Literacy: Lit Instruct/Interv Practicum

Approaches for instruction, prevention, intervention of reading and written language skills. Supervised teaching of individuals and/or small groups experiencing reading and language problems. Apprenticeships in reading instructional program. Pre/co-requisite: Three graduate credits in Reading/Language Arts or Instructor permission.

Register for 6 credits if doing licensure practicum. Course is online-synchronous Wednesday evenings, practicum work will be asynchronous. Open to degree and PACE students

https://brightspace.uvm.edu/d2l/home/149068

This course addresses approaches for prevention and intervention with students experiencing reading and written language difficulties. It also includes teaching of individuals and/or small groups experiencing reading and language difficulties informed by deep understanding of how the layers of English language intersect with literacy subskills and equipped with evidence-based explicit instructional practices. This course provides an opportunity to implement literacy research and practice as well as broader knowledge of education and learning in an intensive teaching context. An important part of course work will be to demonstrate an understanding of the language processing requirements of word reading and comprehension (phonemic and phonologic awareness, graphemes that represent English phonemes, orthography, morphology, vocabulary, syntax, and semantics) as well as the cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity of the children with whom we work as you plan and implement diagnostic literacy instruction. You will be asked to use and explain research-based teaching strategies as you collaborate with colleagues to develop and reflect on research-based instructional plans for individual students.

This course is held entirely online with no in-person meetings. However, practicum placements will be in person at the school of a students’ choice given that the school is willing to cooperate. Weekly synchronous sessions are intended to provide opportunities for synthesizing and applying concepts and information from modules. They will also provide time to share experiences and work collaboratively on course projects. Educators should expect to spend 6-8 hours per week on coursework outside of synchronous sessions, with additional time for the semester-long project.

The final course grade will be determined according to the following distribution: Participation and discussion 20%, Video analysis 25%, Instructional reflections and planning 25%, Diagnostic Case Study 30%. *Practicum Meetings and Practicum log* 100 %. If you select the extra 3 credit option, the Monthly Practicum Meetings and Practicum Log will make up the entirety of your final grade.