Literacy for all: how to use universal design for learning to promote literacy skills for students with disabilities

Group Submission Type: Pre-conference Workshop

Proposal

Literacy skills are a fundamental component of most daily living skills. However, most students with disabilities in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) are not given literacy instruction. In fact, most children with disabilities in LMICS are estimated not to be receiving any formal education. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that 90 percent of children with disabilities in LMICs have never received any form of education. Once in school, teachers are often not trained in how to effectively teach core academics, such as literacy, to students with different types of disabilities. As a result, many students with disabilities are illiterate as they have never been given the opportunity to learn and reach their full academic potential. To respond to this need, USAID and the USAID funded Reading with Reach project published the Literacy for All: How to Use Universal Design for Learning to Promote Literacy Skills for Students with Disabilities. The premise of this groundbreaking toolkit is that all children with disabilities can learn to read and should have equal access to quality literacy instruction in inclusive settings.

The purpose of the training is to provide participants with the evidence-based techniques that will improve literacy skills for students with different types of disabilities in LMICs. The learning objectives for this training include increasing participants’ knowledge of using:
• Universal design for learning (UDL) to improve learning outcomes for students with and without disabilities.
• Evidence-based practices (including supports and services) for teaching and supporting literacy.
• Instructional strategies for improving the learning of students with different types of disabilities.
• Action planning for one’s own context to identify next steps and strategies to support the teaching of literacy in inclusive settings for students with disabilities in LMICs using the toolkit as a support document.

The proposed delivery plan is to offer a PowerPoint presentation interspersed with small and large group discussions, simulations, and self-reflections in addressing the learning objectives. Though the training will be led by the co- authors of the toolkit, additional presenters will be invited to speak based on their knowledge of supporting literacy skills for students with different types of disabilities or the related challenges (such as teacher training, lack of resource, etc.) to implementing literacy programs in LMICs. Invited speakers will include USAID education officers, academic leaders and international NGOs implementing literacy programs. Training topics will lead the participants through the toolkit by focusing on the following topics:
• Setting contexts for learning
• Understanding the importance of UDL
• Holistic supports (e.g., assistive technologies, access to curriculum, teacher training and tiered levels of supports)
• Identification practices and the purpose of identification
• Specific evidence-based approaches to promoting literacy for students with different types of disabilities
• Do’s and don’ts of funding and programming

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Workshop Organizers

• Anne Marie Hayes, Independent Consultant

• Joshua Josa, US Agency for International Development (USAID)

Presenter

• Deepa Srikantaiah, World Learning