- Contextual Background (c.50 words):
Provide a brief background of the teaching context, summarising the diverse needs of your students. For example, for the PgCert I would say that many of our participants are either in full-time teaching work or juggling part-time teaching with professional/creative practice. Many have dependents and caring responsibilities. Many are working with learning differences.
- Evaluation (c.100 words):
Map out your current strategies for meeting the needs of your students, and evaluate the effectiveness of your approach(es).
- Moving forwards (c.350 words)
Detail other strategies or practices you have encountered (through reading, observation of peers, and/or your own experience as a learner) that may be applicable to your teaching context.
Show how you will take, or are taking, these ideas forward.
Reflect on any outcomes from experimenting with or implementing new strategies, noting successes and limitations.
Summarise how this reflection will influence your future practice.
- References (additional to word count)
List any references you have cited in Harvard style, in alphabetical order. Visit https://www.citethemrightonline.com to see the different categories of sources that can (and should!) be referenced.
Case study 1: Creating content that aligns with neurodivergent learners, in particular reference to dyslexic learners
- Contextual Background
This case study explores creating resources for the embroidery software Wilcom, using imagery, videography, and considering font type, size, color, and text count. Research indicates art and design subjects have more dyslexic students (Bacon & Bennett, 2012), highlighting the importance of resources supporting these learners effectively.
- Evaluation
In our workshop, we continuously aim to make resources more user-friendly, especially as our student cohort grows. Previously, I created a detailed document to guide users through Wilcom software, from setting up a page to designing. This document was originally intended to train UEL technicians, but it is now available to students. However, it is lengthy, wordy, and not very accessible.
In contrast, we have developed simpler, more visual guides for other workshop facilities, i.e. formatting images for fabric printing. These streamlined resources have proven more effective, as students now prefer self-directing with the references instead of seeking assistance and have made the process more accessible overall.
- Moving forwards (c.350 words)
As study has shown, visual thinking is a consistent characteristic of dyslexia (Grant and French, 2017), so it is fundamental that we use this learning style to teach the programs. All too often, we have students in the workshop commenting that they have dyslexia, or are neurodivergent, and as such, they have low self-confidence when it comes to using new software and technology. Often students will not come into the workshop because they are fearful that they will not understand. A study by Mortimore and Crozier (2006) found that for individuals, even at higher education level learning, have persistent challenges when it comes to skills such as note taking, completing coursework and exams, and a particular challenge is mastering keyboard skills, which reflects this feeling amongst students.
For the refined resource, we will utilize screenshots of the software, digital drawings where relevant, and research will be commenced on suitable font size and color…. tbc…..
References
- Bacon, A. and Bennett, K. (2012) ‘Dyslexia in Higher Education: the decision to study art’.