A Course Syllabus
For
EDCI 5210
Assessment of Reading Development
(Three Semester Hours Graduate Credit)
in the
Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy
of the
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Course Description: The course prepares the graduate learner to understand theories and procedures of formal and informal assessment of student development in literacy acquisition and to use the data to inform instructional practices.
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI
Warrensburg, Missouri
Spring 2009
Dr. Carol Mihalevich
660-543-8731 (Office)
FAX 660-543-4382
Office hours:
UCM-Warrensburg
Tuesdays – 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Thursdays – 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
UCM-Summit Center
Tuesdays - 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Available by appointment
I. Purpose of the Course
The purpose of the course includes the following: To provide a background in the research and theoretical bases of literacy development, assessment of literacy development, and appropriate teaching strategies to meet instructional needs in the area of literacy for all learner populations. The content is based upon the assumption that each individual learns to read a unique way depending on factors such as learning styles, language and background of experience, interests, attitudes, and physical and cognitive needs. No one teaching method is appropriate for all individual learners (Carbo, 1999). Within the developmental literacy program of elementary and middle schools some learners experience literacy delays. Classroom teachers need to recognize and plan the literacy program for individual learners based on recognized literacy strengths and concerns of each learner. The course includes hands-on examination and evaluation of a variety of formal and informal test, and an opportunity to administer an Informal Reading Inventory. Learners in class should demonstrate both knowledge of literacy development and the ability to apply this knowledge in the developmental literacy program.
Conceptual Framework:
Belief Statement
The Central educator is a competent, caring, reflective practitioner committed to the premise that all can learn.
Mission
As a cornerstone of the institution for over 130 years, the University of Central Missouri's Teacher Education Program develops teachers and other school professionals who are well grounded in theory, display competence in content knowledge and instructional strategies, and possess the dispositions to ensure success for all learners. The Teacher Education Program prepares individuals as professional educators for an ever-changing, culturally diverse population. Faculty and candidates provide support and service to schools in meeting their present and future challenges by developing communities that learn through research and scholarly activities. Educator preparation is a campus-wide responsibility, a commitment that reflects the honor and worth of serving a vital profession.
NOTE: This visual reflects the philosophical underpinnings of the UCM reflective practice model as described in the Conceptual Framework of the teacher education program. It merges Sternberg and Williams’ (2002) triarchic aspects of intelligence as three ways of thinking, reflecting and integrating knowledge and skills into practice as well as a simplified vision of McCown’s reflective construction.
Defined in the work of John Dewey, reflective practice is “the active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in light of the grounds that support it” (1933, p. 9). The UCM reflective practitioner model, therefore, acknowledges that neither knowledge nor experience alone will produce an expert teacher. Rather, educator preparation must be a recursive, developmental process that requires intentional learner/educators to expand their knowledge base, skills, and dispositions continually through ongoing application, evaluation and reflection.
Effective teachers must possess a thorough understanding of the research-supported knowledge base, including foundational theories and models of education, child development and educational psychology, content and curriculum related to their area of practice, behavior management and motivation, instructional strategies for all students, and assessment and data-based classroom decision-making. In UCM’s educator preparation program, this fundamental information is introduced in three undergraduate core courses: Foundations of Education, Educational Psychology, and Education of the Exceptional Child. As part of those three courses, students are exposed to and assessed on their developing knowledge in each of these core areas.
