• 3 semester credits
• Audience: Special education (high incidence; mild/moderate) teacher candidates (P-12); communication science or speech language pathology students; school psychology students; reading education students
• This course is for both undergraduates and graduates

Instructor:

Note to User: Include contact information in this section.

Department:
Office:
Phone:
E-mail Address:
Office Hours:

Required Textbook:

Required Readings:

Required Materials:

Wilson Reading System (WRS) Introductory Set

• Whole Set (https://store.wilsonlanguage.com/wrs-introductory-set-steps-1-6-4th-edition/)

OR

• The following materials:
  • Instructor Manual: https://store.wilsonlanguage.com/wrs-instructor-manual-steps-1-6-4th-edition/
  • Dictation Book: https://store.wilsonlanguage.com/wrs-dictation-book-steps-1-6-4th-edition/
  • Letter-Sound Cards: https://store.wilsonlanguage.com/wrs-letter-sound-cards-4th-edition/
  • Word Cards: https://store.wilsonlanguage.com/wrs-word-cards-steps-1-6-4th-edition/
  • OPTIONAL: Magnetic Journal with Tiles: https://store.wilsonlanguage.com/wrs-magnetic-journal-with-letter-tiles-4th-edition/

Mission: The mission of the College of Education is to enhance education, workforce development, health, and policy for the well-being of society through (a) the creation, communication, and application of new knowledge; (b) preparation of scholars, researchers, educators, and other professionals to meet the needs of our increasingly diverse, global, technological society; and (c) outreach initiatives engaged with matters related to the local community, state, nation, and world.

Vision: The College of Education will be a leader for improving education, workforce development, health, and policy in order to contribute to a well educated, healthy, just, and equitable society.

Standards of Effective Practice:

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation’s (CAEP) standards guide the development of coursework and clinical experiences at the university. CAEP standards relevant to this course include:

Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge
Candidates demonstrate an understanding of the 10 InTASC standards at the appropriate progression levels in the following categories: the learner and learning; content; instructional practice; and professional responsibility.

Relevant InTASC (Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium) Standards

• Standard #1: Learner Development
• Standard #2: Learner Differences
• Standard #4: Content Knowledge
• Standard #6: Assessment
• Standard #7: Planning for Instruction
• Standard #8: Instructional Strategies

Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course, the candidate will be able to:

** Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) Initial Specialty Set: Individualized General Curriculum Standards.
*** Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC).

To promote candidates’ understanding of the material and acquisition of course-related skills, the following instructional approaches are used with the course:

1. Video-based Learning: Short, engaging videos related to key concepts (e.g., phonemes, the alphabetic principle, phonics)
2. Explicit Scope and Sequence: Each week new concepts and skills are introduced that build upon and extend prior content
3. SAFMEDS (Say All Fast, Minute Each Day, Shuffled): Flashcard-based system for learning reading-related terminology
4. Mastery Learning: one-to-one assessment of candidates’ grapheme-phoneme production
5. Active Practice with Feedback: Throughout the course, candidates are required to video-record themselves practicing isolated techniques such as delivering a letter sounds drill or introducing a new letter concept or rule; candidates use intervention materials (i.e., magnetic letters) when practicing
6. Authentic Exercises: Candidates listen to audio-recordings of actual students to practice assessment techniques
7. IRIS Materials: STAR Legacy Modules and Case Studies

Diversity

Note to User: Be sure to include your university’s diversity statement here.

The College of Education is committed to multicultural education as a foundation for working toward a more just and equitable society. The scholarship, practice, and activism of critical multicultural education focuses on examining and transforming inequitable societal structures, policies, practices and values. As critical multicultural educators, we work simultaneously to increase our own awareness of power, privilege, and positionality, as well as collaboratively with stakeholders to enact social change. As educational professionals we identify and challenge oppression and work for social justice, generally, and in local educational settings, specifically.

NOTE: This is an online course.

1. Weekly Assignments (40% of total grade). Each week, candidates will complete several assignments related to the weekly unit. These assignments constitute the bulk of your time in the course and provide essential practice and application opportunities. Thus, these weekly assignments comprise a significant portion of the course grade. For many of the activities, you will need to video-record your practice of a specific skill. The video feature on a smart phone works well for this or iPads are available for checkout through OIT. Specific assignments are listed on the course calendar and detailed directions are provided within each weekly unit.
2. Grapheme-Phoneme Assessment (20% of total grade). Prior to the midterm, candidates are required to complete a one-on-one assessment with the instructor. The assessment can be conducted face-to-face or via Skype. For this assessment, you will be presented with a set of letters and letter combinations. You will be required to produce the phoneme or phonemes associated with the letters or letter combinations with no more than 4 errors. Candidates will be provided with only 3 opportunities to pass this assignment. Study information is provided under the week 3 unit. Candidates can study for the assessment using the materials from week 3.
3. SAFMEDS: Reading Terminology (20% of total grade). Candidates will make a set of flash cards for each of the key terms or course concepts. A Quizlet set of terms and definitions is available on our course website, but candidates are required to create their own set of flashcards using 3×5 notecards. Fluency (speed and automatic) can only be achieved with daily practice; if you try to “cram” for the assessment, you will not have the speed necessary to pass. To study, read the definition from the card and then state the term or concept from memory. Upon completion of the deck, the cards should be shuffled to avoid serial learning. For the assessment, using your notecards, you will have 5 minutes to correctly identify the terms.
4. Final Exam (20% of total grade). The final exam will cover all content from the course including online discussions, course readings, PowerPoint presentations, assignments, and materials provided through the online course weekly units.

Special Accommodations

Note to User: Be sure to include your university’s statement about special accommodations/students with disabilities here.

Students who seek special accommodations due to a disability should contact me during the first week of the semester or as soon as the need for the accommodation is discovered. I will work with the Disability Resource Center to provide appropriate accommodations.

Other Course Policies

• Professional conduct is expected at all times. This includes keeping up with assignments, thoroughly reviewing all material posted on the course website, maintaining professional discourse during discussions with peers and the instructor, and submitting materials that reflect your best efforts.
• Late assignments will incur a penalty (10% each day it is late) unless prior written approval has been given by the instructor or acceptable documentation of an illness or emergency situation can be provided.
• This course is web-based and makes use of the university’s course management system. All materials (including the instructor’s PowerPoint slides, assignments, and supplemental handouts) are available for candidates to view and print.
• All assignments submitted electronically must be formatted as Microsoft Word documents (.doc or.docx), PowerPoint (.ppt), QuickTime (.mov), Windows Media Video (.wmv), or Cell Phone Video (.mp4). Candidates are responsible for ensuring that their assignments and exams have been submitted when required. Problems with technology will not be accepted as an excuse for late or missing assignments. Please consult the OIT office for technical difficulties.
• The instructor for this course adheres strictly to the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.