Professional Development
The dyslexia course ALIPPE " an introduction to a different way of learning" helps teachers pay broader and deeper attention to the dyslexia of their students. The teacher gains an insight into what dyslexia actually is, and the specific learning style and difficulties of people with dyslexia.
Teachers who have worked with the ALIPPE course have indicated that the knowledge, new experiences and insight into dyslexia gained through the course have substantially enhanced their insight into the particular characteristics of dyslexia. Dyslexics have shown appreciation for teachers with this sort of insight, which has ensured that there is less of a barrier to their investigation of their own problems and difficulties. The course thus also broadens the framework with which professionals can study their students.
Focusing on a different learning style to reduce the resistance against studying
"People differ in their individual consistent approach to organising and processing information during thinking."
Richard J. Riding suggests two dimensions: A verbal - imager dimension and a wholistic - analytic dimension.
Valk&Uil follows reported experimental evidence that dyslexics greatly appreciate holistic/ imager working environments and find verbal/ analytic learning environments far more challenging.
The ALIPPE course proves this assumption. People with bad feelings from (mostly verbal/analytic organised) schooling, do appreciate the organisation of the training content, the mode of presentation of the training and the suitability of the social climate of the course.
Multiple Intelligence and some simple group exercises make the students aware of their individual cognitive style. The lessons on memory , reading, writing and doing a presentation are encouraging for the trainees to develop their own strategies to make learning tasks easier by using the strengths of their individual styles.
For several students the ALIPPE course happens to be the first course ever they have finished.
The course comprises six 2 hour lessons with two over-arching aims:
(1) to provide insight into past frustrations and a distorted self-image and
(2) to reveal the potential of the participants' individual learning styles.
This combination enabled participants to 'reframe' their identity as someone with dyslexia, within a safe, supportive environment.
The final component of the course is a presentation by each student on a topic he had chosen;
this generates a new self-esteem and empowerment, shared by the group.