01 NRDC Dyslexia 1-88 update - Texthelp

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Research Report
procedural knowledge of a different kind) to type the word on a keyboard and to do so
automatically when the idea of the word enters their heads. Procedural knowledge relies on
sensorimotor protocols. By definition, these protocols are not established in people who do
not write; they must be put in place and it is ‘never too late to do so’ (McGuinness, 1998).
There is no novelty in the use of multisensory methods with adult newcomers to literacy;
tactile methods were used in the mass education movement of the early nineteenth century
(Dickson, 1986). Nor should there be any mystique about this, for although reading and
writing draw on shared knowledge they are separate skills and writing needs to be learned
by—as well as with—the hands (Berninger et al., 2002).
Simple component skills also need to become fluent, if they are to be successfully combined
in more complex cognitive operations (Johnson & Layng, 1992). In fluent spelling, for
example, the learner will be able to spell words swiftly enough not to lose momentum,
remember how to spell words after a significant period of no practice and spell them
correctly when concentrating on the subject of a composition in which they are used (Johnson
& Layng, 1992). The components of mathematical problem-solving procedures can be
similarly modelled. All procedural learning needs to be thoroughly assimilated by drill, or
overlearning (Kohl, 1988; Oakland et al., 1998), in order to establish new and active networks
of neural connectivity; the more extensive these networks become, the more easily the new
learning can be applied. Dysfluent component skills make progress impossible at worst and
tedious at best (Johnson & Layng, 1992), but there is evidence that computer-supported
teaching can make drill acceptable to literacy learners (Cromley, 2000; Singleton & Simmons,
2001).
Then, since critical developmental changes result from adequate language experience in
naturalistic contexts, it has been suggested that intervention strategies for learners with
language learning problems should focus on enhancing language experience in natural
contexts (Nittrouer, 2002). One way of doing so with adult students might be to base teaching
on directly relevant materials such as small advertisements in the local newspaper or workrelated
vocabulary; building up a sight vocabulary related to life-experiences and interests
might be a useful first step toward functional literacy (Gottesman et al., 1996).
The tutor’s aim must be to impart declarative knowledge (knowledge that) and to ensure that
the student then transforms it into procedural knowledge (knowledge how) that can be drawn
upon without conscious attention.
Students will not become proficient without repetitive practice.
Computer-supported instruction can make repetitive practice acceptable to adult students.
Agents
Who should be entrusted to fire this grapeshot? It is sometimes argued that this role should
be undertaken by specialists in dyslexia, which is a critically important safeguard if the
alternative is to assign the task to untrained volunteers. But it does not follow that expertise
in the teaching of reading should be the monopoly of specialists who are called in when things
go wrong. From nursery school onwards, everyone who teaches literacy needs to be
knowledgeable about language and language learning (Brooks et al., 2001a; Brooks et al.,
1992; Locke et al., 2002; Mather et al., 2001; Moats, 1994; Moats & Lyon, 1996). The
professional development of adult literacy teachers might helpfully be understood by analogy