Course summary

The Postgraduate Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties and Inclusion will provide you with the skills to become a specialist teacher in literacy and understand the underlying difficulties that individuals with dyslexia experience. It will help you to understand and qualify you to provide detailed assessments for access arrangements or the disabled student allowance. The programme is made up of four modules and the overall aim of the course is to: ◾understand the nature of literacy difficulties and those associated with SpLD (including dyslexia) ◾enable professionals working within educational settings to understand and use a range of teaching approaches to support learners with literacy difficulties (including dyslexia) ◾develop your critical understanding of psychometrics and how standardised assessments are used within access arrangments ◾develop your ability to select and accurately administer standardised assessments as part of a full diagnostic assessment The first two modules will be taught in year 1 and the second two modules in year 2. The course is taught on a part-time basis in twilight sessions (usually 5-8pm). Face to face teaching is within informal and interactive small group seminars. Sessions will cover both theoretical and practical aspects of assessment and teaching. Assessment takes a variety of forms, including essays and reports, reflective teaching portfolios and video observation of teaching and assessment practice. Formative assessment will be offered by tutors to support this process. The programme includes work-based learning consisting of 1:1 teaching practices with learners with dyslexic-type difficulties, and also formal assessment using psychometric tests. You will need to arrange access to learners that you can work with in order to complete the teaching and assessment activities required throughout the modules.