In the five years she worked as a freelance drama educator, Ms Aisha Shaik often came across students with learning difficulties who would struggle to participate in her class.
Her teaching experience piqued her interest in educating students outside mainstream schools, and prompted her to take up a specialist diploma in educational therapy last year.
Ms Aisha was one of 59 newly minted special needs educators to graduate from the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) Academy on 16 September.
The ceremony for this batch of students – the seventh to graduate from the academy – was held online for the first time. The school, which is marking its 10th year, has trained more than 500 graduates in master’s and diploma programmes in the past decade.
Ms Aisha, this year’s valedictorian for her course, said the 10-month programme taught her how to follow a structured method of teaching.
She also learnt how to include a focus on phonics in her teaching, and strategies like regularly reviewing what has been taught and conducting listening or reading comprehensions at the end of class.
The DAS Academy is the training arm of social service agency DAS, which provides services and support for people with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties in Singapore and around the world.
Some graduates from the academy join DAS as educational therapists, while others return to their own educational institutions after completing their course.
DAS yesterday said about 23,000 students from pre-school to secondary school in Singapore have dyslexia that is severe enough to warrant intervention.
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Source: The Straits Times, 17 September 2020