“Children with learning disabilities, language development deficits and first generation learners as well as normal children can learn effectively in an inclusive situation with learning material and skills that promote Visual-Auditory-Reading-Study strategy,” Said Dr Lalit Kishore, educator-researcher at Disha Foundation in Jaipur who undertook an intervention research in a bridge school and worked with a child with dysgraphia on individual basis using Visual-Auditory-Reading-Study (VARS) skills strategy (see inset collage).
Exhibit: A child with dysgraphia being taught through auditory and visual skills
The abstract of the intervention research goes as follows.Abstract: With recent drives and campaigns for universal enrollment of children for elementary education and make it inclusive, the diversity of children has increased and a large number of over-age children and those with learning disabilities have been admitted in grade one in formal schools as well as in alternative education projects and special schools. The emergent need for such children is to go for accommodation and visually-supported or dual-code learning methods. An intervention research in the use of 'Visual-Auditory-Reading-Study (VARS)' skills strategy was undertaken to address the need with the following objectives as pilot in an NGO-run bridge school for girls (Children:20; Age: 9-14 years; single teacher; Rural setting): (1) To reorganize the curriculum in learning units; (2) To prepare graphical and visual learning material for auditory work for teacher and among children and reading-cum-study sheets; (3) To transact teaching through continuous progress or proficiency tracked system for children to work in three dynamic groups. The intervention consisted of forty-day teacher training understanding the strategy, preparing material by the teacher and teaching practice in a peer-group simulated situation (N=20 teacher- trainees; Age:25-40 years; Graduates). The intervention was for two years with teacher support of fortnightly school-based further training and monthly review-an-planning works hops. The strategy resulted in 80 % of students (N=22; Age:9-14 years) completing five grades in two-years time and all students moving beyond grade two. The mainstreaming rate of 50 % was found due to the intervention. Implication is to develop suitable learning material for grades one to three in an inclusive situation so that children with learning disabilities could be accommodated since they are mainly visual-auditory learners who cannot write or draw.
Keywords: Auditory skills, learning disabilities, reading skills, teacher support system, visual skills
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