Feasibility of an online module to prepare pre-service teachers to serve students with dyslexia

This case study describes the development and implementation of an online module designed to enhance pre-service teachers' (PSTs) knowledge about dyslexia. The module includes information, including dyslexia's history, primary characteristics, and secondary consequences, and issues related to the identification and instruction of students with risk or characteristics of dyslexia in the primary grades (kindergarten through second grade; K-2). Conceived of through a collaboration between an educator preparation program (EPP) and research center at a large, public university, the module was created in response to state dyslexia legislation requiring EPPs to better equip PSTs for serving students with risk indicators and characteristics of dyslexia in the elementary grades. Instructor and PST surveys, follow-up instructor interviews, and PST assessment data were analyzed through a feasibility lens. Although limited to a single case in a specific context, findings reveal important factors for other EPPs to consider prior to the development of similar training models that seek to improve pre-service teachers' knowledge about dyslexia.