What is the Orton Gillingham Approach?
Orton-Gillingham (OG) is a multisensory approach to teaching reading, spelling and writing for students with language-based learning differences, particularly dyslexia. Phonemic-based OG is systematic, maintaining a logical sequence of learning; simultaneously it is flexible, creative, and individualized.
Language-based. The OG approach is based on a technique of studying and teaching language, understanding the nature of human language and the mechanisms involved in learning, and the language-learning processes in individuals.
Multisensory. OG teaching sessions are action oriented with auditory, visual, and kinesthetic elements reinforcing each other for optimal learning. Students learn spelling simultaneously with reading.
Structured, Sequential, Cumulative. The OG teacher introduces the elements of language systematically. Students begin by reading and writing sounds in isolation. Then they blend the sounds into syllables and words. Students learn the elements of language, (consonants, vowels, digraphs) in an orderly fashion. They then proceed to advanced structural elements (syllable types, roots, affixes). As students learn new material, they continue to review old material to the level of automaticity. The teacher addresses vocabulary, sentence structure, composition, and reading comprehension in a similar structured, sequential, and cumulative manner.
Cognitive. Students learn the history of the English language and study generalizations and rules that govern its structure.
Flexible. OG teaching is diagnostic-prescriptive in nature; teachers seek to understand how an individual learns and to devise appropriate teaching strategies.
Emotionally Sound. In every lesson, the student experiences a high degree of success and gains confidence as well as skills. Learning becomes a rewarding and happy experience.
What is the Associate Level?
The Associate Level is the second level of certification developed by the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, and includes:
- 60 hours of coursework instructed by an Academy Fellow based on required curriculum
- 100 hours in a supervised practicum teaching one-to-one under the direction of a Fellow to include a minimum of 10 hours of direct observation. Intensive focus on lesson development and implementation, testing and analysis, and instruction.
- The development of a test file and student reference notebook, as well as model lessons.
- Evidence of completion of the Academy’s Required Readings at the Associate level.
- Final Exam (for those taking the course and / or practicum for graduate credit)
- Practicum and coursework must be spread out over a 1 year period (no less than 8 months).
For Whom is the Orton-Gillingham Approach Appropriate?
The Orton-Gillingham approach is appropriate for teaching individuals and small groups. It is appropriate for teaching in the primary, elementary, intermediate grades, and at the secondary and college level as well as for adults. The explicit focus of the approach has been and continues to be upon persons with the kinds of language processing problems associated with dyslexia.
Is the Associate Level Course Appropriate for Classroom Teachers?
The Associate Level Course is most appropriate for tutors and teachers working with 1 – 4 students in an intervention setting. The Dunn Institute agrees with contentions that three in five students nationally could benefit from more explicit instruction -- and that approaches such as Orton-Gillingham have a place in mainstream reading instruction. Consequently, we have developed a Multisensory Literacy course that mirrors content required by the Associate Level course but uses a format that is more accessible to classroom teachers. It offers teachers a framework for integrating the O-G scope and sequence within an existing curricular framework to prevent the incidence of reading failure and provide initial levels of support to emerging struggling readers.
Are participants required to take the practicum with the Associate Level course?
In general, yes. Applicants for the Associate course should be interested in pursuing 1:1 or small group tutoring with children who have language-based learning differences. The practicum program is a critical piece of professional development for future tutoring, and participants are expected to enroll in the practicum upon successful completion of the coursework. If participants are not interested in the practicum piece, then the Multisensory Literacy course is a better option.
What are the specific practicum requirements?
Practicum participants tutor a student (1:1) who has documented evidence of a language-based learning difference (as a primary diagnosis). Tutoring must occur at least twice a week (for each student being tutored) for 45 – 60 minutes each session. Practicum observations occur periodically throughout the practicum, averaging one observation for every ten tutoring sessions. Lesson plans, assessment tools and evaluations are documented and reviewed upon completion of hours. The practicum encompasses 100 hours of tutoring with preparation required for each tutorial.
How does the practicum differ if I select students from my school or neighborhood versus Dunn Institute students?
The practicum requirements listed above are the same in each situation. Typically, teachers who are supported by a school or district select students from their home schools to tutor during the practicum. Teachers or tutors who are pursuing O-G training independently of a subsidizing agency often opt to work with a Dunn Institute student to keep course costs down. In this scenario, the Dunn Institute charges participating families a nominal hourly fee to cover the costs of the practicum.
Can I take the course one year, and then complete the practicum at a later date?
In general, no. The value of the practicum is greatest when participants learn and then practice O-G concepts simultaneously. Furthermore, supervisions become complicated when instructors are observing trainees who did not participate in their recent course. Finally, instructors may only supervise a certain number of practicum trainees each year; consequently there is no guarantee that there will be space in a future practicum cohort.
Why is the Hasbro Center affiliated with the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators?
The Hasbro Center is committed to offering top-quality professional development in Orton-Gillingham. Consequently, we shape course content and guidelines around rigorous Academy standards of practice – which are among the most demanding. Teaching reading – especially to struggling readers – IS rocket science and the Hasbro Center believes that the course content, requirements, sequence of topics and approach to learning espoused by the Academy represents the best route to learning, practicing, and mastering the O-G approach. For more information on the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, please see www.ortonacademy.org.
Will the Hasbro Center at Dunn offer other levels of Orton-Gillingham?
Yes. We are currently developing a 3 year strategic plan around Orton-Gillingham and Multisensory Instruction, and intend to offer the Certified Level course (through the Academy) beginning in 2008.
Who were Orton and Gillingham?
Samuel Torrey Orton (1879-1948), a neuropsychiatrist and pathologist, was a pioneer in focusing attention on reading failure and related language processing difficulties. He brought together neuroscientific information and principles of remediation. As early as the 1920s, he had extensively studied children with the kind of language processing difficulties now commonly associated with dyslexia and had formulated a set of teaching principles and practices for such children.
Anna Gillingham (1878-1963) was a gifted educator and psychologist with a superb mastery of the language. Working with Dr. Orton, she trained teachers and compiled and published instructional materials. Over the last half century the Orton-Gillingham approach has been the seminal and most influential intervention designed expressly for remediating the language processing problems of children and adults with dyslexia.
About Dyslexia
A definition of Dyslexia is difficulty in the use and processing of linguistic/symbolic codes - alphabetic letters representing speech sounds, or numeric symbols representing numbers or quantities. Such difficulty is reflected in the language continuum that includes spoken language, written language, and language comprehension.
Children and adults with dyslexia typically fail to master the basic elements of the language system of their culture despite traditional classroom teaching. Since language is the necessary tool upon which subsequent academic learning is based, people with dyslexia often encounter difficulty in all educational endeavors.
Dyslexia commonly runs in families and varies from mild to severe. Most importantly, the use of the Orton-Gillingham approach by a skilled and experienced teacher can significantly moderate the language learning and processing problems that arise from dyslexia.
For information on the International Dyslexia Association, please go to www.interdys.org.
