Have you ever written a book? I’ll be honest, after the final proof-read and submission of my first book, Morph Mastery, I swore I would never write again. Of course, this was short lived, and I am now well under way with my second, “All About Dyslexia”, to be published next year by Speechmark as part of a series called “All About SEND”.
The chapter in “All About Dyslexia” about strategies for effective learning has been so exciting to write that I can’t wait to share it. So I have decided not to wait! This blog introduces a few ideas.
When embarking on the task of writing my first book, I hadn’t considered the variety of skills I would need. If I knew then what I know now…!
Firstly I needed to activate prior knowledge. I had to know what form this particular type of book takes. Knowledge of audience, and experience of the tone and style that would suit them, was vital. Structuring into chapters and sections was required. And I had a deadline! Dividing my time accordingly and setting achievable objectives was essential; quite a challenge during the Covid 19 lockdown! Then there was the maximum word count, and how to break this down into sections. As I wrote, constant monitoring and self-regulation were important; finding my own voice and regulating my work for content and length, integrity to audience, accuracy and sense. Adaptability was crucial. I depended not only on having others to talk to, but knowing who would be the best person to discuss with each time.
In addition to all of the above, I needed to know myself. Needless to say, by submission date I had learned a lot more about my strengths and weaknesses! This has been so much easier the second time round…
Have you noticed how much was involved in addition to the actual content of the book (the easy bit!)? This level of planning, monitoring and evaluating can be compared quite reasonably to learning tasks in the classroom for dyslexic learners, for whom many daily learning tasks may as well be as challenging as writing a book.
Metacognition and self-regulated learning help all children
There is so much to gain by explicitly teaching all children to understand how they learn and to develop their own learning strategies. A useful term for understanding and monitoring learning is self-regulated learning and metacognition, and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) Guidance Report, published in 2021, provides evidence-based and actionable guidance for educators on this topic, with some useful accompanying resources.1
Self-regulated learning is defined by the EEF as “how learners can motivate themselves to engage in learning and develop strategies to enhance their learning and to improve.” It is applicable to all ages of learners, but looks different at different stages. It can broadly be broken down into three components: cognition (the mental process in knowing, understanding and learning), meta-cognition, “by which we mean the strategies we use to monitor or control our cognition”, and motivation. All three areas are essential in effective learning.2
Meta-cognition can be a strength for dyslexics, who are often intuitive, interested learners. Moreover, some learners with specific learning difficulties are more aware than neurotypical learners of how they learn and have worked harder to develop strategies to compensate.
That history of struggling and struggling and then realising you can do things differently – makes me think there’s maybe a different way to do it.
– Anna
Some dyslexics are all too aware of how they can’t learn, not how they can
However, it’s also a bitter reality that most dyslexics have learned more about how they fail than how they succeed by the end of primary school; this negatively impacts motivation. Educators have a powerful role in redressing this.
I feel so privileged in my role as assessor of dyslexia and specific learning. I get to meet young learners and work with them to help them find out how they learn. But I usually hear more from them about what doesn’t work and less about what does! What has struck me is how important self-awareness is for dyslexics. Even by age 7, some are all too aware of how they can’t learn, not how they can.
It’s welcome news that learners that there is an array of strengths that can be accompanied by dyslexia, to the point where “dyslexic thinking” is even listed as a valued skill in LinkedIn, and on dictionary.com, where it is defined as “an approach to problem solving, assessing information, and learning, often used by people with dyslexia, that involves pattern recognition, spatial reasoning, lateral thinking, and interpersonal communication.”
It’s time we all understand dyslexia properly as a different way of thinking, not a disadvantage.
– Sir Richard Branson
The paradox of a dyslexia-friendly approach
In real terms, however, the labels “dyslexia” and “dyslexic thinking” are far less important than the process of empowering an individual to find his or her strengths and strategies for learning that work. Gavin Reid explains that asking the question “what is the best approach for dyslexic children” can be unhelpful, as it leads to superficial or stereotypical understanding and detracts from the process of supporting individual children with their unique learning profile. Reid writes:
“We know from experience of working with children with dyslexia that the individual differences that surround dyslexia can easily surpass the commonalities, specifically in relation to classroom teaching and particularly as they progress through school 3
Metacognition needs explicit teaching
Talking about learning is part of everything we do in school, but as a result it can be so implicit that it is often un-noticed. Alex Quigley stated in the Evidence Based Education podcast:
“The problem with meta-cognition is that we are being metacognitive all the time, and therefore it is present as we learn, in every school day and every act almost. We need to better understand it, get really sharp on what it looks like in the classroom, and name it really clearly. Then we can start to be more explicit about supporting a child to be more metacognitive.”4
Enabling learners to learn needs explicit teaching! This is even more important for dyslexic learners, who from the outset of schooling experience cognitive load; fatigue on a daily basis, anxiety and low self-esteem resulting from repeated failure. These learners don’t often have the mental space to think about metacognition as well.
