SLIDE
My project aims at understanding learning disabilities among children in India through research methodologies and propose a service development concept for inclusive education.
Children communicating ideas with clarity
SYSTEM RESEARCH
SERVICE DESIGN
POLICY RESEARCH
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS
LD?
Specific Learning Disability (SLD) or Learning Disability (LD) is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders.
Manifested by -
" Significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. "
These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur across the life span. LD is a neurological condition which affect fine motor skills and spatial awareness.
Significant difficulty with information processing, as measured by cognitive functioning tests, observations, interviews.
Significant difficulties with listening, speaking, reading, writing, math, or reasoning as measured by academic achievement tests.
What is not LD?
Significant visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), or physical (motor) problems.
Severe emotional problems or mental health disorders.
Lack of schooling, educational opportunity, or cultural differences.
WHAT IS
NOT LD?
Dyslexia upto 18%
Dygraphia upto 14%
Dyscalcula upto 5%
26% of primary school kids in India are at a risk of
developing learning disability.
INDIAN SCHOOLING
Although the label of Learning Disability if new, India is thought to have approximately 90 million people with varying degrees of learning disabilities (LDs).
Recognizing English as the language of opportunity and social mobility has increased the enrolment of children into English medium private schools, regardless if the parents know English.
The increasing competition to get into and do well in school, students who experience academic difficulties are often perceived as “hopeless or badly behaved” and labeled LD.
Although it helps in remediation , problems of inaccurate LD identification are multifold -
Ultimately, students get labeled but no support.
OPPRESSED
COMMUNITIES
GET LABELED
NO RESOUCES
&
UNAFFORDABLE
STIGMA
5 STUDENTS
PER CLASS
MOST
COMMON IS
DYSLEXIA
35M
CHILDREN
DYSLEXIC
" There is no vernacular ramification of LD and hence US methods are imported, which may lead to unintended segregation among students. "
STIGMA
Myths regarding SLD
" Most Indian parents choose to consider maturational development as a rectifier of the learning deficit, instead of seeking proper corrective external assistance. "
NEGATIVE
PLASTICITY
“Negative plasticity” – a phenomenon where learning driven changes in brain function are occurring in response to decreased brain use conditions - and increased noise conditions (due to skewed learning practices), leading to reduced accuracy and speed of processing and decreased function of neuromodulator systems that control learning and memory - creating irreversible issues, which continue into adulthood.
PRIMARY RESEARCH & OBSERVATIONS
KEY INFERENCES
" Fluid Intelligence - reasoning ability, and the ability to generate, transform, and manipulate different types of novel information in real time. It is an intrinsic quality all children have & kids with SLD specially rely on it. "
" Few case studies indicated a higher perception for speech or sound, suggesting - oral learning helps with comprehension & memory better than writing/reading. "
GOVERNMENT V/S RESOURCES
INDIVIDUALIZED
ASSESSMENT
SPECIAL
EDUCATOR
NEP 2020 - Inclusive Education Policy suggests many fundamental principle to guide our education system -
1. Recognizing, identifying, and fostering the unique capabilities of ach student, by sensitizing teachers as well as parents to promote each student’s holistic development in both academic and non-academic spheres.
2. Respect for diversity and for the local context in all curriculum, pedagogy, and policy, always keeping in mind that education is a concurrent subject.
3. Full equity and inclusion as the cornerstone of all educational decisions to ensure that all students are able to thrive in the education system.
Provisions made my CBSE for students of SLD -
Below are the provisions mentioned in the Rights for persons with disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016 - this act can become an actualized for all persons with disability like SLD.
Below is a graphic of how RPWD can be actualized for SLD -
USE OF
SCRIBE
COMPENSATORY
TIME
FLEXIBLE
SUBJECTS
DROP THIRD
LANGUAGE
OPTION
ASSISTIVE
DEVICES
INDIVIDUALIZED
ASSESSMENT
ANALYSIS
GOALS
The objectives of our service after thorough research -
SCOPE
Critical areas of interventions -
"WHAT"
To create a service specially for children with Learning Disabilities which functions as an resilient auxiliary to main stream K-12 education system and promotes inclusive education.
"WHY"
It is observed that children with SLD (when supported) have eccentric ways of problem solving and new approaches for social navigation. There "hacks" can be nurtured to bring new dimensions to learning and & individualized plans. This can also help in intentional introduction of technology for pointed needs, avoiding resource crisis.
"HOW"
We now understand that creative tools & methodologies can support holistic development of children's cognitive needs - for instance, kids with SLD have better comprehension of speech compared to script, meaning sound can be leveraged as education plan. The service is thus focused on using multimedia tools & generative systems for immersive learning & evaluations, packaged in specific short and democratic modules.
STAKEHOLDER MAPPING
FEASIBILITY &
MoSCoW ANALYSIS
Technical feasibility of the projects were mapped out
SERVICE
CONCEPT
The service called "Slide" is dedicated to revolutionizing ways of learning.
Slide focuses on curating the best learning plans that go beyind academic success - individualized for children; it nurtures community and peer learnin. Slide also knows the importance of intentional learning - has modules designed for purpose driven tasks.
Most importantly slide lays a pathway for spatial learning in education by integration of immersive technologies of sound, visual and 3D to help kids with SLD.
