unlocking innovation in prison education epea conference – antwerp 2015 1 melanie jameson,...
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UNLOCKING INNOVATION IN PRISON EDUCATION
EPEA Conference – Antwerp 2015
1
Melanie Jameson, Dyslexia Consultancy Malvern [email protected] www.dyslexia-malvern.co.uk
RELEASING POTENTIAL OF THE 20%
SPECIFIC LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
Specific Learning Differences [SLDs]
DYSPRAXIA/DCD
ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER
DYSLEXIA
NOT to be confused with Learning Disabilities / Difficulties
DYSCALCULIA
ABILITIES LINKED TO SLDs
Creativity & originality
Visuo-spatial skills
Visualisation
Intuitive approach
Lateral thinking / problem solving
Affinity for colour / rhythm
Entrepreneurship
[Good oral skills]
I
E
S
P
E
How can we release this potential?
IDENTIFY SLDs
ENCOURAGE learners with SLDs
SUPPORT them in educn. & training
PROMOTE SLD-friendly practices
ENABLE, via disability entitlements
IdentifyingOffenders with
Specific Learning
Difficulties
IdentifyingOffenders with
Specific Learning
Difficulties
6
DYS - LEXIA can affect: READING - WRITING - SPEAKING SKILLS - LISTENING SKILLS
DYSLEXIA is an INFORMATION PROCESSING difficulty
People with Dyslexia may suffer from Visual Stress
DYSLEXIA often affects:SHORT-TERM & WORKING MEMORY / CONCENTRATION
ORGANISATION / TIME MANAGEMENT
7
VISUAL STRESS - WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
1. Dyslexic people are prone to certain eye problems
2. These can be treated by specialist Practitioners *
3. Use of colour may
make reading easier
4. Certain types of text make the problem worse
* SEE www.ceriumoptical.com , www.s4clp.org
& www.dyslexia-malvern.co.uk/visualstress
1. Inattention: distractibility, failing to pay attention to detail.
2. Impulsivity: poor inhibition & turn-taking, blurting out comments.
3. Hyperactivity: garrulous, accident- & addiction-prone.
Further areas affected in ADHD:
listening skills; organisation; awareness of consequences of your actions; learning from feedback.
ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER
ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER [ADD]
dreamy, poor concentration, ‘spaced out’
Difficulties with
co-ordination: (fine and/or gross motor skills)
speech: poor articulation, lack of control over volume
social skills: may appear tactless, disregard body language
PARTICULAR PROBLEMS
: poor orientation and navigation
: coping with change and new situations.
: poor organisation, prioritisation and time-management
DYSPRAXIA or
DEVELOPMENTAL CO-ORDINATION DISORDER
DYSCALCULIA
inability to understand number concepts
subsequent problems with time-telling, money matters, retaining numbers eg personal dates, recording dates and appointments correctly,
taking measurements etc.
NUMBERS IN PRISON
Entering your prison number correctlyForm filling (eg canteen form, meal choices)Using pin numbers for phoningDealing with your moneyNumber aspects of practical training
RESOURCE ON SLDs
KIWIs
K Key facts
I Impact of Specific Learning Difficulty
W Ways of Working with Offenders
I Information & Networks
SEE www.dyslexia-malvern.co.uk
SLDs should be identified as early as possible, so that difficulties can be addressed during custody.
Screening should be followed by Assessment of those who screen positive.
The Assessment Report informs the delivery of Support Chapters 1 & 2
PDF of ‘Releasing Potential’is freely available from websitewww.dyslexia-malvern.co.uk/resources
EncouragingOffenders with
Specific Learning
Difficulties
EncouragingOffenders with
Specific Learning
Difficulties
Raising Self esteemPromoting ConfidenceFostering Motivation
HOW?- Through providing a taste of success
- Through access to the Arts, in the widest sense e.g. London Shakespeare Workshops
- By valuing and encouraging their abilities
- By giving choice (people with SpLDs find it particularly difficult to work on something that is not of personal interest)
Always seek to minimise stress and frustration(e.g. Prison Phoenix Trust: yoga & meditation)
RESOURCES: Ten Tips & Ten Stepswww.dyslexia-malvern.co.uk/resources
Specific Learning Difficulties / Differences= a different way of thinking & processing information, due to neurological differences in brain formation & function
People with SLDsare often Visual thinkers,Verbal communication may be challenging
Tom West In the Mind’s Eye (1991)“For some people the handicap and the gift may be two aspects of the same thing. How we perceive it depends entirely on the context.”
