How to consider students with dyslexia

How to consider students with dyslexia

• Tip 1: provide a structured educational environment 

  Structure and overview help students with dyslexia to better prepare for their studies and reduce stress. You can do this by: 

  • making a clear syllabus with lesson planning, learning objectives, assignments, and deadlines available in advance via Canvas; 
  • using consistent formats for lectures, assignments, and exams. Choose a sans-serif font (for example Verdana) with minimum font size 12 and maintain a line spacing of at least 1.5; 
  • avoiding complex sentences with lots of information and interrelations, embedded clauses, double negatives, and long introductory texts.

• Tip 2: provide explicit and concrete instructions

  Students with dyslexia often have difficulty with extensive guidance materials. Provide overview by: 

  • making materials such as presentations available online in advance (for example as PDF or PowerPoint); 
  • beginning the lecture with an overview of the topics; 
  • introducing important concepts and difficult terms in advance, so these don't hinder understanding during the lesson; 
  • giving assignments in short, clear steps and being explicit about all details; 
  • providing bullet-point summaries and handouts; 
  • using visual support where possible, such as images, videos, bullet points, and infographics; 
  • checking (verbally) whether the student has understood the assignment properly; 
  • switching on live captions when using PowerPoint. In PowerPoint, you can enable live captions via caption settings. Choose both the spoken language and the caption language, after which the captions automatically appear at the bottom of your slides while you speak. Read more at microsoft.com.  microsoft.com. 

• Tip 3: offer flexibility in assessment and assignments

  Students with dyslexia need time and other materials to be able to take exams. 

  • Students with dyslexia are entitled to various examination facilities, which they can request via the academic advisor. The allocation can be consulted for each course via the candidate list. 
  • Offer various assessment forms such as oral exams, digital tests or take-home exams instead of written exams (where necessary in consultation with the examination committee). 
  • Use coloured paper (blue/pink) to reduce visual stress for students who experience black text on white paper as too high contrast, causing it to glitter or the text to appear to 'dance'. 
  • Show understanding for calculation, writing and spelling errors when these are not part of the exam content. Focus the assessment on content and ideas. 
  • Provide interim deadlines and check-ins for essays. 
  • Be explicit about the format of an assignment: introduction, arguments, conclusion. 
  • Allow the use of speech or reading software.

• Tip 4: create a calm learning environment 

  Too many stimuli can affect the concentration ability of a student with dyslexia. You can take this into account by: 

  • including short breaks during lectures, so students can refocus; 
  • pointing students to quiet areas and low-stimulus study spaces. For example, check the facilities of the University Library; 
  • using calm colours and a clear layout in presentations and study materials; 
  • referring students to the academic advisor. They can request access to a low-stimulus room.

• Tip 5: encourage active and varied learning strategies

  Alternative materials can help students with dyslexia to better absorb the material. You can do this by: 

  • making lessons interactive with, for example, group assignments, quizzes, and short discussion moments; 
  • alternating study materials, such as combining reading with listening, for example by offering podcasts or knowledge clips. 
  • recommending digital tools such as text-to-speech software (e.g. TextHelp Read&Write) and mind-mapping software (e.g. Inspiration, MindManager).

• Tip 6: point out the Canvas dyslexia function

  Since July 2025, Canvas offers the option to use a dyslexia-friendly font (OpenDyslexic). Students and teachers can enable this themselves via user settings. Point this out to your students, so they can view texts and the Rich Content Editor in a more readable font.

• Tip 7: support confidence

  Students with dyslexia may be insecure about their abilities due to earlier school experiences. They may therefore suffer from fear of failure, shame, or lack of self-confidence. Therefore, show recognition and understanding, give positive feedback, and be careful with situations that cause tension, such as unexpected reading aloud. A respectful attitude can do much to strengthen their self-confidence, motivation, and study enjoyment.

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