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Almahrag, K. M. (2021). Using the Multisensory approach to teach students with Dyslexia. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 81, 42-48. https://core.ac.uk/reader/481609240

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Multisensory approach for students with specific learning disabilities in reading 

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Multisensory approach for students with specific learning disabilities in reading 

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This journal article illustrates the multisensory approaches to teaching students with dyslexia that simultaneously connect the visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic-tactile pathways in reading and spelling instructions to enhance students' memory and learning (Almahrag, 2021, p.44). Students with dyslexia have difficulties in learning to read and write words due to deficiencies in the phonological component of language (McBride, 2019, p.26). These approaches strengthen students' phonological and decoding skills and spelling (Almahrag, 2021, p.43). Therefore, I select this journal article as these approaches are useful in empowering students with dyslexia to overcome their difficulties and foster their learning outcomes. They can accommodate various learning styles (Almahrag, 2021, p.43) and are suitable for general education classrooms and one-to-one or small groups (Bright Solutions for Dyslexia, 2005, cited in Almahrag, 2021, p.47). In particular, teachers instruct students by having them look at a letter, say it, hear it and trace or write it simultaneously (Almahrag, 2021, p.43). This teaching involves progressing from the basic tasks to the more difficult tasks, adding reinforcement, and proceeding as fast as possible while allowing time to master the essential elements (Almahrag, 2021, p.45). To implement this multisensory teaching in early childhood education, I will instruct students to write words in a sand tray or on a carpet square with their fingers while saying them out loud, clap syllables as they hear them, or express action verbs and prepositions using body movements and props (Almahrag, 2021, p.43). These activities enable students' visual memory from seeing the letter, an auditory memory from hearing the sound it makes, a tactile memory from writing or touching the letter, and a kinetic memory from having drawn the letter (Almahrag, 2021, p.45).

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Yu, J., Kreijkes, P., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2022). Students’ growth mindset: Relation to teacher beliefs, teaching practices, and school climate. Learning and Instruction, 80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2022.101616

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Developing a growth mindset for disadvantaged students or those from low socio-economic backgrounds

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Developing a growth mindset for disadvantaged students or those from low socio-economic backgrounds

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This journal article demonstrates that autonomy-supportive practices focusing on learning and promoting student agency are likely to cultivate a growth mindset (Yu et al., 2022, p.2). A growth mindset positively affects students' long-term academic trajectories by shaping their beliefs, goals, and behaviour in learning (Blackwell et al., 2007, cited in Yu et al., 2022, p.1). Economic disadvantage causes poor academic outcomes among disadvantaged students or those from low socio-economic backgrounds by making them feel incapable of developing their intellectual capacities, which has a detrimental effect on their achievement and future opportunities (Claro et al., 2016, p.8667). Therefore, teachers should develop a growth mindset for students from low socio-economic backgrounds to help them view ability as malleable and within their control (Dweck & Leggett, 1988, cited in Yu et al., 2022, p.1). Specifically, teachers' guided enquiry and task differentiation practices are proven to be effective in developing a growth mindset for students (Yu et al., 2022, p.7). In which, guided enquiry is an instructional strategy combining teacher-directed instruction and student-led discovery (Furtak et al., 2012, cited in Yu et al., 2022, p.2), where students explore their ideas, develop explanations through discussion and articulate their thinking while teachers facilitate the discussion and answer students’ questions (Yu et al., 2022, p.7). This practice promotes students’ agency by allowing them to solve problems independently and think for themselves (Lombardi & Shipley, 2021, cited in Yu et al., 2022, p.2), which enables students to have greater control over their learning process, thereby facilitate their view that ability is malleable and controllable (Yu et al., 2022, p.7). In addition, the implementation of task differentiation practices refers to offering students different levels of difficulty for the same task to provide them with equal access and choice (Yu et al., 2022, p.7). This approach allows more competent students to complete the difficult tasks more rapidly, while less competent students can concentrate on the more important questions and still be able to attempt the more difficult ones with support from teachers (Yu et al., 2022, p.7).