SupportingOffenders with
Specific Learning
Difficulties
SupportingOffenders with
Specific Learning
DifficultiesCh 3 Supporting Learners with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia & ADHD
Ch 4 Support for Numeracy & Dyscalculia
Ch 5 Support for Foreign Nationals and ESOL Learners
Ch 7 On-line Learning and Assistive Technology
TEN PRINCIPLES OF SUPPORT
1. Be aware that these are largely visual learners
2. Use a multisensory approach, reinforce learning
3. Teach the subskills (as well as the skills)
4. Break tasks into achievable ‘bite-size’ parts
5. Give frequent feedback and encouragement
6. Use technology to liberate them from weak literacy skills
7. Provide choice and build on areas of interest
8. Include memory and organisational strategies
9. Use mentoring/‘buddy’ systems to help keep them on track
10 Identify individual barriers to progress eg Visual Stress
MINDMAPPING
CASE STUDY
A blow to my self respect was that when I was in school I could never write a story down although I had them in my head. It was something about pen and paper and spelling and handwriting. But I learned to use computers while I was inside. This has changed my life.
CASE STUDY
I feel I am very disadvantaged if I am given tests or have to complete timed exercises on the computer. I failed my very first exam (about spread sheets) because I had to copy numbers across and place them in the right column - I kept losing the place and having to start again. Now I realise I can have extra time, I ask for it. It means I can go really slowly and not start to panic and make mistakes.
USING ICT
Promotingan SLD-Friendly
Environmentin our Prisons
Promotingan SLD-Friendly
Environmentin our Prisons
Ch 6 Showcasing Good Practice across Europeexamples drawn mainly from EPEA members
Ch 8 An SLD-friendly Learning Environment…………..
ADOPT SLD - FRIENDLY APPROACHES
.. to LEARNING SUPPORT
.. to INDUCTION & ADMIN PROCEDURES
.. to GIVING INSTRUCTIONS
.. to ACCREDITATION and TESTING
.. to WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
ALWAYS TRY TO MINIMISE VISUAL STRESS
STAFF AWARENESS of SpLDs is essential: for tutors, prison officers & management
Chapter 8
wide spacing
images and graphics to indicate content
diagrams, charts, icons
selective use of bold and
bullet points
left justification ONLY
a clear font, at least 12
DYSLEXIA-FRIENDLY DOCUMENTATION minimises Visual Stress
DON’T USE
small fonts (below size 12)
justified right margin
‘fancy’ fonts and italics
bright white or shiny paper (try cream / pale blue)
text in either red or green (also a colour-blind issue)
whole words or phrases in capitals
USE
‘Enabling’ (ex-)prisoners
-through appropriate Work Preparation
- through Disability Entitlementsreframed, in UK, as ‘Equality &
Diversity’
- via ‘Signposting’ to specialist services
- by asking about their individual needs
‘Enabling’ (ex-)prisoners
-through appropriate Work Preparation
- through Disability Entitlementsreframed, in UK, as ‘Equality &
Diversity’
- via ‘Signposting’ to specialist services
- by asking about their individual needs
Interview practice – a staged process
-Discussion of the job, what it entails
- Explaining your SLD: a three part model 1. your abilities 2 & 3 your difficulties + how you compensate
-ROLE-PLAY Informal questions and answers
-ROLE-PLAY Formal questions and answers
-BEHAVIOUR Greetings, shaking hands, dress code
DOUBLE DISCLOSUREa)Of an ‘unspent’ criminal conviction
b)Of a specific learning difficulty
Work Preparation
Ch 9 Resettlement & Employment
Ch 10 Disability / Equality & Diversity Provisions
TERMINOLOGY: WHAT HELPS WHEN?
Vulnerability: ‘a vulnerable court-user’ in need of ‘special measures’
Disability: European Convention on Human Rights, Article 14: general prohibition on discrimination
Equality & Diversity – much wider than just ‘Disability’
Concept of Accessibility – access to services (digital exclusion) – accessible communications
Disability Definition in UK embedded in Equality Act, 2010'a person has a disability if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day to day activities’
IN CONCLUSION
“No-one should be shut off from opportunities, choice and options in life that most of us take for granted.
We know that once people are given the chance to excel, they often do.”
(Reaching Out: An Action Plan on Social Exclusion, 2006)