Regina Stevens
Regina
Specialist Dyslexia Teacher
I am a highly motivated and dedicated Specialist SpLD teacher, who despite thirty years of experience, am still actively seeking ways to best support my students with specific learning difficulties. I am passionate about building the confidence of my students to help them achieve their potential and become independent learners.
I was primary trained and began my teaching career in Australia. In 1988 I bid my family farewell and embarked on a twelve-month working holiday to England. My stay extended somewhat when I met my husband, and I’ve lived in the UK ever since.
During the ensuing years I have taught in a number of different settings: primary schools, language schools, a pupil referral unit, and within university and higher education. I had always been fascinated with the acquisition of language and literacy skills and wanted to learn more about how to support learners experiencing difficulties with reading and writing. For this reason, I studied to become a Specialist SpLD Assessor and Teacher and went on to manage the Dyslexia Department at Newham College of FE in 2004. When we moved from London to Suffolk in 2010 I spent time working with Dyslexia Action in Chelmsford, before teaching dyslexic pupils at Culford Preparatory and Senior School, Bury St Edmunds. I began teaching in the Supported Learning Centre at Kingsley School, Bideford in 2018 and after six happy years there, have now decided to teach from home.
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I love teaching 1:1 because it allows me to cater to the individual needs of my students. I assess where they are at and identify where they need help. By working collaboratively with my students (i.e. inviting my students’ views on lesson content and explaining the purpose of tasks) I can help them appreciate the relevance of what they are doing, thus increasing their motivation.
I aim to make lessons relaxed, purposeful and fun, by establishing a good rapport with my students and developing comfortable and trusting working relationships. Essentially, I work on building students’ confidence and self-esteem. In my experience, once students have gained confidence in their abilities, they are in a much better position to take control of their learning and actively apply the strategies presented in tutorials.
With younger learners I follow a carefully structured, multi-sensory literacy programme, which presents points in explicit steps and allows opportunities for over-learning. With older students, in conjunction with literacy skills, we work on study skills such as time management, revision and exam skills. We also explore how technology can help, such as voice-to-text and Read Aloud.