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8 Multisensory Techniques for Teaching Reading

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8 Multisensory Techniques for Teaching Reading

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This resource suggests eight multisensory techniques for teaching reading, especially for students with specific learning disabilities in reading. These multisensory techniques are sand or shaving cream writing, air writing, sandpaper letters, word building, ‘Read it, Build it, Write it’ mat, tapping out sounds, story sticks and shared reading. All these techniques enable students' visual memory from seeing the letter in different colours; an auditory memory from hearing the sound it makes from reading out loud; a tactile memory from writing the letter on the sand or shaving cream, or touching sandpaper, tiles or magnetic letters; and a kinetic memory from having drawn the letter on sandpaper or in the air (Almahrag, 2021, p.45; Morin, n.d.). Especially, all the tools mentioned in this resource are affordable and easy to prepare. These techniques enhance students' memory and learning to overcome their deficiencies in the phonological component of language and impaired visual memory (Almahrag, 2021, p.43-44). Such multisensory activities are enjoyable and motivating (Almahrag, 2021, p.44), thereby increasing student engagement and learning outcomes.Therefore, this resource is useful for teachers in implementing multisensory approaches in the classroom that involve simultaneously connecting visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic-tactile pathways in reading and spelling (Almahrag, 2021, p.44). Parents can also refer to this resource for activities at home to support students with specific learning disabilities in reading.

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Blast Off is a web application or online game designed to provide short reading lessons and exercises to children with dyslexia. It utilises a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive way to promote students' phoneme awareness, sound identification, spelling, rules and fluency (Orton-Gillingham Academy, n.d.; Blast Off, n.d.). It motivates students to learn independently and in an enjoyable way (McBride, 2019) and supports teachers to reinforce their teaching (Ojanen et al., 2015). It has been demonstrated that using technology-based intervention methods can effectively help children who struggle with reading (Ojanen et al., 2015). In detail, interactive educational computer games support the development of literacy-related skills such as sight word reading, morphological awareness, letter names and sounds, and others (McBride, 2019). Incorporating gamification in teaching literacy can increase students’ engagement, retention and knowledge (Hakulinen and Auvinen 2014; Tvarozek and Brza 2014, cited in Smiderle et al., 2020). With a Lesson-Based Workbook including all lessons and exercises as well as step-by-step instruction for teachers, parents can easily support their children to learn literacy at home. Thanks to the progress reporting function of Blast Off, both teachers and parents can track how students answered questions and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in literacy learning. Based on this data, I have an updated understanding of my students' learning progress so that I can flexibly align my teaching practices and strategies to their needs.

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Assistive Reader in Kindle Apps is a Text-to-Speech feature of Kindle Apps, that uses the users’ iOS, Android, or FireOS device to read aloud the text of the book (Amazon, n.d.). It combines audiobooks with e-books or texts highlighting words as they are read aloud. It utilises the multisensory approach to help students better understand and retain the meaning of the books by creating connections between letters and sounds (Almahrag, 2021, p.44). Specifically, students with dyslexia have difficulty decoding new words and breaking texts down into manageable chunks they can sound out(Martinelli & Cruger, n.d., para.7). Also, they may miss the meaning of text due to their lack of fluency and slow reading speeds (Martinelli & Cruger, n.d.). So, this Assistive Reader enables students with reading difficulty to concentrate on understanding the texts rather than decoding each word, improving their comprehension. Additionally, it facilitates students with learning difficulty in reading to understand the meaning of sentences having more complex structures than those they might encounter in their reading. As a result, students can engage with reading tasks more effectively and confidently participate in group discussions. To take advantage of this technology, I will integrate it into the curriculum by allowing students to listen to books and read them in the classroom. At home, students can also listen to these books again with this app.

