Special Educational Needs Conference:

Challenges and solutions

7 June 2013, Sava Centre Belgrade

Conference Agenda
09.00 10.00 10.00 10.30 Registration Opening speeches

Tony OBrien, Director Western Balkans, British Council Ministry of Education Representative (invited) Phil Dexter, English language Teacher Development Adviser British Council 10.30 11.30 11.30 12.00 12.00 13.00 Plenary I: David Crabtree General introduction to inclusive learning: UK Policy overview Coffee break Plenary II: Marie Delaney

Dealing with students with challenging behaviour: how can we understand and support students with challenging behaviour in our classes? 13.10 14.10 Parallel workshops Workshop I: David Crabtree Dyslexia, an exploration of the underlying causes Workshop II: Marie Delaney ADHD - is this a myth or a reality? Workshop III: Phil Dexter British Councils global approach and work in special education needs 14.10 15.00 15.00 16.00 (workshop for partners) Lunch break Parallel workshops Workshop I: David Crabtree Dyslexia, an exploration of the underlying causes Workshop II: Marie Delaney ADHD - is this a myth or a reality? Workshop III: Phil Dexter Creating an inclusive classroom in practice 16.10 17.10 Parallel workshops Dyslexia, an exploration of the underlying causes Workshop II: Marie Delaney ADHD - is this a myth or a reality? Workshop III: Biljana Pavlovic and Vera Savic Fostering a supportive atmosphere in an inclusive class 17.10 Certification

Workshop I: David Crabtree

Speakers and Topics

Phill Dexter
Phil Dexter is the English language Teacher Development Adviser for the British Council, UK. Phil has previously worked for the British Council in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Saudi Arabia and Libya on a range of diverse English language teaching projects advising governments and Ministries of Education. Phils current responsibility involves development of courses and resources for primary, secondary and special educational needs. Phil has a Masters Degree in English language studies from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne and a Diploma in Special Educational Needs. Phil also advises our British Council offices globally on Special Educational Needs policy and teacher development programmes.

Workshop for partners and donors

British Councils global approach and work in special education needs Phil will outline the principles and policy behind our global teacher development work in special educational needs and highlight some examples of our current work with Ministries of Education and partners in different countries. It is intended that this session will be more of a dialogue and discussion looking at ways that Special education needs training and resources for teachers could be integrated into pre-service and in-service teacher professional development systems in Serbia.

Workshop for teachers

Creating an inclusive classroom in practice It is easy talking about creating an inclusive classroom doing it is much more difficult. All our learners have different needs and some have very particular learning challenges. Our aim in creating an inclusive learning environment is to ensure that all our learners have equal opportunity in accessing the curriculum. In this session I will demonstrate and share a number of practical activities that all teachers can use in mainstream classrooms with the aim of reaching all our learners. The focus will be on teaching through multisensory approaches in ways our learners learn and developing confidence in ourselves as teachers so we can make a difference in supporting all our learners in achieving to the maximum of their potential.

David Crabtree
David Crabtree is an education expert on neuro-diversity and learning differences with over 30 years experience in schools, colleges and HE. His impact upon education and SEN in the UK has been in teacher training developing approaches to inclusive learning and whole class teaching. His current work, Cognition, learning and learning differently; doing it with the whole class, is a best practice project for the Dyslexia-SpLD Trust. As a founder member of AchieveAbility, a UK Higher Education Funding Council project, he was responsible for the ground-breaking publication, AchieveAbility Interventions: A Framework for Whole Class Learning. This was launched at the House of Commons, Westminster, in December 2005. Other work includes A Framework for Whole Institutional Inclusive Teaching Practice and Inclusive Learning in Practice.

For the UK Department for Education, David has been involved with a range of teacher training projects on classroom learning. The published outcomes include, A Framework for Understanding Dyslexia and Supporting Dyslexic Learners. Davids qualifications include MA in Vocational Education and Training, BA in Social Sciences, Cert. Ed, RSA Diploma in teaching learners with Specific Learning Difficulties, and the Diploma of Personnel Management.

Plenary
General introduction to inclusive learning: UK Policy overview The plenary will provide an overview of current policy in the UK in relation to inclusive learning in schools. It is the UK Governments aim, that all children and young people with SEN or disabilities reach their full potential in school. They should also be supported to make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training. This plenary will examine the background to current policy and what it seeks to address along with a critique of the degree to which it is successful and what, if anything, still needs to be done. The plenary will explore key issues for policy makers, school managers and teachers.

