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Reading and writing are essential skills to manage and thrive in today’s society. With estimates of between 5-20% of learners in regular Australian classrooms requiring additional support to access the curriculum – particularly in reading and writing – it is vital, as teachers, to be able to effectively address these difficulties. This course will aim to develop the knowledge and skills that teachers in special education require to address reading and writing difficulties, and language development as it impacts the development of reading skills, for individual learners as well as within a regular classroom. A knowledge of evidence-based practices and differentiation, including appropriate assessment, and how they can be applied is essential for special education teachers in order to address reading and writing difficulties.

This course is concerned with addressing reading and writing difficulties, and language development. An overview of this area will be presented including theoretical aspects. Individual reading and writing difficulties will be one focus including characteristics of learners with learning difficulties in terms of impacting on reading and writing development. Appropriate assessment will be discussed, as well as how to set learning goals from the assessment results. Also included is planning for class-wide implementation of evidence-based pedagogical practice using differentiation so that learners with reading and writing difficulties can meet learning goals.

The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course in accordance with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s (AITSL) Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST). On successful completion of this course pre-service teachers should be able to:

1. recall information concerning the area of learning difficulties and learning disabilities, specifically in reading, writing and language development, and characteristics of learners, including theoretical aspects and implications for teaching (APST 1.1, 1.2);
2. review research in addressing individual reading difficulties and enhancing learning outcomes in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (APST 2.1, 2.5);
3. explain and justify appropriate assessment to identify specific reading and writing difficulties and how to set learning goals from assessment results (APST 3.1);
4. plan for an effective learning and teaching sequence from assessment results and learning goals, using differentiation of teaching and evidence-based pedagogical practices, in order to enhance learning outcomes for learners with learning difficulties in reading and writing (APST 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1).