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GeniusTutor is a free Smart AI Tutor & AI Homework Helper web app. It assists students in their learning by giving students the right answers and explanations for their questions related to their studies (Atlas, n.d.). Students from lower socio-economic backgrounds likely have lower academic achievement and slower rates of academic progress than those from higher socio-economic backgrounds due to their less accessibility to learning materials and experiences or tutors (American Psychological Association, 2017). This resource offers a free tutoring option for lower socio-economic students who cannot afford traditional tutoring services. As students can literately ask and get answers and explanations for their own problems, it provides a personalised learning experience catered to the unique needs of each student. Therefore, by providing accessible and high-quality tutoring, GeniusTutor helps to increase low socio-economic backgrounds students’ academic outcomes, which motivates them to pursue higher education and future career opportunities. It builds low socio-economic students’ confidence and helps reduce the gap in knowledge between students from high and low socio-economic backgrounds. To access this web app, students can use free computer devices in the school or public libraries. I will provide brief training and instruction to students on how to use it efficiently and ethically, especially those who are not proficient with technology.

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This ‘Parent Tip Sheet Shared Reading’ is an instruction for caregivers to have an effective shared reading intervention with their children outside of school. Students’ reading competency is associated with their home literacy environment (Aikens & Barbarin, 2008; Bergen, Zuijen, Bishop, & Jong, 2016, cited in American Psychological Association, 2017, para.5). So, shared reading, where caregivers and students read together, gives students more access to reading experiences outside of school (Lingwood et al., 2020, p.250). This improves students’ language proficiency in terms of vocabulary, comprehension, and listening skills, thereby positively impacting their later literacy attainment (Blanden, 2006, cited in Lingwood et al., 2020, p.250). Instead of just reading the text, this resource instructs caregivers to hold discussions with students about what might be happening in the book (Lingwood et al., 2020, p.250) in simple language. To encourage caregivers’ engagement in their child’s literacy learning, these accessible and clear tips on how to support students' learning are provided to caregivers to close the gap caused by lack of exposure to positive literacy environments. To introduce this resource to caregivers, I will organise workshops for parents to explain how to effectively apply these tips, demonstrate the shared reading intervention, and provide additional resources such as Open Library for supporting literacy at home. Also, I will link this resource to in-class reading activities to connect what is being learned in school with what is being practised at home.

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For my personal growth in inclusive literacy practices, I have set:

My short-term goals:

Improving the inclusiveness of my current literacy practices: I will continue critically analysing my personal beliefs, values, attitudes, and perceptions to address biases, prejudices and assumptions toward diverse students. After that, I will evaluate and adjust my current literacy practices to cater to diverse learner needs.

My long-term goals:

Enhancing my knowledge and skills to create more engaging and effective inclusive literacy practices: I will participate in professional development opportunities and collaborative learning communities that focus on inclusive literacy strategies.

Strengthening parent and community engagement: As parents and community play a positive role to children’s literacy development (Wijaya et al., 2020, p.30), I will develop activities and programs to engage parents and community members in students' literacy learning.

Increasing technology integration to support inclusive literacy: I will incorporate digital technologies to improve flexibility and personalisation to make education more equitable and inclusive (Gottschalk et al., 2023, p.6).

Ongoing evaluating and adjusting inclusive literacy practices: Conducting assessments, surveys, and interviews for all stakeholders, including students, parents, and staff, is crucial to collecting and analysing data on student literacy progress for adjusting practices and resources in order to ensure inclusivity and equity in literacy outcomes.

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In the upcoming year, I will undertake the following short courses to support my goals:

Digital Skills for Teachers course: equips teachers with knowledge of digital technology and increases their confidence in using digital tools (Future Learn, n.d.). This course will certainly boost my ability to combine technology knowledge with pedagogy knowledge to increase the inclusiveness of my literacy practices.

Culturally Inclusive Teaching and Learning course: equips teachers with knowledge and skills in implementing culturally inclusive teaching practices to support students' participation in a culturally diverse society (OLT, n.d.). This will support me in improving the inclusiveness of current literacy practices.