However, it is not sufficient for candidates to merely understand and articulate the knowledge base. They must also develop skills in applying their knowledge to classroom practice. Structured activities and classroom observations in the three core courses provide candidates with an opportunity to identify relationships between theory and practice, to systematically reflect on their experiences through personal narratives (Lefrancois, 2000), and to develop their own research-based theory of teaching (McCown, Driscoll, & Roop, 1996). As summarized by Sternberg and Williams (2002), developing instructional expertise involves knowing the content and practical instructional strategies, observing and practicing the behaviors of successful teachers, reflecting on what works and what does not, and integrating the knowledge and skills into one’s own unique style. Therefore, the three core courses also introduce candidates to the practice of reflection through modeling, discussion, observation, application, and case-study based activities and assessments using Sternberg’s triarchic aspects of intelligence (2002):
· Thinking analytically: Critical thinking and reflection about the knowledge base
· Thinking practically: Critical thinking and reflection about integrating course content into the knowledge base, applying knowledge to P-12 classroom practice, refining personal philosophy of teaching
· Thinking creatively: Critical thinking and reflection about the teaching/learning process, integrating and refining knowledge and skills, applying knowledge and skills to P-12 classroom practice, revisiting and reconstructing the knowledge base
These course-embedded activities provide candidates with an opportunity to practice what Slavin (2006) called necessary teacher decision-making skills “Educators must decide (1) how to recognize problems and issues, (2) how to consider situations from multiple perspectives, (3) how to call up relevant professional knowledge to formulate actions, (4) how to take the most appropriate action, and (5) how to judge the consequences” (p. 13).
Once undergraduate teacher education candidates have acquired a basic understanding of the core knowledge base, they move into higher-level teacher education courses that build on this information and expand into the three types of expert knowledge described by Sternberg and Williams (2002) as (1) content or subject matter knowledge, (2) pedagogical knowledge—strategies for instruction and assessment of student learning, and (3) pedagogical content knowledge – instruction and assessment strategies for specific content areas. Activities throughout the teacher education course sequence build upon the core knowledge base by continued modeling, observation, and practical application activities and assessments.
UCM’s graduate and advanced programs, likewise, further develop and build on these three areas of expertise. In each of the specialized advanced program areas, curriculum, course activities, and assessments have been designed to deepen professional knowledge and skills and prepare candidates as instructional leaders and educational professionals in library science, counseling, literacy, special education, educational technology, and school administration.
II. COURSE PERFORMANCES STANDARDS for Knowledge, skills, and Attitudes:
The following course performance standards are derived from standards set by the International Reading Association for Reading Professionals and the National Board Performance Standards for Teachers.
International Reading Association (IRA) standards:
1.1 recognize that reading should be taught as a process
1.3 recognize the importance of literacy for personal and social growth
1.5 perceive reading as the process of constructing meaning through the interaction of the reader’s existing knowledge, the information suggested by the written language, and the context of the reading situation.
1.6 understand the major theories of language development, cognition and learning
1.7 understand the impact of physical, perceptual, emotional, social, cultural, environmental and intellectual factors on learning, language development and reading acquisition.
2.1 understand that written language is a symbolic system
2.2 understand the interrelation of language and literacy acquisition
2.3 understand principles of new language acquisition
2.4 understand the phonemic, morphemic, semantic, syntactic and pragmatic systems of language and their relation to the reading and writing process
2.8 understand the role of metacognition in reading and writing, and listening and speaking
2.9 understand how contextual factors in the school can influence student learning and reading (e.g., grouping procedures, school programs and assessment)
2.10 know past and present literacy leaders and their contributions to the knowledge base
2.14 understand that goals, instruction and assessment should be aligned
3.1 recognize how differences among learners influence their literacy development
3.4 recognize the importance of creating programs to address the strengths and needs of individual learners
3.5 know federal, state and local programs designed to help students with reading and writing problems.
4.1 understand the nature and multiple causes of reading and writing difficulties
4.2 know the principles for diagnosing reading difficulties
4.3 be well-versed on individualized and group instructional interventions targeted toward those students in greatest need or at low proficiency levels
4.4 know the instructional implications of research in special education, psychology, and other fields that deal with the treatment of students with reading and learning difficulties
5.6 promote the integration of language arts in all content areas
6.1 teach students to monitor their own word identification through the use of syntactic, semantic, and graphophonemic relations
6.2 use phonics to teach students to use their knowledge of letter/sound
correspondence to identify sounds in the construction of meaning
6.3 teach students to use context to identify and define unfamiliar words
6.4 guide students to refine their spelling knowledge through reading and writing
6.5 teach students to recognize and use various spelling patterns in the English language as an aid to word identification
6.6 employ effective techniques and strategies for the ongoing development of independent vocabulary acquisition
7.1 provide direct instruction and model when and how to use multiple comprehension strategies, including retelling.
