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Canyon College
Canyno College
COURSE SYLLABUS: ED588 - Advanced Methods in Reading and Literacy Education

Course Title: ED588 - Advanced Methods in Reading and Literacy Education
Department: Education
Instructor: Joseph W. Pasquerilla, M.S.Ed.; Ed.D. Candidate - - Vita


COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OVERVIEW

This course is an introduction to methods, practices, and strategies employed by elementary and secondary teachers for improving student learning in various content areas. Emphasis is on improving student negotiation of “texts.” That is, emphasis is on helping students acquire the ability think, reason and communicate with symbolic representations. The various methods and strategies have a long history in education, intertwined with the theories and research in educational psychology. Thus, the course is organized around psychological theories that ground the practices that are presented: humanist and behavioral approaches, cognitive approaches, and socio-cultural approaches to teaching.

TEXTBOOK  Online Bookstore

Bass, J. A., Dasinger, S., Elish-Piper, L., Matthews, M. W., & Risko, V. J. ( 2008). A declaration of readers rights: renewing our commitment to students. Boston, MA. Pearson.
ISBN: 0205499791

CONTACT INFORMATION

The most effective means of contact is via email . With very few exceptions, I will respond to your inquiries and submitted assignments within 24 hours.

ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION
  1. your name,
  2. your student identification (example: stu00000),
  3. the course number (example: ED588), and
  4. the assignment title (example: Assignment One) are included in the SUBJECT box of your email message.
EXAMPLE: Subject: Jane Doe; stu00000; ED588; Reflection and Reaction Paper #1

NOTE: Assignments that are attached to email must be Microsoft Office compatible!
If you are unsure if your document is compatible please save it in "Rich Text Format" to ensure Microsoft Word can open the file.

COURSE COMMENTARY

Each candidate enrolled in this course has up to eight weeks to complete the assignments indicated below. However, a candidate may elect to accelerate his/her course of study and finish the assignments at an earlier time without permission from the instructor.

After each assignment that is submitted, the candidate will receive an email within 24 hours indicating his/her score along with possible comments or feedback from the instructor.

Each assignment in this course, aligning with the chapters outlined in part 1 (chapters 1-5) of text and part 2 (chapters 6-10) of the text, is valuated at thirty (30) possible points. The final paper is valuated at forty (40) possible points. Therefore, the candidate’s grade is derived from the following framework.

ASSIGNMENTPOSSIBLE POINTS
Assignment One30
Assignment Two30
Final Paper40
Total100
GRADE DERIVATION

90 - 100= A
80 - 89= B
70 - 79= C
60 - 69= D


COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment One
Read the Text: Chapters 1-5
Provide brief responses to the following questions. Email your responses to the instructor.
  1. Why is a highly qualified reading teacher important to the success of children and adolescents?
  2. How can the right to a highly qualified, caring, and competent teacher be extended to all students?
  3. Why is it important to view all students as being capable of both reading and learning?
  4. Describe the importance of utilizing culturally relevant literacy instruction with today’s students.
  5. What changes need to be made in your teaching and assessments to become more culturally relevant?
  6. What are the cultural and social provisions identified when seeking to make instruction individually appropriate?
  7. Why is it so important to individualize literacy instruction?
  8. Discuss briefly how individualized literacy instruction can become a reality in today’s schools.
  9. What literacy materials create a quality literacy environment and what interactions with the material are necessary and appropriate to create rich and immersed environment?
  10. What can today’s schools do to ensure that these materials are present and these quality interactions are taking place?
Assignment Two
Read Chapters 6 - 10
Provide brief responses to the following questions. Email your responses to the instructor.
  1. Why is it important to give students the right to choose their own reading materials?
  2. How can teachers provide their students with choices when choosing reading material?
  3. What can teachers do to create a sense of passion for reading in their classrooms that will influence and motivate their students?
  4. Why is it important to create this passionate environment for reading?
  5. List and describe some appropriate methods of student reading assessments.
  6. What is the importance of issuing a fair and appropriate reading assessment to evaluate students?
  7. Why is important to create a reading environment that provides children with the opportunity to learn? What can be done to ensure that this type of environment is present?
  8. Why is it important to receive an education that incorporates both the student’s family and community in meaningful ways?
  9. Discuss how parents and community can play a meaningful part in a student’s education.
  10. What are some common characteristics of schools that have a positive school climate?
FINAL PAPER

The final paper asks the candidate to discuss what he or she feels to be the most important factors when evaluating literacy in today’s schools (2 pages) and it also asks the candidate to provide the instructor with a brief summary of his or her own personal preferences (in your opinion, what are the most effective literacy strategies and/or techniques) from either the text or your own professional experiences (1 page). The paper should be three to five (3-5) pages total in length, 12 point font, double spaced. While the text should be consulted for your response, it is encouraged that it is personalized with your experiences and positions.

COURSE ITINERARY
  1. Order the required texts for the course
  2. Complete each assignment and email to the instructor
  3. Complete your final paper and email to the instructor
  4. Your final grade for the course will be submitted to the Registrar within 24 hours of submitting your final paper.