Reading - Elementary Education Course Descriptions
RDNG 5023: Literacy Curriculum Design and Analysis
Prerequisites: DYS 5003, DYS 5013, DYS 5023 or by permission.
Analysis of the different perspectives and dichotomies in reading curriculum analysis, evaluation, and implementation. This course will prepare reading specialists to plan, organize, assess, and supervise/coach reading programs in school systems. Candidates will use current research to evaluate issues and trends in curriculum planning, program assessment, and staff development.
RDNG 5043: Literacy, Language, and Culture
Prerequisites: DYS 5003, DYS 5013, DYS 5023, or special permission of the program director.
This course focuses on the relationship between literacy, language, and culture in multilingual and multicultural settings. This course provides opportunities for students to investigate important theoretical perspectives informing research in literacy, language, and culture. Students examine the relationship between language use, instructional activities, and the development of literacy, language, and culture in multilingual and multicultural settings. In this course you will have the opportunity to examine and develop your personal philosophy of literacy, language, and culture in linguistically and culturally diverse settings. You will also be encouraged to examine carefully your beliefs and attitudes about your own language and about the language of others who live around you. Being aware of your beliefs and attitudes will help you become more tolerant of the variation in language use from one individual to the next and from one group to the next. It will also help you better understand the change that language constantly undergoes in personal and social use.
RDNG 5053: Literacy, Technology, and the Reading Environment
Prerequisites: DYS 5003, DYS 5013, DYS 5023, or special permission of the program director.
This course focuses on literacy, technology, and the reading environment. Understanding the components of technology and its relationship to best practices when teaching and integrating reading instruction is imperative for the master's of reading candidate. This course will use the science of reading as a foundation including: phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension, writing, fluency, vocabulary, and alphabetic principle. Analysis of new skills gained in this course will be applied to better support teacher and student growth.
RDNG 6083: Reading Practicum
Prerequisites: Completion of required courses in the program
In this practicum candidates will apply their knowledge of language and literacy theories, research and best practices to an ongoing assessment-instruction process. Candidates work intensively with an individual or a small group of primary, intermediate, or secondary struggling readers at a public, charter, or parochial school daily for 12 weeks. This course is designed to provide both a theoretical base for the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of reading difficulties as well as a practical hands-on opportunity for graduate students to administer a battery of tests to the individual(s), interpret the results, and build a case report that makes corrective recommendations based on the results.
RDNG 6403: Literature for Children and Young Adults
Prerequisites: DYS 5003, DYS 5013, DYS 5023 or permission of the program director.
This course is a comprehensive survey of literature for children and young adults. Critical analysis and review of the writings of authors and illustrators and the effective use of their materials based upon the biological, socio-cultural, psychological, and developmental characteristics of children and young adults; guidance in their use, emphasizing attitudes, interests, problems, and opportunities of children and young adults in contemporary society. The course addresses language and cultural impact on literature, print and non-print censorship issues; impact of mass media on children and young adults in our society; and analysis of attitudes, issues, and values reflected in these forms of media and their use in educational settings.