Engineering & Architecture: Remote Learning Edition

They call dyslexia the "MIT disease." If your students dabble in machinery, write computer code, or build fortresses in Mindcraft, look no further.

NoticeAbility’s Engineering & Architecture curriculum explores the fundamental tenets of residential and landscape architecture, civil engineering, and 3D computer rendering through a project-based, experiential lens. The ten-module course highlights the cognitive skills associated with dyslexia and provides students with practical exercises that help them recognize these attributes in themselves and understand their application in engineering and architecture. Furthermore, students are provided scaffolding to enhance their social- emotional learning and executive functioning skills which serve as a framework for academic and personal empowerment.

What to expect:

We created our 'remote learning' edition in response to COVID-19. Our remote option enables institutions to provide the social emotional learning their students need during intermittent school closure. This 20-hour experience is comprised of 10 hours of self-directed online content and 10 hours of small group exercises facilitated your NoticeAbility trained instructor on a video conferencing platform. Please refer to FAQs below for more details.

Enrollment and Timing:

After purchasing access to this course, your teacher and students will have everything you need to begin NoticeAbility's Engineering & Architecture remote learning course in your public or private school, homeschooling association, or private tutoring practice:

  1. One Instructor Training Enrollment (this prepares your teacher to deliver the course)
  2. Online access for a limitless number of students for one academic year (9 months)
  3. Remote Learning Facilitators guide (PDF)


How do I get my school administrators excited about this program?

According to the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 report (Newman et al., 2011), the two predictors of long-term success for students with learning disabilities are (a) supportive teachers who understand their learning differences and (b) close relationships with mentors. NoticeAbility has designed an instructor training program that not only teaches educators about the neuroscience of dyslexia but also helps them adopt a strength-based perspective of their dyslexic students. Furthermore, NoticeAbility provides students with a curriculum scaffolded by adult mentorship.

By offering teachers insight into the strengths of dyslexia, NoticeAbility is shifting the traditional ‘one size fits all’ educational paradigm towards one that highlights the attributes of the individual, regardless of his or her learning differences. As educators lead their students through NoticeAbility’s project-based curricula, the dynamics of the classroom shift: camaraderie and authentic inquiry come to replace doubt and fear of failure. During the periodic school closures attributed to COVID-19, the demand for this type of social continuity is paramount.

How do I get the parents of my students excited about this program?

NoticeAbility’s Engineering & Architecture curriculum explores the fundamental tenets of residential and landscape architecture, civil engineering, and 3D computer rendering through a project-based, experiential lens. The ten-module course highlights the cognitive skills associated with dyslexia, provides students with practical exercises that help them recognize these attributes in themselves, and understand their application in engineering and architecture. Furthermore, students are provided scaffolding to enhance their social-emotional learning and executive functioning skills which serve as a framework for academic and personal empowerment. NoticeAbility's remote learning opportunity enables us to support your student regardless of school closure or hybrid scheduling.

Most importantly, how do I get my students excited about this program?

We suggest you tell them something like this:

"Have you ever built a structure or civilization in Mindcraft or with Legos? Have you constructed a fort in the woods? Perhaps you've gotten in trouble at home for taking apart a kitchen appliance or an engine? Maybe you've done a bit of computer coding? Yup, thought so. It turns out that your dyslexia and your engineering and architecture skills are related.

NoticeAbility's Engineering & Architecture class will help you develop your dyslexic advantage in these areas. During this course, you and three other students with dyslexia will be asked to build a civilization on an Earth-like planet. You'll have to determine what natural resources you can use for your structures and prepare for natural disasters that may come at any time. If your team does well, the inhabitants of your community will thank you. If you don't, you're going to have some unhappy campers on your hands. Sounds fun, right? Certainly better than study hall. And by the way, there's no reading required. All you have to do is watch some videos, hang out with some other kids with dyslexia, and render your civilizations in a computer program. Not bad right?"

