Pedagogical Knowledge Base for Literacy Practitioners

• Reading specialists are expected to fulfill a multiplicity of roles required by the instructional demands of today's schools including: interventional teachers, diagnosticians, researchers, curriculum developers and reformers, mentors, consultants, and as resources to classroom teachers, special educators, and families. Consequently, reading specialists are now assuming leadership roles in their schools. We fully expect that our literacy graduates will become instructional leaders by their ability to:
• use theoretical and research based knowledge of language acquisition, and child through adolescent development;
• be cognizant and sensitive to the multiple needs of the diverse learners in their schools including: special education needs, second language needs, physical and health needs, cultural factors, psycho-social factors and environmental needs;
• use knowledge of and practice with a variety of on-going and instructionally based assessment approaches used to inform and customize instruction;
• use knowledge of best practices and support materials needed to organize, manage, and teach both reading and writing strategies as well as all language arts to children from childhood through adolescence including: decoding strategies, fluency, vocabulary development, comprehension strategies, application of literacy skills to content learning, writing through a process approach, metacognitive awareness, and study and learning strategies;
• create opportunities so that students come to appreciate that reading and writing can provide personal usefulness, growth and enjoyment throughout their lives;
• use knowledge of best practices used to address the needs of those students who struggle with literacy;
• create instruction that balances direct teaching of literacy strategies with authentic and literature-based reading and writing opportunities;
• work as instructional team members to advocate for students with literacy and learning needs;
• partner with and provide resources for the students they teach and their families to enhance the home-school connection and nurture literacy growth;
• apply technology to maximize the instructional opportunities for literacy development

Therefore, the courses in the Master’s in Literacy Education Program are designed to prepare reading specialists to clearly communicate goals and learning expectations to students, parents, colleagues and stakeholders, to relate learner characteristics to learning strategies through careful selection of teaching methods and materials, to effectively plan and carry out instruction, to monitor progress and evaluate impact through a variety of assessments, to provide a literate climate that fosters literate behaviors, and to use research as a tool for informing instruction and reflectively examining one's own practice.