7.2 model questioning strategies
7.3 teach students to connect prior knowledge with new information
7.4 teach students strategies for monitoring their own comprehension
7.5 ensure that students can use various aspects of text to gain comprehension, including conventions of written English, text structure and genres, figurative language, and intertextual links
7.6 ensure that students gain understanding of the meaning and importance of the conventions of standard written English
8.1 provide opportunities to locate and use a variety of print, nonprint and electronic reference sources
8.2 teach students to vary reading rate according to the purpose(s) and difficulty of the material
8.4 teach students strategies to organize and remember information
10.1 develop and conduct assessments that involve multiple indicators of learner progress
10.2 administer and use information from norm-referenced tests, criterion-referenced tests, formal and informal inventories, constructed response measures, portfolio-based assessments, student self-evaluations, work/performance samples, observations, anecdotal records, journals and other indicators of student progress to inform instruction and learning
12.2 adapt instruction to meet the needs of different learners to accomplish different purposes
12.4 select and evaluate instructional materials for literacy, including those that are technology-based
12.5 use multiple indicators to determine effectiveness of the literacy curriculum
12.6 plan and implement programs designed to help students improve their reading and writing including those supported by federal, state, and local funding
12.7 help develop individual educational plans for students with sever learning problems related to literacy
14.1 apply research for improved literacy
16.1 pursue knowledge of literacy by reading professional journals and publications, and participating in conferences and other professional activities
16.6 promote collegiality with other literacy professionals through regular conversations, discussions and consultations about learners, literacy theory and assessment and instruction
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
This course meets all five of the NBPTS propositions of accomplished teaching:
1. Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
2. Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
3. Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
4. Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.
5. Teachers are members of learning communities.
A. Knowledge--This course will provide the MSE/MAT intern with the opportunity to acquire knowledge of the teaching of literacy and assessment in the following areas:
1. The MSE/MAT intern will enhance their understanding of the students to be taught.
The MSE/MAT intern will be able to:
a. Explain factors that place students at risk of delay of literacy acquisition, including language development and limited English proficiency, physical disabilities, cultural diversity and diverse learning styles, affective correlates and the home influence.
b. Explain the development of literacy skills in elementary and middle school children.
c. Explain how the variables of student development, learning theory, curricular goals and community interact with student learning.
2. The MSE/MAT intern will enhance their understanding of the teaching act as it relates to literacy.
The MSE/MAT intern will be able to:
a. Discuss classroom application of current research in the area of student cognitive development and literacy enhancement.
b. Implement multiple instructional strategies and techniques for student enhancement in the areas of:
a. phonemic awareness
· phonetic development
· sight word vocabulary development
· syntactical knowledge
· vocabulary development
· comprehension
c. Use the Internet for instructional resources and student development.
d. Implement a decision-making cycle for instructional goals as a result of assessment data.
3. The MSE/MAT intern will enhance their understanding of informal and formal assessment.
The MSE/MAT intern will be able to:
a. Discuss classroom application of current trends in the field of assessment.
b. Administer formal, informal and performance-based assessments to determine student strengths and areas of concern.
c. Use technology to enhance student assessment.
4. The MSE/MAT intern will enhance their understanding of reflective inquiry.
The MSE/MAT intern will be able to:
a. Demonstrate knowledge of professional journals, learned societies in literacy and Internet research skills.
b. Demonstrate an understanding of current theoretical models of literacy and how they relate to their personal philosophy of literacy and teaching style.