Frequently Asked Questions


How does your 'remote learning' package differ from the tradition school delivery package?
NoticeAbility's mission is to empower students with dyslexia regardless of their academic environment. COVID-19 demanded that we create an innovative delivery model to meet the needs of students during school closure or hybrid education. To that end, we generate a streamlined version of our traditional course delivery, allowing for continuity in social-emotional learning. While the objectives and methodology remain the same, the primary distinction of this offering is the scope of activities and the materials provided to instructors. Our in-person course, for example, provides teachers with a 116-page Curriculum Book that contains detailed lesson plans and teacher scripts. Our 'remote learning' offering, however, provides you a streamlined 15-page document that provides you with the necessary tools to deliver our course in an impactful way given the constraints of virtual learning.
How long do I have access to the course?
Access to this course is for 9 months from the date of purchase. After this period, your student and instructor access will be automatically unenrolled. To reactive access to the course for another academic year, you will need to repeat this process. Note: This is not an auto-renewal subscription
What is the appropriate age for students taking this class?
Our Engineering & Architecture course is ideal for middle school students aged 10-14 years old.
How long does a course take to complete?
You may customize the delivery timeline of this course. If you choose to designate two, 50-minute virtual conference sessions each week, a full course would take six weeks to complete. Once you have determined how many sessions you would like to host each week, they will take place over Zoom (or whichever video conferencing platform your school uses). Students should expect approximately 45-60 minutes of pre-work before each class meeting (e.g. watching videos on NoticeAbility's learning platform.)
Do all my students meet at once?
Sort of. All of your students will meet you as a group at the start of each video conference session. However, NoticeAbility courses hinge on the magic of team-based working groups (we recommend 3-4 person groups). After establishing the expectations and assignments of the session, you will send your students into private breakout groups (the term used by Zoom). This will allow them to work autonomous and for you, the instructor, to 'drop-in' to provide additional instruction if needed.
Do I need to be an expert in engineering or architecture?
Nope! The beauty of our model is that NoticeAbility we teach your students the course content, and you facilitate the virtual session. The rationale behind this is twofold. First, by delivering course content online, we can teach students using multiple modalities (video, audio, graphic and pictorial imagery). Second, this elevates the need for you to be content specialists. Your role will be to encourage students, provide them with the scaffolding they need, and enjoy the process of empowering your students.
Should I offer more than just one course?
We certainly think so. But over time. The strengths of the dyslexic mind present in myriad ways. Each student will have different strengths. As a result, we have designed our curricula portfolio to allow students to see where their strengths lie. For some, entrepreneurship may be their inspiration. For others, it may the arts, engineering, or architecture. If students are exposed to each curriculum (we suggest one course per semester), we believe that inspiration is inevitable!
Which course should I offer first?
We'd suggest Entrepreneurs & Innovators. The rationale is that all of the cognitive strengths of dyslexia are highlighted in this topic. However, if you are looking for a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) class, then clearly Engineering & Architecture is the place to begin. How about Consenses Arts? This class resonates best with slightly older students (ages 14-18).
What if my students don't have an official diagnosis of dyslexia?
Receiving a proper dyslexia diagnosis is expensive and rare. As a result, thousands of students with this learning profile go undetected and underserved. NoticeAbility does not want to amplify this problem by insisting that each student you enroll has a clinical diagnosis of dyslexia. You know your students! You know which ones have IEPs based on their reading struggles. You likely have a pretty good hunch as to which students are dyslexic. We are in partnership with you and rely upon your expertise to identify which students you feel will benefit from this program.
Can I offer this to students who don't have dyslexia?
We are specialists in dyslexic empowerment. The cornerstone of our curricula is the strengths associated with the dyslexic mind. However, some of our partnering schools have offered this course to students with a variety of learning profiles. They have taken the opportunity to explore the strengths of ADHD, for example, in parallel with the dyslexic strengths. We think this is fantastic! One disclaimer: NoticeAbility's courses are so dyslexic-centric that a neurotypical learner might actually feel envious!
I still have questions.
No problem. We're here to help. Please email us with questions: [email protected]

Courses Included with Purchase



NoticeAbility Instructor Training
Everything you need to know to teach NoticeAbility's curricula
NoticeAbility Team
FREE

Original Price: $0


Course Curriculum


  Before you begin
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  Module 1- Welcome!
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  Module 2- Biomes
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  Module 3- Structure Design
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  Module 4- Sustainable Structures
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  Module 5- Landscape Engineering
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  Module 6- Bridge Design
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  Module 7- Renewable Energy Machines
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  Module 8- City Planning
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  Module 9- Presentation Prep
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  Module 10- Presentations
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