs to be put on teaching students how to read and how to decode words. Students that are older and struggle would rather just give up than let others know they are struggling. We need a system that identifies these student early on in their education. We should not have students that make it to 5th grade that cannot read. • When there is district training in reading special ed often isn’t invited or has to attend a session regarding special ed.
Comments from special ed certified teachers • I attend professional development training yearly through ALTA at my own expense. It is ludicrous how little training special education teachers receive in the teaching of reading in my district. • Our curriculum limits us as to what we can actually do with our kids who are struggling. We are seeing a rise in diagnoses of dyslexia and have zerotrainingor experts in the district to help us with this rising problem. We aren't allowed the autonomy to do what is best for the students we work with.
Comments from special ed certified teachers • I teach a class of students with Intellectual Disabilities. We often are not invited to attend district reading professional development or have our own special education professional development to attend, limiting my access to new knowledge from them. • I am paying for my own training for dyslexia using the Orton-Gillingham method. Dyslexia training is not recognized by my district (OKCPS) at this time • I feel I need to know more simply because much of the training I have received and applied in the classroom are simply not making the increases needed in reading comprehension scores.
Comments from special ed certified teachers • Dyslexia, Dyslexia, Dyslexia!!! A Masters Degree as a Reading Specialist doesn’t even delve into this area. It may be neurological, but Reading is where it manifests. We need programs that provide specific curriculum and methodology at a therapeutic level. For example, the program Payne Education Center offers! This should be incorporated in a masters program where teachers can receive quality training without paying six thousand dollars for something the state won’t even recognize!
Comments from special ed certified teachers • Although this is my 17th year teaching, this is only my second year of teaching at elementary level and teaching reading. I attended only one section of LETRS training. I would like to see the entire program available to take again. I really would like to attend Dyslexia training that gives the entire structure of how to implement a program. • I feel our entire elementary could use more training in reading instruction. • Special Education professional development is pretty much non-existent.
Comments from others • **** Public Schools provides no training in reading curriculum. We sink or swim on our own • Dyslexia is not recognized in **** public schools as a disability. Teachers are not taught to recognize it. We also do no testing to confirm/ check for dyslexia. There is no training for spelling, reading, or interventions for “at risk” or lower students. • A primary concern for me is the lack of a curriculum for systemic phonics instruction in K-2. A secondary concern is the notion that phonics instruction stops after 2nd grade. I believe there is a strong need for resources and additional information for helping students with dyslexia. Our district does not test or diagnose this area so these students are treated the same as struggling readers.
Comments from special ed certified teachers • My school district provides minimal training and often move from one curriculum to another without warning or time for advanced preparation. This also leaves buildings with a lot of wasted resources! The latest purchase Benchmark Literacy was a top down decision from the district with little input from teachers if any. Most teachers I have talked to do not feel like Benchmark Literacy is a quality reading curriculum that meets the needs of their students. The small group kits on grade level from Benchmark literacy were ordered for Special Education teachers such as myself, however they do me absolutely no good because they did not order the phonics or vocabulary components for these kits and this is where most of my students struggle. They can't decode the words or even struggle with basic letter names and sounds. Fourth grade special education students reading on a first grade level have a very difficult time with on grade level text. Specific training to deal with students struggling with reading are hit and miss. The district doesn't provide them on a regular basis and even when they do, they aren't always quality. Our site is very fortunate because we use our title one funds to have [the LETRS trainer] come out to help us strengthen, supplement and support our reading instruction. Many of the other sites in the district are not as fortunate.
Comments from others • I did get an alternate certification in reading specialist with a masters in speech-language pathology. I had a wide knowledge base with good foundations in phonemic awareness and language/vocabulary knowledge from my training and work as an SLP. However, my training in reading specialist was severely lacking in teaching basic reading skills. Nearly everything I have learned about teaching reading has come from professional development trainings (LETRS, Really great reading, etc)I have attended AFTER I received my certification. I had wondered if I had missed some foundational classes in the program, but in talking with other teachers that had gone through the program, that does not appear to be the case. If some universities are not training READING SPECIALISTS to teach reading, how much more ill-prepared are our teachers?
Comments from others • Dyslexia is a vastly under-addressed issue in terms of identification and teacher training. We need more support at the state level in identifying dyslexia and more training on how to support dyslexic students as they journey through learning the mechanics of reading. • I feel that Dyslexia is an area where my district and the state of Oklahoma is falling far behind. • I do not feel that my coursework at [my OK University] prepared me in any way to teach reading. Especially struggling to readers. • Dyslexia seems to be ruling my students. We need training on how to help these students overcome their disability.
Comments from others • Dyslexia is a major issues and we have no training or intervention in place for these struggling readers. They need intensive reading instruction before 4th grade to help them. Every school should require a evidence based curriculum and a trained professional with dyslexia training in an evidence based program and allow small group intervention on a daily basis. So they can build those pathways to help them read before they are just lost in the system! • We need more resources for dyslexia students. Oklahoma does not recognize it. Our special ed teachers are great but need help too. As a classroom teacher I want to know what I can do to help students who struggle. • I wish I was better trained to teach students with reading disabilities and special education students. I feel inadequate in these areas and would like to be stronger in these areas.
Bright spots from special ed • I currently use a dyslexia curriculum from Texas Scottish Rite called Take Flight with my dyslexic students. Structure Language Basics is used with my struggling reading population. • I have received training from Payne Education Center which I believe provided the most comprehensive training for teaching reading. • I do not feel my undergraduate degree prepared me to teach reading at all, there was only one course and it was inadequate (granted this was 25+ years ago). My expertise has come from training completed outside the university setting, I am now a certified academic language practitioner (CALP), through the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA).
Bright Spots from special ed • Our curriculum is based on Orton-Gillingham's research and programs. I've been using Orton-Gillingham material since the 90s, when I sought out training on my own, because I didn't feel adequately prepared. I've taught with those materials most of the time since then, except for the years when the district dictated that I use other materials and approaches, that were not phonologically based. I'm so glad to be using what I believe to be the most effective type of instruction for most struggling readers, again. • I recently attended OG training. All early childhood and elementary teachers should be trained this way.
BRIGHT Spots from Others! • My training at the Payne Education Center, Take Flight, is the BEST training I have received. I will be certified as a Certified Academic Language Therapist in May! I would love to become a qualified instructor to share with other teachers. • The LETRS training was the most useful professional development for reading that I have received in all my years of teaching. I have only attended the Foundation Module, but will attend others when they are available. I think it should be a requirement for all elementary teachers that teach reading. It should also be made clear that it is a relevant training for all elementary grade teachers, not just primary teachers. The first time I heard about it, I was teaching 4th grade and was told there it wasn't something I needed. When I attended the training, I was a Title 1 reading teacher, teaching Title 1 2nd - 5th grade students. I learned information that would have been so helpful in my 4th grade classroom in trying to help my struggling readers.
Next steps? • What are barriers for districts to provide resources and training? • What resources are currently being underutilized? • How can we make resources and training accessible for teachers? • How can we make resources and training practical for teachers?
