The impact of dyslexia, memory and cognitive style upon the ability of university students to utilise information from l

1. The impact of dyslexia, memory and cognitive style upon the ability of university students to utilise information from lectures Dr. Tilly Mortimore 2006

2. Dyslexia “Dyslexia is a neurological condition which is characterised by a variety of cognitive impairments or neurological anomalies. Individuals with dyslexia typically manifest problems in areas such as phonological processing, memory (especially short-term or working memory), visual perception (e.g. visual discomfort) and motor co-ordination (dyspraxia). Difficulties in these areas will not necessarily all be seen in the same individual with dyslexia, but if no difficulty in any of these areas can be detected than a diagnosis of dyslexia must be regarded with suspicion.” National Working Party on Dyslexia in Higher Education, 1999

3. The experiment • The sample: 60 male dyslexic students and 58 controls, matched for course and age from 17 Higher Education Institutions • Instruments Riding's (1991) Cognitive Styles Analysis. A non-word phonological reading task to assess phonological awareness (Turner 1997).

4. The performance measure • A 15 minute video-presented lecture accompanied with either graphic or verbal reinforcers • Three types of questions on the content measuring • Fact retention • Application of facts • Explanation of events The scores provided a performance measure

5. The impact of Cognitive Style and Dyslexia on the study skills of Higher Education Students • Is dyslexia associated with a predominant cognitive style? No • Is variation in cognitive style associated with differences in the ability to assimilate information from the lecture form of presentation? No Neither style nor mode of presentation affected the scores

6. However Dyslexic students scored significantly more poorly in : • Fact retention and utilisation of information from the lecture • Speed of processing the items in the verbaliser/imager measure of the CSA Qualitative enrichment – questionnaire about difficulties experienced throughout education/ interview

7. Interview and questionnaire data • Reflected the results of the experiment • Dyslexic students endorsed difficulties with memory significantly more than those without dyslexia • In the interviews, the theme of difficulties with memory and its impact upon organisation, planning of written work and note taking emerged strongly • Caused embarrassment and affected day to day life

8. Implications • Dyslexic difficulties do not disappear once reading is compensated • Difficulty with memory and speed of processing is an issue for compensated adult readers • Difficulty with memory for factual information impacts upon ability to utilise and retain information from lecture presentation • Academics - reliance on note taking from lecture format and speed/ mode of presentation in lectures may disadvantage students with dyslexia • These difficulties affect a broad range of areas related both to study and relations with peers • Students request support with note taking skills and provision of handouts