LEARNING MADE EASY WITH LEXIA

Cumbernauld High School was the first secondary school to be built in the new town of Cumbernauld and is currently home to 850 pupils, and has a Learning Support team of two full-time staff and two auxiliary staff. The school actively seeks to develop the full potential of every pupil, and prepares them for a positive role in society and the world of work. These aims apply to all the pupils, including those who require learning support. As such, the Learning Support Unit (LSU) plays a highly valued and integral role within Cumbernauld High School.

The school has a small group of dyslexic children and children deemed not able to learn a modern language, and its Learning Support Unit helps these children to build their skills in both literacy and numeracy where applicable. Those children not learning a modern language have 3 periods a week in the LSU using a range of software, including the Lexia Reading System to help their development.

Within the LSU, each child has an Individual Education Plan (IEP), devised by teacher, pupil and in some cases, parents. The plan is used to set targets for the child and allows them the flexibility of making decisions that will affect their own learning programmes. Senior Teacher, Learning Support, Jeanette O’Donnell explains, “The children feel more in control of their own learning if they are allowed to choose which software they particularly like using, and this encourages them further when in many cases, holding their attention for long periods of time may be a challenge.” Hence the completed plan will incorporate a number of different software programs so that every few minutes, the child has another option they can pursue, rather than becoming disinterested by one particular program.

Lexia Reading System is designed for students to work independently listening to verbal instructions and clicking on images with a mouse or typing. The interactive exercises branch off automatically depending on the student’s performance, providing practice on specific areas of difficulty when needed.  Lexia allows the progression on to more advanced areas only when the student is ready. Teachers may override the automatic branching function at any time to specify program units or customize exercises for individuals. The activities are intriguing for the students, with formats and graphics that interest, motivate and make practice enjoyable.

Each teaching group in the Cumbernauld LSU consists of 8-9 pupils with diverse needs including literacy, numeracy and dyslexic support. To support these pupils, the LSU has 5 Lexia licenses, one on each of its 5 PCs. The room layout in the LSU is designed to encourage the children to work, rather than offering the sometimes oppressive and difficult setting of a traditional classroom. A screen encloses each PC so the children can work with confidence and without embarrassment. Each child has their own set of headphones so other students cannot hear them and their mistakes are only apparent to themselves. The environment is one that the children find safe, secure and non-threatening.

As the child progresses through the four levels of Lexia Reading System, they receive a certificate at each stage they pass through. Once they have their certificate, Jeanette prints copies out for display in the LSU and for them to take home to their parents. In addition, when each child logs on to Lexia, they can see in graphic format where they are in the program, seeing their achievements for themselves. The program automatically saves the child’s work, so there are no concerns about them forgetting to do this.

Jeanette is impressed by the fact that Lexia is not just based on on-screen learning, but incorporates phonetics as well, which is another important area for the children to practice. “We have to make sure that the children have a balance of learning resources and Lexia offers this. They enjoy using the PCs so we ensure that we have software that is both fun and informative for them.” She concludes, “It is simple to install and use from a teacher’s perspective, but the children enjoy using the software and have no difficulty finding their way around it unsupervised. Each time they log on to Lexia, their name comes up and they don’t have to remember passwords, which could prove difficult, especially for the dyslexic students.”