 |
 |
I think that what both Joel and Bernard write is very pertinent and I take on board what Fay has said about the increasing number of recommendations for support and the difficulty of making provision. In contrast another university has often asked for an increase in tuiotion to 2 or even 3 hours support a week and for continuation of this support through the holiday periods. Joel's points 2 to 4 are in my opinion very sensible and represent best practice. The only comment I would make on point 1 is that if the LEA agrees to fund 1 hour per week the student is entiotled to 1 hour per week. The university is not obliged to do more than help the student locate a tutor, they could seek support frpom other suitably qualified sources (although in areas of high demand this is often not possible). As to the increase: During assessments I have noticed an increased willingness on the part of students to agree to the provision of this type of support. 3 or 4 years ago it was common for students to decline this support and just accept the technology. I'm with Bernard when he says "I am constantly struck by how much virtually all the students I see would benefit from individual attention to their work and their ways of working, far more (I suspect) than from the technology" Sometimes students tell me that one teacher or 'special needs person' had really helped them to develop strategies to help them cope. They rarely tell me that technology turned round their lives. Mick Trott [log in to unmask] writes: << The volume of applications for support has now reached a point where we have to use available resources (mainly tutors with dyslexia background) as efficiently and imaginatively as possible, e.g: 1. Sessions every other week or two students to one tutor 2. "Study Skills" groups when several students have been referred from one course 3. "Curriculum Support" - essentially a drop-in facility plus guidance to course tutors on inclusive teaching strategies 4. Staff development to improve delivery for dyslexic learners on courses, who may then not require additional support >> Bernard writes: At the same time, I am constantly struck by how much virtually all the students I see would benefit from individual attention to their work and their ways of working, far more (I suspect) than from the technology (or the technology without human support) that tends to be our focus. In this regard, I am not surprised that the number of recommendations is increasing. Some students need a great deal of help and advice with virtually every area of their work: with it, they succeed; without it, they fail. Who is to provide it in a modern university where the function of the individual tutor has changed so dramatically in the past decade or so?