Reading and the Brain

After taking this class and knowing Orton-Gillingham has been around for a really long time, I can’t believe that we, as special educators, aren’t trained to teach reading this way. I feel very fortunate to be in a district where we are implementing a schoolwide Orton-Gillingham Approach to reading. One of our kindergarten teachers, who has been teaching for 13 years, said her students made the most progress she had seen last year using the approach.

I will be using many pieces of this course! A couple things I am already using today are the blending board and the student screens!

Every part of the course and practicum was well thought-out, allowing me to become a stronger diagnostic and prescriptive literacy teacher. The instructors were so knowledgeable of the OG approach and I always felt supported.

The course offered tons of information and resources to help me do my job better, and provided a thorough review of concepts!

I now have so many new and great ideas for how to improve my teaching. I learned so much in this course and I am excited to keep fine-tuning and improving my teaching.

I learned a lot of new information that I already started to transfer over to my teaching. My teaching will be much more targeted now.

Thank you so much for giving me the confidence and the know-how to be an effective literacy teacher!

I was so excited to walk into my classroom following each class and use something immediately!

I’m excited to bring what I’ve learned in this program to my daily classes. I’m currently using a number of reading comprehension strategies that we focused on in this class, which has been rewarding and motivating to see it in action!

Coming away feeling super prepared for teaching kids how to actually read. I feel like a totally different teacher!

I am coming away with so many tools I can use for my intervention groups. I have several students who need more of an Orton-Gillingham framework, and now I can use this approach.

The depth of information presented was incredible! I learned so much I didn’t know about the structure of the English language, which is not only helpful for my own understanding but will transform the way I teach reading.

Every part of the course and practicum was well thought-out, allowing me to become a stronger diagnostic and prescriptive literacy teacher. The instructors were so knowledgeable of the OG approach and I always felt supported.

This was one of the most organized, engaging, and informative courses I’ve ever taken, and I believe it will be one of the most practical and beneficial for my students.

The course was Informative and filled with positive instruction creating a classroom community of respect and support.

I can say with confidence that the Stern Center Orton-Gillingham Institute has transformed my teaching. The training, practice, feedback, and guidance I received from mentors during the Associate Level practicum helped me learn how to tailor my instruction to each student’s needs and to maintain the principles of Orton-Gillingham instruction so that my students could learn to read and spell with dignity and confidence.

The teacher modeled responsive and relevant instruction. The resources were of the highest quality and relevance, the sessions were engaging, and the video feedback was constructive and actionable. Our teacher also accommodated a scheduling conflict. This was not only generous and inclusive, it resulted in more personalized instruction (and, I think, greater student impact.) Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this excellent program.

This was one of the most organized, engaging, and informative courses I’ve ever taken, and I believe it will be one of the most practical and beneficial for my students.

It was a very engaging and interactive course. The instructor has a warm presence that made me feel comfortable participating!