Hi

I have no problem with helping students develop their literacy skills
where it is feasible and where it is practicable. I do have real
difficulty with the notion expressed elsewhere that:

"...dyslexia tutors should not proof read students' work or alter
students' work in any way at all."

Regards

Peter

Boyce, Mark wrote:
> The point of helping dyslexic students develop their grammar skills is to
> ensure that they are more able to present their ideas in a written format.
> For most, if not all of the dyslexic students that I see, the most
> frustrating thing that they have to deal with is expressing their ideas in
> writing. Quite often it is attempting this and failing that causes most
> students to withdraw from their course.
>
> Whereas alternative forms of assessment will help elevate this problem in
> the short-term, most students I see would actually like to improve their
> writing skills to an extent where they are receiving parity with other
> students and not being marked differently "because they are dyslexic".
>
> I had a student come to me today to tell me their final degree grade. He
> received a 2:2, which I thought he would be disappointed with. However, he
> was actually over the moon, because he had got a first for his dissertation,
> something he never in his whole life thought he could achieve.
>
> The motivational factor of overcoming something that has proven to be a
> major obstacle for most of their life seems, to me and most students I work
> with, to far outweigh the extra time they spend accessing support.
>
> Mark Boyce
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter Hill [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 09 June 2003 13:16
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Sympathetic marking
>
>
> Hi
>
> I'm sometimes amazed at how eager people are to impose a remedial
> support model on adults affected by dyslexia. Dyslexia IS a disability.
> There is no evidence that I'm aware of that demonstrates that adult
> dyslexia is remediable. Dyslexia is not a temporary 'glitch'. It's not
> a consequence of sloppy work and is (probably) not a result of inaquate
> teaching at school which can somehow be adressed at HE level.
>
> Students with dyslexia attend university to study the course of their
> choice, not to improve their literacy skills. I know that such
> students' literacy skills probably will improve during the 3 or 4 years
> at uni, but how many of them can afford to spend hours every week
> engaged in 'naughty corner' grammar and spelling correction excercises?
>
> How many of those with severe literacy difficulties would benefit - even
> slightly - from such activity. None, I suspect. Most would simply drop
> out.
>
> Having to focus so determinedly on the mechanics of transcription can
> intefere significantly with the content of the material as it is
> composed. Even if work is proofread thoroughly, students work is
> unlikely to reflect their full ability. So, just how does proofreading
> give them an unfair advantage? How do you approach the work of student
> who has written a 3000 word essay and who has a 10% (or even a 20%)
> error rate?
>
> The sort of strategies advocated by the 'remediators' seem simply to
> deny the existence of the student's dyslexia.
>
> Deaf and VI students face communication barriers. Support at uni aims
> to support those students in finding ways around those barriers. Why
> should support for dyslexic students be regarded differently?
>
> Regards
>
> Peter Hill
>
>
>
> Skinner J.P. wrote:
> > Keith
> >
> > I feel very strongly that dyslexia tutors should not proof read
> > students' work or alter students' work in any way at all. It is fine
> > to provide editing skills that will enable students to correct their
> > own work, but not to correct it for them. That would be giving the
> > students an unfair advantage, in my opinion. On an individual basis
> > we do talk through coursework with students and point out any errors
> > of grammar and sentence structure, and explain why it is wrong - we
> > do not offer alternatives. Perhaps that is the same thing and it is
> > the term 'proof reading' which is being interpreted differently! I
> > perhaps read more into the term than you do - proof reading could be
> > seen as just pointing out mistakes and not correcting them.
> >
> > Janet ---------------------- Janet Skinner Co-ordinator of Dyslexia
> > Services University of Southampton 9 University Crescent
> > [log in to unmask] 023 80595 562 (internal 25562) Dyslexia Services
> > Reception 023 8059 2759 (internal 22759) [log in to unmask]
> >
>
> --
> 01905 753439
> [log in to unmask]
> www.study-pro.com
>
> Dyslexia Consultancy and Resources
>
>
>


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