Workshop
Dyslexia, an exploration of the underlying causes In this workshop, you will explore the underlying causes of dyslexia by experiencing and exploring your own cognitive processing. We will look at what happens when we learn and the barriers to learning experienced by neurodiverse learners. This means that the session is both participative and explorative. You will gain insights into dyslexia and the experiences of being a dyslexic learner. You will also explore methodologies to help dyslexic learners become more successful classroom learners. Dyslexia is a function of cognitive processing and, although relatively easy to describe, it can be difficult for successful classroom learners and non-dyslexics to understand. To some, dyslexia is seen as a special gift; whereas to others, it is a debilitating barrier. During the workshop we will look at what happens inside our brains and what happens inside the brain of a dyslexic learner.

Marie Delaney
Marie Delaney trained in the UK as an Educational Psychotherapist, English Language and Modern Foreign Languages Teacher and Teacher Trainer. She is now based in Ireland. She has extensive experience of working with challenging behaviour both staff and pupils! She has worked on outside school projects with young offendors and those at risk of exclusion from school as well as in primary and secondary schools with pupils considered unteachable. She has been Director of Studies for International House, Poland, Course Director for Teacher Training at Pilgrims and has trained teachers in several countries for Pilgrims and the British Council. Her main interests are how therapeutic thinking approaches can help schools deal with challenging behaviour, including all students in learning, unlocking learning blocks and supporting staff in their dealings with challenging pupils. She is the author of Teaching the Unteachable (Worth Publishing 2009) and What can I do with the kid who...? (Worth Publishing 2010). She is currently working on a set of SEN online resources for teachers for the British Council.

Plenary
Dealing with students with challenging behaviour: how can we understand and support students with challenging behaviour in our classes? This talk will look at the issue of how teachers can view and deal with challenging behaviour. It will cover why the topic of pupil behaviour is so emotive and challenging for schools why and how pupils might have learned certain behaviours from other environments unconscious defences and processes which interfere with teaching and learning how teachers can look after themselves and manage their reactions to challenging behaviour the difference between managing behaviour and changing behaviour

Workshop
ADHD - is this a myth or a reality? How can we understand students with ADHD and what are the practical classroom strategies which work? This workshop will look at the issue of teaching pupils who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It will cover What ADHD looks like in the classroom Understanding ADHD from different perspectives Why and how pupils can develop behaviours which look like ADHD The impact of ADHD on the pupil, family and school Developing structures and practical strategies to help the pupil with ADHD in school and in the classroom

Biljana Pavlovi & Vera Savi

Biljana Pavlovi holds a BA degree in English language and literature from the Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade and has been teaching English in Vuk Karadi Primary School in Kruevac since 1986. Her interests include: CLIL, YL, CALL as well inclusive teaching. She facilitated a workshop at 2nd International Conference held at Faculty of Education, Jagodina in June 2010 and she also participated to 46th IATEFL Conference, held in Glasgow from 19-23 March 2012, where she presented her work with blind and visually impaired students in the symposium Special Needs and Inclusive Learning. In May 2012 she realized the workshop Teaching English in Inclusive Classrooms in the space of British Council, Belgrade. She is one of the authors and presenters of the seminar TEFL and Inclusion in Serbia that is being delivered throughout Serbia with the support of the British Council. Vera Savi holds MA degree from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philology, and works as Lecturer at the Faculty of Education in Jagodina, University of Kragujevac, Serbia, where she teaches ESP, EAP and TEYL methodology courses. She is also TEFL Teacher Trainer accredited by the Ministry of Education of Serbia, TKT Essentials Teacher Trainer accredited by the British Council Serbia, and a co-author of and presenter at in-service professional development seminars for primary and secondary teachers of English. She is the author of the Training of Trainers programme Primary-School Teacher Training in Theme-Based Instruction, which she developed at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA, in 2012, and which is supported by the US Department of State to be carried out in Serbia in August 2013. She has been very active in organising TEYL conferences (held biennially), presenting at conferences in the country and abroad, and publishing papers in applied linguistics. Her areas of interest include TEYL, CLIL, developing reading skills and teaching English in inclusive classes.

Workshop
Fostering a supportive atmosphere in an inclusive class Teachers of English in Serbia often meet students with different needs, mostly in large classes. The workshop aims to raise awareness of the need to create a supportive atmosphere for all students, with special focus on the needs of sensory impaired students (visual, hearing or physical impairments). First, the participants will be invited to discuss their own attitudes towards inclusive learning and reasons for and against this concept. Then, they will be presented with challenges of teaching English to visually impaired students through several case studies and the presenters success cases, and discuss the methods to promote inclusive learning and accept difference in the classroom. Next, they will explore the processes of adapting teaching materials to better respond to the needs of students with sensory impairments. Finally they will be invited to share their ideas for raising awareness in their classes of the need for creating a supporting atmosphere through peer support and the use of assistive technology.

Special Educational Needs Conference:

Challenges and solutions

7 June 2013, Sava Centre Belgrade