Customised Training
In line with Singapore’s vision of an inclusive society, DAS Academy provides professional development training for educators to better their awareness and support of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream classrooms. Having provided in-service SEN training for SEN Officers since 2005, DAS Academy advocates contextualised and practical strategies for mainstream educators to adopt.
At the DAS Academy, we believe that if you get things right for learners with SEN, you will get things right for every learner. The effort taken to make instruction accessible to learners with SEN will always improve learning for all learners in the mainstream classroom.
Recognising that the individual needs of each school are unique, our lecturers are able to discuss your training needs before advising on a professional training programme that takes into account the needs and profile of your school’s staff and students.
Customisable to your school’s needs
Schools can specify the subjects that they will like a special focus on. We also welcome your input with regards to areas your teachers find especially challenging to manage and we do our best to address these areas in our training.
Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment in Mainstream Schools
Synopsis
In an era of inclusive practice, teachers and staff in educational institutes will invariably work with learners with SEN. The workshop aims to enhance participants’ awareness of the diversity in the mainstream student population and to consider their needs when planning and delivering a lesson. With an awareness of the diversity in learners, those responsible for making provisions can exhibit professional responses and take practical steps to ensure pupils with learning difficulties enjoy equal access to the broader curriculum, just like their typically developing peers.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Gain awareness of the barriers to learning for SEN students
- Use the Interactive Factors Framework to develop a better understanding of a learner’s needs.
- Recognise how an inclusive and SEN-friendly learning environment can be created by applying the UDL principles to the planning and delivery of lessons so as to enable learners of different abilities to participate equally
- Apply practical instructional strategies to support learners with SEN
Promoting Executive Functioning in the Classroom
Synopsis
Executive function is a set of mental skills that individuals use every day to help them pay attention, organize, plan, start on tasks as well as take in and retain information. For students, executive function is a key factor for academic achievement and successful navigation of demands in daily life.
This workshop thus aims to introduce to participants the key components of executive functioning and how executive functioning difficulties may present in students. A good knowledge of executive functioning difficulties will allow participants to appreciate the executive functioning processes that are behind the successful execution of both academic and normal everyday tasks. Through the Interactive Factors Framework, participants will learn how to identify deficits in executive function. Participants will learn how to use an adapted version of an executive function questionnaire to identify their students’ executive functioning strengths and weaknesses in these areas: Response inhibition, Emotional Control, Planning/Prioritisation, Cognitive Flexibility, Working Memory, Sustained Attention, Organisation and Metacognition. Participants will also acquire practical strategies to develop various executive function skills in students.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand how executive functioning difficulties may present in students
- Identify students with executive functioning difficulties.
- Apply practical strategies to support students with executive functioning skills.
Supporting Learners with Dyslexia in Literacy
Synopsis
This workshop covers the most common literacy difficulties likely to be presented in students with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. This workshop will look at the challenges learners with dyslexia face in literacy and help educators better appreciate the difficulties these learners face. A teacher’s appreciation of the learning difficulties can be the first step toward making a positive contribution to the wellness of students’ development. With an understanding of these learning difficulties, teachers can then take practical steps to support these students’ learning.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Gain awareness of the fundamental difficulties of students with dyslexia
- Identify features of curriculum or current practices which can be a barrier for students with dyslexia
- Understand how knowledge of phonics rules, suffix rules and morphology can increase students’ confidence in the English language
- Apply sentence diagramming as a visual technique for weaker learners who struggle with syntax and grammar.
