Suppose you have seen students or teachers focusing more on the connections between letters and sounds. In that case, you may have encountered a teaching method called Orton Gillingham. This method was developed for struggling readers mainly to focus on the letters and the sounds they produce to learn better. This method involves explaining to students how to break down words into smaller parts to be able to read and emphasise the role of spelling words to understand the connection of letters and sounds to develop the skills over time. This was mainly introduced for kids with dyslexia who struggled with reading.
An Orton Gillingham training program allows you to be a certified teacher to help students that face difficulty in areas of reading and spelling. The certificate provides an opportunity to understand a teaching practicum that focuses on building patience, step by step approach method, and focusing on the growth of every student. So, if you are new to the field of teaching and are confused about the training program, then here are a few benefits of Orton Gillingham certification:
Courses
With the certification, you can choose the course hours that are comfortable for you. There are three types of the program based on the number of hours, 30 hours of training where the participants are made familiar with the concepts of Orton Gillingham approach, 60 hours of training where there are 1:1 tutoring in small groups for better understanding, 100 hours course where you become a certified dyslexia practitioner. These courses suit teachers, parents, and social workers interested in volunteering for programs.
Practice
If you are interested in the training process, you are likely aware of the teaching method’s principles and goals, but it is equally important to gain practice of the same. Studying the theory and applying it to a group of students while being supervised is a great way to improve and understand the learning process among students.
Guidance
Although you know the ways and steps to teach students, you need to know areas that might need improvement in your approach and ways to improve and can do better. For this, you would require a person who has trained in the same but has a greater experience level and their immense knowledge can make you learn some unknown points. These pointers may not be mentioned in books but are only something that can be developed over the years by involving yourself in the same field.
Networking
The course provides a group of people to network with and makes connections to increase your scope for job opportunities. Networking is an excellent aspect of training programs as they allow you to meet like-minded people who understand the teaching method’s importance. Making connections allows you to grow in the field and also can increase the scope of client referrals. For instance, when you know a colleague who has worked on the same program as you but cannot access the child of a group of students due to distance issues, there is a greater chance that the colleague might refer you to the parents/guardians as someone that can help tutor the students.
Orton Gillingham certification allows you to increase your professional credential and provides higher-quality education strategies to help students with reading difficulties. And the points mentioned above will help you better understand the program.