A worldview is a developed lens through which a person perceives the world in which they live. Ethical decisions are a part of the daily life of an educator. This course seeks to guide candidates through various ethical positions and worldviews that may affect the learning environment encountered in the 21st century classroom.

Prepares reading specialist as a school leader and expands knowledge of literacy gained in prerequisite to become a literacy leader. This course addresses the main themes of literacy leadership and focuses on the roles of literacy leaders, leading and mentoring teachers in effective literacy practices, designing effective school-wide professional development, advocating for literacy both in school contexts and community settings, promoting change for 21st century learning, participating in professional organizations and conferences.

This course is an overview of historical and current reading theories and models, and how the theories have been and continue to be linked to reading instruction in K-12 schools. It also attends to the development of teachers’ own theoretical orientations: how they develop and change with teaching experience, and how they manifest themselves in the classroom. Students will choose and focus on one topic as it relates to the history of learning to read. Candidates write a research paper and learn APA and graduate level research reading.

Advanced Children’s and Adolescent Literature focuses on the study of classic and contemporary literature for children, with an emphasis on selecting and incorporating a wide variety of literature into the curricula for children and students. This course is designed to help teachers acquire knowledge of characteristics of recently published children’s literature/adolescent literature, increase awareness of literary texts available for children/students, develop understanding of literary response and criticism, and familiarize the lives and philosophies of notable authors of children’s and adolescent literature.

This course explores the literacy development (speaking, listening, reading, writing, & viewing) in young children and explores & develops best practices for Pre-K-Grade 3. It is an exploration of principles, methods, and materials for teaching young children language and literacy through a play-based integrated curriculum.

The Advance Study of Reading Methods course includes the application of theory to appropriate practice for upper and middle level literacy including assessments, teaching methods, strategies, and instructional materials. As comprehension is a complex result of reading skills, work with motivation, engagement, phonemic awareness, phonics, word identification, fluency, vocabulary development and comprehension skills research-based teaching strategies will also be included in this course. Students will read a self- selected children’s literature chapter book and apply strategies to it for the preparation of a final project.

Reading and Writing Connection focuses on integrating the writing process recursively into reading development instruction. Candidates apply research-based instructional strategies to integrate writing into all subject areas. Specific techniques such as mini-lessons, shared and guided writing, writing to learn, and conferencing are addressed. Participants examine the writing process as a recursive, contextualized, and individual process of developing increasingly sophisticated communicative literacy. This course will define and teach the importance of the recursive nature of reading and writing. It will also provide information and support for teachers as they provide differentiated instruction in relation to the ten Common Core (CCSS) writing standards.

This course will apply reading theory to age-appropriate practice for middle and secondary literacy in English, social studies, science, and mathematics including assessments, teaching methods, comprehension and discipline specific vocabulary strategies, and materials. It explores the conceptual ideas underlying the teaching of reading in the content areas, the importance of reading skills to students’ understanding of specific subject matter content and the three phases of cognitive processing (pre- active, interactive, and reflective).

This course practices the assessment, diagnosis and correction of reading problems for students K-12. A supervised case study practicum in planning and implementing diagnostic lessons, based on an analysis of assessments that enhance the literacy development of grade K-12 students will be completed to provide teachers with guided practical experiences in informal diagnostic procedures, prescription, and treatment of common reading difficulties, which can be handled by the classroom teacher within the classroom setting. The course promotes application of knowledge and competencies in the use of teaching methods and materials in the treatment of specifically identified reading needs of individual students. (Pre-Requisites: All Reading Content courses; Concurrent enrollment with EDUC 7853a & b)

Supervised case study practicum in planning and implementing diagnostic lessons, based on an analysis of assessments that enhance the literacy development of grade K-6 students. This advanced course is one of two practicum courses in the Reading Specialist program designed to prepare graduate students to teach and support elementary remedial reading and writing. The concurrently enrolled course, EDUC 7853 Corrective Reading, examines the selection, administration, and analysis of literacy assessments. EDUC 7833 Advanced Study of Reading Methods addresses planning and implementing instruction for elementary level students. The course content is based on the latest theory, research, and pedagogy related to the development and remediation of reading and writing. (Pre-Requisites: All Reading Content courses; Concurrent enrollment with EDUC 7853 Corrective Reading)

Supervised case study practicum in planning and implementing diagnostic lessons, based on an analysis of assessments that enhance the literacy development of grade 5-12 students. This advanced course is one of two practicum courses in the Reading Specialist program designed to prepare graduate students to teach and support secondary remedial reading and writing. The concurrently enrolled course, EDUC 7853 Corrective Reading, examines the selection, administration, and analysis of literacy assessments. EDUC 7833 Advanced Study of Reading Methods addresses planning and implementing instruction for secondary level students. The course content is based on the latest theory, research, and pedagogy related to the development and remediation of reading and writing. (Pre-Requisites: All Reading Content courses; Concurrent enrollment with EDUC 7853 Corrective Reading)

The purpose of this course is to present the principles, historical, theory, rationale, and processes of the action research method. Aspects of this model are compared to traditional research methods. Graduate students learn that action research promotes professional practice. Through discussion and literature reviews, they determine an area of focus and prepare to conduct in-depth, specialized, classroom-based inquiry.

This purpose of this course is to facilitate professional growth through classroom-based action research. Course content covers methods of data analysis, interpretation of results, and promotes the benefits of sharing and reflection in learning communities. Graduate candidates learn how to represent their raw data, report the results, and develop action plans. They produce a professional report using APA style guidelines and the writing process approach. Action research projects are designed to showcase graduate students’ professional dispositions and leadership skills.