EDU 590 The Reading and Writing Process
This course will focus on the interrelationship of the literacy processes through the examination of epistemological, philosophical, theoretical, and pedagogical literacy models.  Specifically, students will explore the various aspects of the reading and writing processes (i.e., linguistic, physiological, psychological, and social) as a way of better understanding what is involved during the act of reading and writing. This increased cognizance of process will enable students to create new visions for their own pedagogical practice.          

EDU 591 Literacy Research
This course will focus on the history as well as current trends in literacy research.  Students will engage in an examination of literacy research involving the generation and refinement of models and theories as well as the traditional quest for better methods of teaching reading and writing. Strategies in interpreting and analyzing the professional literature will also be emphasized.

EDU 593 Language Acquisition
This course is designed to provide educators with an understanding of normal language development (both spoken and written) from its origins in early infancy to its mastery during the school age years.  These systems of representation, spoken and written language, will be seen as interrelated and as a result, students will be able to integrate their increased understanding of oral language acquisition with reading/writing development.  Three underlying assumptions will guide this course: (a) language is a means of representing information, (b) language is a social act, and (c) knowledge about normal language acquisition can be used to better understand the nature of specific language disorders in children.

EDU 601R  Reading and Writing Methods in Early and Middle Childhood
This course is intended to challenge educators to examine their practices regarding their language and literacy interactions and those of the students they will teach.   The content will emphasize the relationship between the sociopsycholinguistic model of reading and instructional strategies and the role of language and culture in learning to read and write. Topics to be covered will include, but are not limited to, the following: emergent literacy, curriculum development, the role of literature, reading programs and instruction, assessment, learning environments, multiculturalism (i.e., culturally diverse populations and the demands of reading as per the NYS standards) and technology.  Through discussions, readings, writing, classroom observations in the local schools, and workshop activities, students will examine the tensions between convention and invention in the teaching of reading in our schools.

EDU 500R Technology and Literacy
This course is designed to instruct students how they can best utilize the computer, to assist, enhance and enrich their curriculum and instruction.  Students will explore the fundamentals of the Internet, create animations, and design instructional reading/writing strategies to be used for both remediation and enrichment.  This course will be taken in conjunction with EDU 601 Reading and Writing Methods in Early and Middle childhood. (Course objectives will overlap.)

EDU 607 The Process of the Writing Workshop: A Curricula Practicum for Educators
This course will focus on the interrelationships of the reading and writing processes. Through participation in a reading/writing workshop environment, a theoretical framework for the reading/writing process can be developed. Emphasis will be placed on teaching strategies, conferring, and related activities for meaningful classroom applications. Specific topics include but are not limited to: effective strategies for pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing, using literature as writing models, writing in different genres, writing for authentic purpose, quantitative and qualitative measures of evaluating writing, reading/writing across the curriculum, conventions of standard written English, individual differences among learners as they engage in the writing process and adapting instruction to meet those needs, and use of appropriate technology to support literacy learning. In field-based experience graduate students will observe a learner engage in the writing process.
Fall, Pre-req. EDUC601R

EDU 608 Teaching Reading in the Content Area
The purpose of this course is to provide teachers with an in-depth understanding of literacy methodology as it relates to the reading of content area text.  Topics covered will include literature in the content area classroom, text organization, comprehension and vocabulary strategies, study skills, and the reading/writing connection.  Cognitive, sociocultural, and motivational factors will be viewed as important mediators of students’ ability to learn from text.  This increased cognizance of the literacy processes across curriculums should enable teachers at all levels to better facilitate students’ internalization of literacy strategies and to develop active, independent learners.

EDU 609 Literacy Assessment and Evaluation: Practicum
This course will prepare teachers to holistically assess and evaluate the reading and writing ability, both strengths and weakness, of early childhood through grade 6 children.  Because the reading and writing processes are transactional in nature and a reflection of the interrelationship between language and cognition, the assessment process will be presented as holistic and ongoing.  While the focus is on authentic assessment, graduate students will learn and conduct both informal and formal assessment.  This course is designed to meet the needs of classroom teachers as well as reading specialists by assessing and synthesizing all the components of literacy, including the academic, emotional, and social aspects. 

EDU 610 Literacy Instruction for the Struggling Learner: Practicum
The primary purpose of this course is to provide the graduate student with the opportunity to utilize the diagnostic evaluation conducted in EDU 609 and to collaborate with the struggling student in designing, implementing, and evaluating an instructional plan based on individual needs.  Emphasis is on the importance of teachers’ thought processes to decision-making and the relationship between theory and instructional practices related to socio-psycholinguistic principles and research in the writing process.  Course content will stress remedial techniques for students with diverse cultural and SES backgrounds.

EDU 611 Literacy Clinic: Practicum
This course offers students an opportunity to work in the Southampton Literacy Summer Clinic with children who have reading and/or writing difficulties.  During these sessions, the graduate student collaborates with his/her student in designing, carrying out, and evaluating a plan for the literacy sessions.  Students are expected to write professional preliminary and final reports as well as plans for each literacy session.  Literacy sessions will be supervised via observation and videotaping.

EDU 612 Supervision of Literacy Programs (K-6)
This course is designed to focus on the elementary literacy specialist’s leadership role in the planning and delivery of reading instructions from goal setting, program planning, decision-making, problem solving, program supervision, and program evaluation for students from varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Specific topics include, but are not limited to, developing a system-wide philosophy of literacy acquisition/development and program goals, organizing and staffing school/system-wide literacy programs, developing "collaborative teams" to engage in ongoing monitoring, evaluation and improvement of school/system wide literacy assessment/instructional program and practices, exploring introductions to and evaluation of professional development models, and designing programs and techniques that facilitate the development of school-system wide literacy connections.
Spring, pre-req. EDU 609

EDU 613 Assessment Techniques and Testing
The focus of this course is on the construction and analysis of educational measurement and research instruments.  Students will critically examine the standardization process, basic statistical concepts, norm- and criterion-referenced testing, and interpreting and reporting of testing data.  Evaluation techniques in the areas of special education, reading, bilingual education as well as classroom assessment (K-12) will be addressed.