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I am so grateful that Mr. Thu recognised my efforts in incorporating inclusive literacy practices into my teaching approach. Reflecting on his feedback, I feel reassured that I am on the right track in understanding and implementing inclusive literacy practices and feel motivated to keep refining my teaching practices. Thanks to his feedback, I can now identify areas for improvement to develop my own best inclusive literacy practices. I especially appreciate his reminder to revisit the resources that he has shared during the course and synthesise them into my own version of 'Best Practices in Inclusive Literacy Practices'. I believe that synthesising these strategies and approaches will enable me to consolidate and deepen my understanding of inclusive literacy practices. Thereby, my ability to refine and create a more engaging, effective and inclusive teaching approach catering to the different needs of diverse students will be more proficient. I also appreciate that he highlighted the technology integration in literacy practices. As technology becomes more prevalent in today's world, incorporating digital technologies in literacy practices to increase student accessibility and engagement in learning and enable them to meet the demands of a technology-based world is necessary (D’Angelo, 2018, p.219). So, I am excited and plan to continue exploring new technologies and developing my knowledge and skills in incorporating them into my practices.

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My Growths over Inclusive Literacy Practices course

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My Growths over Inclusive Literacy Practices course

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Over this course, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of inclusive literacy practices. Initially, I thought that the concept of literacy was simply the ability to read and write. However, I now recognise that literacy is a varied and multidimensional concept, including critical thinking, communication and a component of a broader core skill set for people's lifelong learning (UNESCO, 2024, para.2). One of the most important things I took away from this course is the importance of student-centred approach and differentiation in literacy instruction to meet the diverse needs of students in order to ensure their equitable access to literacy learning and development (Pedler, 2019, p.4), regardless of their gender, socio-economic status, migration status, ethnics, cultural backgrounds and neurodiversity. Additionally, I had the opportunity to challenge my biases, prejudices and assumptions that hinder me from engaging in inclusive literacy practices (Tyner, 2019). I realise the importance of frequently critically analysing my personal beliefs, values, attitudes, and perceptions in effectively implementing inclusive literacy practices. ‘Ten Evidence-Based Best Practices for Comprehensive Literacy Instruction’ (Morrow & Gambrell, 2018) and the Universal Design for Learning (CAST, 2024) have equipped me with practices and strategies to design more inclusive literacy activities. Importantly, incorporating social action in teaching, finding texts that provide windows and mirrors for students, and providing students with choices in responding to culturally relevant texts (Howard & Ticknor, 2019, p.29) are necessary for developing students’ literacy and empowering their social advocacy. Moreover, culturally responsive teaching is one of the essential teaching strategies for creating an inclusive learning environment where students have a sense of belonging and motivation (Hattie, 2009, Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clarke, & Curran, 2004, cited in Hossain, 2024, p.7), and a safe space for expression (Milner, 2011, Nieto, 2010, cited in Hossain, 2024, p.7).

These growths reshaped my approach to inclusive literacy. I now attempt to get to know my students by completing their student profiles. From there, I flexibly apply and adjust my inclusive literacy practices such as storytelling, multimodal approach,culturally responsive practices, scaffolding approach, and etcto cater to the needs of different student groups, including English as Additional Language/Dialect, First Nations, gender diverse, culturally and linguistically diverse, neurodiverse and disadvantaged learners. My approach now concentrates on fostering an inclusive classroom environment where all students feel safe and empowered by respecting their cultural differences. Also, I focus on developing not only students’ reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills but also their critical thinking to reflect the real-world applications of literacy by utilising student-centred approaches such as student-led discussion or student collaboration practices.

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Almahrag, K. M. (2021). Using the Multisensory approach to teach students with Dyslexia. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 81, 42-48. https://core.ac.uk/reader/481609240

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Claro, S., Paunesku, D. & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113 (31), 8664-8668. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.160820711

D’Angelo, C. (2018). Chapter 14: The Impact of Technology: Student Engagement and Success. In Rob Power (Eds.), Technology and the Curriculum: Summer 2018, 217–230. Power Learning Solutions. https://pressbooks.pub/techandcurriculum/chapter/engagement-and-success/

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Yu, J., Kreijkes, P., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2022). Students’ growth mindset: Relation to teacher beliefs, teaching practices, and school climate. Learning and Instruction, 80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2022.101616