Supporting Learners with Dyslexia in Reading Comprehension
Synopsis
Reading comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading and one of the core pillars of reading instruction. However, it can be a challenge for our learners because it is a complex and multifaceted cognitive process that draws on a wide range of skills and knowledge. In addition to the widely accepted role of language comprehension and word reading skills, there are also executive function skills that are required for the successful comprehension of text. Students with dyslexia are known to struggle with reading comprehension due to difficulties in word recognition and decoding which impede reading fluency. Additionally, but perhaps lesser-known, these students also face deficits in executive function skills such as working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility which can affect reading comprehension. This workshop aims to build awareness of the challenges faced by such learners in attempting to acquire reading comprehension and recommend suitable instructional approaches and practices to cater to their unique learning needs.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Identify challenges faced by learners with dyslexia in reading comprehension
- Acquire knowledge of appropriate instructional approaches and practices to support learners with dyslexia in acquiring reading comprehension
- Plan strategies that will target the inherent weaknesses that learners with dyslexia face in a reading comprehension task
Effective Study Skills for Learners with SEN
Synopsis
This workshop enables educators who are interested in supporting learners with SEN to be more effective in managing their studies, especially in the areas of literacy. Learners with SEN tend to struggle more with school work due to the nature of their learning needs. SEN is also associated with executive function deficits. Executive function is a set of mental skills that we use every day to learn, work, and manage daily life. Deficits in executive function can make learners hard to focus, follow directions, learn and handle emotions. This workshop will introduce participants to the key components of executive functioning and how deficits in these key components present themselves in students in a school context. Participants will then acquire strategies to build students’ working memory for learning, cognitive flexibility for language and comprehension as well as time management and content organisation.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Describe executive functioning and its various components
- Explain how executive functioning difficulties impact the learning of learners with SEN
- Acquire practical strategies to develop the various executive function components in learners with SEN in order for them to manage their studies better
Supporting Students with Dyslexia in Chinese
Synopsis
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. The underlying difficulties of dyslexia affect bilingual learners, particularly in learning the Chinese Language as a second language.
This workshop will look at the challenges learners with dyslexia face in learning the Chinese language and help educators better appreciate the difficulties these learners face, and acquire ways to help them better manage these learning differences. Participants will learn some strategies to engage learners in word recognition, orthographic and morphological awareness, stroke formation and patterns as well as oracy skills.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand the dyslexic-type difficulties of learning the Chinese Language as a second language
- Explain the principles of the Universal Design for Learning
- Apply practical strategies to support learners with dyslexia in learning Chinese word recognition, orthographic and morphological awareness
Typical training package is available for 40 teachers for 2 training hours, with the option of online (zoom) or face-to-face training. Training delivered by two lecturers with significant experience in SEN and keen awareness of the mainstream context.
In line with Singapore’s vision of an inclusive society, DAS Academy provides professional development training for educators to increase their awareness and support of students with learning difficulties in the mainstream classrooms.
At the DAS Academy, we believe that if you get things right for learners with special needs, you will get things right for every learner in the class. Efforts taken to make instructions accessible to learners with special needs will inevitably increase the quality of teaching for all learners in the mainstream.
Recognising that the individual needs of each school are unique, our lecturers are able to discuss your training needs before advising on a professional training programme that takes into account the needs and profile of your school’s staff and students.
Drop us an email at info@dasacademy.edu.sg or call us at 6336 2555 to learn more about the customised training options that we offer.
Feedback from a customised Professional Training Development DAS Academy did with a Primary School in Singapore:
The session was well-received. The teachers gained more insights to SEN, that it is more than just a diagnosis. They are now more mindful of how they should go about planning and delivering their lessons. The vice-principal shared that his two children have dyslexia and had attended classes at DAS previously and he is very heartened with the support DAS has been providing children with dyslexia.
Take a short and simple quiz to learn about how dyslexia-friendly your school or home is!
Take this quiz to find out how dyslexia-friendly your practices are for students with Special Educational Needs.
