October is Dyslexia Awareness Month. It is a good time to familiarise yourself with the literacy difficulties resources available on the Diverse Learners Hub.
The hub is an initiative of the $1.6 billion Disability Inclusion reform. It provides teacher resources to support diverse learners and students with learning difficulties.
Hub resources include strategies, tools and information to boost your knowledge and skills and help your students reach their goals.
What is a diverse learner?
Diverse learners include students with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyscalculia.
According to 2019's Understanding Learning Difficulties: A Practical Guide, on average, there are 4 to 5 diverse learners in every mainstream classroom.
What is a learning difficulty?
'Learning difficulty' is an umbrella term to describe difficulty some students experience with learning because of a variety of reasons, such as disability or living in out-of-home care.
Students with a learning difficulty may be unable to access the curriculum through high-quality instruction alone. However, with tailored support, these students can close the gap between themselves and their peers.
For teachers, understanding why a student may be experiencing difficulties while learning is an important first step towards helping to them better access the curriculum.
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is one of the most common forms of specific learning disability.
Central features of dyslexia include difficulties with accurate or fluent word decoding, reading and spelling, together with a delayed response to intervention.
Dyslexia is a lifelong condition. However, students with dyslexia can learn to read with fluency and accuracy given intensive, evidence-based intervention over extended periods.
What support does the hub offer?
The Diverse Learners Hub includes guidance on how to identify and support students who have learning difficulties in literacy.
To help you to identify if a student has a learning difficulty in literacy, the hub has key questions to ask and steps you can take to understand the nature of the student's learning needs.
Professional development
Teachers from Victorian government schools can access free professional learning, including:
- the Learning difficulties in literacy video series
- Inclusive Classrooms professional learning program, including supporting students with dyslexia, dyscalculia and oral language difficulties.
If you are a teacher in a mainstream Victorian government school, you can also apply for the Graduate Certificate in Education (Learning Difficulties). Applications for Round 2 of this tertiary study program open in early 2023.
Find out more
For more information, refer to:
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