Postgraduate courses on learning difficulties online
A number of universities now offer postgraduate courses in the area of learning difficulties that can be taken online. These courses provide an opportunity for teachers wishing to obtain specialist training in this area to further their professional learning and upgrade their qualifications.
Information relating to the following courses has been provided to LDA. This information does not cover all relevant courses that might be available online. However, we would be pleased to add other courses to this listing if relevant information is provided to LDA.
Macquarie University Postgraduate Certificate in Special Education (Learning Difficulties)
This course can be taken part time over 1 to 1.5 years, either internally or externally (distance). Admission requirement is a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent. The course is open to trained teachers as well as graduates in other fields such as psychology, occupational therapy, speech pathology, or health and social services who are working with individuals with learning difficulties. The course comprises three units, covering:
• Effective Instruction for Students with Special Education Needs
• Effective Literacy Instruction
• Effective Numeracy Instruction
This course has been designed to assist teachers and clinicians who are working with students with learning difficulties. The approach taken is non-categorical, the emphasis being on the literacy and/or numeracy problems encountered by students and not the underlying aetiology. Central to this course is the instructional technology that has been identified in the literature as being effective in teaching students who have difficulties in learning. Selection of content for literacy and numeracy programs, the focus of these programs, and the assessment of prerequisite skills are examined within an empirical framework. Students will be provided with many practical ideas for assessment and programming, always based on current research evidence.
Students successfully completing the requirements for a Postgraduate Certificate may opt to transfer to the Postgraduate Diploma in Special Education or Master of Special Education by coursework.
For further information contact Ms Sharyn Gilkes, at
sharyn.gilkes@mq.edu.auEdith Cowan University Graduate Certificate of Education (Learning Difficulties)
Edith Cowan University provides a Graduate Certificate of Education (Learning Difficulties), which can be taken on campus or off campus. The course can be taken full-time over one semester, or part-time over an equivalent period of time. The course comprises four units, as follows:
• Foundation Studies and Current Issues in Special Education
• Strategies for Learning Difficulties
• How Children Learn Literacy: Processes, Development, Difficulties
• How Children Learn Mathematics: Processes, Development, Difficulties
The course is intended for trained teachers to prepare them for supporting students with specific needs in either a regular classroom or in a special education facility. It is designed to allow teachers to develop or enhance their skills and understandings in particular areas of specialised study, and provides studies of both a theoretical and practical nature. Teachers will develop an understanding of the learning needs of students who for a variety of reasons have learning difficulties or learning disabilities. It will also provide teachers with knowledge and understandings of whole school approaches to supporting students at educational risk.
For further information see ECU handbook at
http://handbook.ecu.edu.au/CourseStructure.asp?disyear=2011&CID=620&USID=0&UCID=0&UID=0&Ver=6.03&HB=HB&SC=PGUniversity of Tasmania Unit on Reading and Writing Difficulties
The University of Tasmania’s Faculty of Education offers an online unit of study titled Reading and Writing Difficulties (ESG777), developed and directed by Associate Professor Ruth Fielding-Barnsley.
The aim of this unit is to assist those who would like to attain qualifications in relation to learning difficulties including teachers, special education support teachers, counsellors, and guidance officers. This unit is designed to deepen knowledge of the reading and writing processes and develop skills in identifying and supporting struggling readers and writers in inclusive educational settings and for individual tuition.
This unit is normally taken as part of the University of Tasmania’s Education Masters Program or Graduate Certificate Course, but may be undertaken as a single unit without completing the whole course.
This unit is offered in second semester, and can be completed totally online, with opportunities for group and individual interactions online. Expected outcomes are that upon completion students should be able to:
1. Analyse, synthesise and demonstrate knowledge of the foundation skills and processes involved in reading and writing in order to identify a student's areas of difficulty
2. Identify effective literacy assessment practices that can be implemented within an inclusive classroom to develop specific instructional plans for struggling readers and writers
3. Apply evidence-based instructional approaches, techniques, and strategies for supporting the development of struggling readers and writers
4. Identify approaches to accessing supports within the school system as well as ways to consult and collaborate effectively with school support personnel (e.g., speech and language pathologists) and the families of struggling readers and writers.
For a complete unit outline including scheduling, assignments and assessment information go to:
sf_finalUnit OutlineESG777edit1.doc For further information and enrolment details, contact Peter Brooks by email at:
Peter.Brooks@utas.edu.au