Understanding Dyslexia: Arizona Dyslexia Designees V.2
Meets the AZ Dyslexia Designee requirement. For AZ educators only!
Welcome and thank you for your interest in this online course! Please note that this version of the "Understanding Dyslexia" course is customized to meet the requirements of the Arizona Department of Education's Dyslexia Designee Training Reading Instruction (I) and Intensifying Instruction (II).
IMPORTANT NOTE About AZ K-5 Literacy Endorsement Requirements:
Educators who complete this AZ Dyslexia Designee course have the option of using the hours towards the Part B requirement of the K-5 Literacy Endorsement training requirement that must be completed by July 1, 2028. Educators who take this course (6 hours) together with the Arizona Approved Reading for Dyslexia Designees - Keys to Beginning Reading (39 hours) can use the combined 45 hours towards Part B. A special certificate for this purpose is available as follows:
- You must complete both courses. Combined, this will total 45 hours.
- Once you complete both courses, contact Keys to Literacy to let us know you would like a certificate of completion to use towards Part B of the K-5 Literacy Endorsement requirement. You will then need to find another vendor to take a course that meets Part A requirements.
- If you contact us to ask for a certificate, we will check to be sure you completed all pages of both courses, and then send you a certificate
If you are only taking this course to meet the Dyslexia Designee requirements, the certificate of completion you can download at the end of this course is all you need.
Enjoy the course! Joan Sedita, Founder of Keys to Literacy
Below you will find information about the course, including a course syllabus and answers to frequently asked questions. We estimate that this course will take approximately 6 hours to complete. It can be taken as a STAND ALONE online course, or as a FACILITATED online course that includes two hours of facilitated virtual-live sessions with a Keys to Literacy trainer. If you are taking the FACILITATED version, Keys to Literacy will contact you with information about the virtual-live sessions.
Once finished, you will be able to download a Certificate of Completion. If you have any questions, please email us: [email protected]
Enjoy the course! Joan Sedita, Founder of Keys to Literacy
Description
There are many reasons why students struggle with reading and writing skills. For 10-15% of students the cause is dyslexia, a neurobiological learning disability that is characterized by difficulty with accurate or fluent word recognition and poor spelling. This course provides the background knowledge about dyslexia that all educators need in order to understand why students with dyslexia struggle with reading and how to support them.
This course is appropriate for all elementary educators, secondary educators who work with older students who still have difficulty with foundational skills, and parents who would like to know more about research-based, effective reading instruction for students with dyslexia.
In this course you will learn
- the definition of dyslexia and how it relates to other specific learning disabilities
- how the brain learns to read
- the five components of reading and how dyslexia affects the ability to learn reading skills
- recommendations for early screening for dyslexia
- the importance of a structured literacy approach to teaching students with dyslexia
- research-based suggestions for using a structured and explicit approach to teach foundational skills including sounds, sound-symbol correspondences, syllables, and morphemes
Asynchronous
The course is asynchronous, which means you can log on and off multiple times to complete the course assignments at your own pace. If you are taking the FACILITATED version of this course, you will participate in a one-hour virtual session with a Keys to Literacy trainer mid-way through the course, and another at the end of the course.
Partner with Other Educators
This course has been designed to be used by individual educators to increase their understanding of dyslexia. However, it can also be used within peer learning communities or by an entire staff to provide a shared professional development experience. The course includes activities that can be completed and shared among peers taking the course at the same time.
About Keys to Literacy
Keys to Literacy is a professional development and consulting company specializing in literacy instruction. Our training programs are built upon the most current literacy research and best instructional practices that are tightly aligned with Common Core and other state standards. Our instructional practices are relevant for general educators as Tier I core instruction for all students, and to special educators as Tier II or Tier III support instruction.Click here to visit the Keys to Literacy website to learn more about our work.
Your Instructor
The course developer is Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy and author of the Keys to Literacy professional development programs. Keys to Literacy is based in Massachusetts, and provides literacy professional development to schools across the United States. For over 40 years, Joan has been an experienced educator and nationally recognized teacher trainer. She has authored multiple literacy professional development programs, including The Key Comprehension Routine, The Key Vocabulary Routine, Keys to Beginning Reading, Keys to Content Writing, Keys to Early Writing, and Keys to Close Reading. Beginning in 1975, she worked for 23 years at the Landmark School, a pioneer in the development of literacy intervention programs. As a teacher, principal, and director of the Outreach Teacher Training Program at Landmark, Joan developed expertise, methods, and instructional programs that address the literacy needs of students in grades K-12. Joan was one of the three lead trainers in MA for the Reading First Program and was a LETRS author and trainer. She received her M.Ed. in Reading from Harvard University and her B.A. from Boston College
Course Curriculum
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Start1.1 Dyslexia: One Type of Disability (2:27)
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Start1.2 Learning Disabilities
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Start1.3 Dyslexia Overview (8:03)
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Start1.4 Dyslexia Prevalence and Misconceptions
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Start1.5 Dyslexia Legislation
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Start1.6 Dyslexia and Phonological Processing, Rapid Automatic Naming (2:24)
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Start1.7 Signs of Dyslexia
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Start1.8 Reflection Activity
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Start1.9 Quiz