| CHECKLIST | YES | NO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall School Environment | |||
| 1 | The stall vendors use clear fonts and pictures in their food menu. | ||
| 2 | There are clear signages for the main venues in my school. e.g. general office, canteen, toilets, school hall. | ||
| 3 | My school organises regular SEN awareness training for the staff. | ||
| 4 | There is a special needs department in my school. | ||
| 5 | There are planned sessions in the yearly school calendar to discuss SEN matters. | ||
| 6 | My school is supportive of access arrangements during examinations. | ||
| 7 | My school is supportive of day-to-day accommodations whenever the need arises e.g. availability of disco seat, high tables for students who focus better while standing | ||
| 8 | The learning support personnel and his/her role in the school is made known to all new teaching staff during the staff induction day | ||
| 9 | Heavy subject periods are placed in the morning, whenever possible | ||
| Classroom Environment | |||
| 10 | As far as possible, I supplement verbal instructions and explanations with pictures, diagrams and/or manipulatives. | ||
| 11 | I ensure variety (visual, verbal, kinaesthetic) and levels (Bloom’s Taxonomy) in my learning objectives. | ||
| 12 | I use figurative language selectively and follow up with an explicit explanation. | ||
| 13 | I simplify instructions and avoid unnecessary information overload. | ||
| 14 | I make it a point to check for understanding after giving instructions. | ||
| 15 | I leave important information on the board long enough for students. | ||
| 16 | I make a point to ensure worksheets/ slides are not cluttered. | ||
| 17 | I print comprehension text and questions such that students do not need to flip over to refer. | ||
| 18 | I highlight challenging key curriculum words, break them into parts/ syllables and provide strategies to remember them. | ||
| 19 | I practice having a group read aloud to the class, instead of having a single student read. | ||
| 20 | I take steps to make spelling tests more friendly for students | ||
| 21 | I offer students personal choice in the demonstration of their knowledge, through a variety of questions, a variety of platforms etc. | ||
| 22 | I have the learning support personnel present in periods which require support | ||
| 23 | I highlight students who might have SEN to the learning support personnel in a timely manner | ||
| 24 | I work together with the learning support personnel to support students with SEN in my class | ||
| 25 | I allow time for movement between activities. | ||
| 26 | I use specific colours for specific information on the board. | ||
| 27 | I use a font of at least size 12 and ensure that it does not have extending features called “serifs” at the end of strokes e.g. Calibri instead of Times New Roman. | ||
Total up your scores and check how SEN-friendly your practices are!
| ‘Yes’ Responses | General indication |
|---|---|
| 19 – 27 | Learners with SEN in your school are well supported to maximise their potential. |
| 10 – 18 | Learners with SEN in your school are generally supported but will benefit from more support. |
| 0 – 9 | Learners with SEN in your school may find school life challenging. |
Take this quiz to find out how dyslexia-friendly your home is:
| CHECKLIST | YES | NO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I talk to my child about dyslexia and about people who have dyslexia. | ||
| 2 | I have attended at least one dyslexia talk/course for parents. | ||
| 3 | I practice reading with my child at home. | ||
| 4 | I help my child find ways to work around his or her weakness caused by dyslexia. | ||
| 5 | As far as possible, I supplement verbal and written information with pictures, diagrams or manipulatives. | ||
| 6 | I break down the school’s weekly spelling list into bite-sized components, with revision spread across the week, instead of expecting the child to master the entire list in one day. | ||
| 7 | I break down words in the weekly spelling list into chunks and point out unique features in the words. | ||
| 8 | I help to ensure that worksheets (especially reading comprehension tasks) are printed only on one side. | ||
| 9 | I provide clear and direct instructions in a bite-sized manner. | ||
| 10 | I have routines to help my child get his work done. | ||
| 11 | I inform and communicate with my child’s teachers about his or her learning needs. | ||
| 12 | While I am sensitive to my child’s weaknesses, I am also keenly aware of his or her strengths and I provide support to develop those strengths | ||
Total up your scores and check how dyslexia-friendly your home is!
| ‘Yes’ Responses | General indication |
|---|---|
| 9 – 12 | Your child is well supported to maximise their potential. |
| 5 – 8 | Your child is generally supported but will benefit from more support. |
| 0 – 4 | Your child may find it challenging to cope with an SEN. E.g. Dyslexia |
Lecturers with rich practical experience
Our lecturers have a wealth of dyslexia teaching experiences under their belts. They are able to apply their accumulated knowledge and experience to your context, empowering you to resolve your day-to-day challenges in a school with learners with diverse needs.