Motivation is possibly most the pertinent component of self-regulation for dyslexics. As soon as literacy is formally taught, and sometimes before, dyslexics tend to fail. This causes demotivation from the very start. The act of meta-cognition can reverse this trend for a number of reasons: it empowers the learner, it focuses on what the learner does rather than what she can’t, it draws attention to strengths as well as weaknesses and it leads to success, and it develops resilience in working on weaknesses. The learning experience does not have to be one of repeated failure.
Here are some guiding principles for teaching metacognition
- Focus on the individual; just as no child is the same, no dyslexic is the same. Avoid generalising and labelling – this can be counterproductive in the metacognitive process!
- Begin at the beginning! Metacognition begins as soon as learning begins: it just might look different at different ages and stages.
- Focus on the process as well as the product – where learning about learning is concerned, the process is the product!
- Look for positives and strengths more than weaknesses and failure.
- Don’t assume that your learners know how to plan, regulate and edit. Teach them!
Ideas and strategies to support meta-cognitive learning
Activating prior knowledge throughout
Remember that a learner with dyslexia may need support with verbal work and reading; pictures can support making connections, for example. To support memory and retention, activating prior knowledge could be repeated during lessons, not just at the beginning.
Modelling and guided practice
Many children with dyslexia need modelling to be revisited multiple times.
It helps when I practise it a lot in class and go over it again and again.
– Natalie, age 8
Repetition, reminding and modelling in different ways help reduce difficulties with retention. Scaffolding will be essential for learners with dyslexia; gradually releasing control to the learner will support them in achieving your goal. It’s important for the teacher to model not just what they are doing, but what they are thinking. Discussing with learners which steps they can do independently helps, and providing word banks and visual aids will be key. Where possible, allow independent practice immediately after modelling or guiding in order to minimise the impact of retention problems.
Provide word banks, writing frames, graphic organisers and spelling support where needed/appropriate, but make sure your learners know how to use all the learning aids you give them!
Structured reflection
Most dyslexics feel negative about editing tasks, too often because they focus purely on spotting mistakes and correcting spelling. Why not make editing a reflective task, and not about spelling at all?
Teaching self-talk
Learners with dyslexia often do not hear an inner voice at all when learning. Sometimes meta-cognitive self-talk needs explicit teaching and scaffolding. Questions can be provided to give it structure – some downloadable metacognitive question cards, which can be used with learners of all ages, are provided with this blog.
Self-esteem and self-belief
The more that learners are given tools to understand their own learning, the more empowered and motivated they feel. Where dyslexia is concerned, there’s no avoiding the fact that it causes persistent difficulties, and this can cause low self-esteem and a sense of failure. However, using meta-cognitive approaches can make a difference; learners begin to understand how they work, how they learn and to celebrate their differences. This helps them to succeed.
In an ideal worldwe would all understand what a child needs. We would value what they bring and their strengths. We would help them to understand what they find difficult or tricky and work out what works for them. We would empower them to learn for themselves.
– Gill Carpenter, SENCO
Louise’s book, All About Dyslexia, will be published in 2024 but Speechmark (part of Routledge), and is part of a series called All About SEND.
References:
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/metacognition-and-self-regulation
Dyslexia and Inclusion, Classroom Approaches for Assessment, Teaching and Learning, Gavin Reid, Nasen, Routledge
Footnotes:
- Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning, Education Endowment Foundation, October 2021
-
Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning, p.8 – 9
-
Dyslexia and Inclusion, Classroom Approaches for Assessment, Teaching and Learning, Reid, G. Nasen p23
-
Trialled and tested: metacognition and self-regulated learning, The Evidence Based Education Podcast, 2018
