Early Literacy Specialist Certificate online

This course will focus on research, literature and current issues of literacy and content area instruction for K-12 English Language Learners (ELLs). The course will emphasize instructional strategies and techniques in literacy and content area instruction for students who are at the beginning or intermediate stages of English language acquisition. This course is designed for reading specialists, graduate students in education, and in-service teachers who have ELLs in their classrooms (not for ESL majors). Practical, hands-on ideas as well as theory will be covered. Effective integration of multicultural literature and multilingual materials to enhance ELLs’ reading and writing across the curriculum will also be addressed.

This course will provide the prospective reading specialist with the background, knowledge, strategies, and skills necessary for diagnosing and prescribing for the remediation of problem readers. Basic to any diagnosis are a thorough understanding of students, their individual differences, the reading processes, and the reasons children have problems. Prospective specialists will work with students and develop a case study through interviews, observations, reading and writing samples, and formal and informal measures. All of the above measures will be utilized to obtain an accurate and objective assessment of the client’s performance. The information gained will be examined and studied for the specific purpose of planning, developing, and executing an individual educational, remedial program for the reader with difficulties.

This course is concerned with methodology, strategies, and skills in developmental and remedial reading programs. The reading/writing process is examined in depth from its earliest stages through secondary school so those graduate students acquire the background and knowledge to work with readers who have problems at different levels. In planning specific remedial sessions, graduate students study the data collected for each client from CIRL 620. Students also focus on child development, the environment, the family background, language, culture, and the child’s strengths and weaknesses. Students then plan, develop, and execute remediation sessions based on their findings and specific needs of the client. Through clinical sessions, shared discussions, literacy circles, outside readings, research, audiovisual tapes, and modeling, graduate students also study the problems faced by disabled readers. Focus is on planning and executing effective remedial sessions for improving the client’s literacy skills

This course continues to develop reading specialists who are decision-makers and problem-solvers. Students have the opportunity to grow professionally and become more knowledgeable about reading, writing, and oral language processes through readings, conversations with colleagues, viewing each others’ classrooms, and reflections on practicum teaching and research experiences. Students begin a classroom inquiry project that develops into their master’s thesis. Prerequisite(s): ELRL 6200 AND ELRL 6210

This graduate course is designed to study various process models for developing, implementing, and evaluating K-12 reading programs. By examining the roles of classroom teachers, reading specialists, reading supervisors, staff developers, and principals, students will understand how personnel responsibilities affect program development. Students will apply this understanding to their evaluation of the total reading program in one school system. Prerequisite(s): ELRL 6200 AND ELRL 6210

This graduate course includes the advanced study of reading and writing, structured literacy, and methodology that incorporates multisensory instructional approaches for prospective literacy specialists to work with P-12 learners. Particular emphasis will be given to learners from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Teaching and learning processes that foster respect for all learners and promote their success will be explored.