Course Descriptions
Master of Science: Reading with a Pennsylvania Reading Specialist Certificate
A Reading master’s degree with a Pennsylvania Reading Specialist Certificate from Wilkes University gives you an opportunity to advance your professional career. Complete the courses below to earn your degree in as little as two years!
EDAM 5060: Foundations of Language and Literacy Acquisition
This course introduces the foundations of language and literacy acquisition focusing on the components of a comprehensive literacy program, early reading skills, and classroom environment. Explore historical perspectives in reading instruction, the importance of developing early reading skills, and best practices for developing a classroom environment that fosters early literacy development.
3 credits
Prerequisites: None
EDAM 5033: Developing Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum
This course will enable you to develop and refine your students’ skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening through the design of integrative experiences in content area instruction that are both student-centered and performance-based.
3 credits
Prerequisites: EDAM 5060
EDAM 5062: Vocabulary and Comprehension Development
This course focuses on using research-based strategies to develop vocabulary and comprehension. You will be introduced to the vocabulary-comprehension connection and how recognizing genre and literary and informational elements of text improves comprehension. Practice selecting, implementing, and evaluating appropriate strategies for use with text comprehension instruction.
3 credits
Prerequisites: EDAM 5060
EDAM 5063: Developing Reading Through Writing
This course focuses on how the processes of reading and writing are interrelated. Course documents and activities will help you understand the reading-writing connection and apply instructional strategies and assessment techniques to develop students’ writing.
3 credits
Prerequisites: EDAM 5060
EDAM 5064: Instructional Strategies to Support Independent Readers
Develop an understanding of instructional practices for supporting your students as independent readers, and apply that knowledge in the following areas: Guided Reading, Matching Texts with Readers, Independent Reading, and Literature Study.
3 credits
Prerequisites: EDAM 5060
EDSP 501 : Special Education Methodology I with Field Experience
This course addresses the development, implementation, and monitoring of individualized management, instructional, curricular, and environmental strategies and adaptations for students with special needs. Pedagogical recommendations and research based effective teaching practices are reinforced from prerequisite courses. Emphasis is placed on a needs based model incorporating the cognitive, language, attentional, affective, physical, and sensory needs of higher incident populations (learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, speech disorders, and behavioral challenges) within included settings, resource room, segregated and learning support environment. A 15-hour field experience component facilitates direct interaction with special needs learners, supplemented by cooperative discussions of experiential applications to course content.
3 credits
Prerequisites: EDAM 5060
ESL 506 : Teaching the Four Skills: Reading, Writing, Listening, & Speaking
This course will introduce the most important concepts of teaching English to second language learners and contain assignments to be completed in the field. Participants will examine the teaching of reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary. Additionally, participants will learn how to assess student needs, develop syllabi, design supplemental materials and emerge from the class with an ample number of high quality lesson plans. Students will apply theory by designing practical English as a Second Language lessons.
3 credits
Prerequisites: EDAM 5060
EDAM 5061: Assessing Literacy
This course begins with an introduction to the basic elements of assessing literacy. Explore several areas of assessment related to core competencies in literacy including emergent literacy, oral reading and fluency, comprehension and strategic knowledge, and determining affective factors. Practice interpreting and a evaluating a variety of literacy assessments. For the culminating activity, you will select a student who has been struggling with reading and develop a reading profile for this student.
3 credits
Prerequisites: EDAM 5060
EDAM 5066: Accommodations and Adaptations in Literacy for Diverse Learners
Explore the dimensions of literacy and the analytic process to prepare for differentiation of instruction. You will use a problem-solving model guided by inquiry, resulting in learning activities that will address a child’s specific literacy needs. Learners will also expand their repertoire for supporting students as literacy learners and utilize techniques in this course to provide instruction for a wide range of talents and abilities in their classrooms.
3 credits
Prerequisites: EDAM 5060
EDAM 5065: Literacy Leadership and Coaching
Explore three areas of expertise required of all 21st century reading specialists: instruction, leadership, and assessment. You will study and practice leadership principles related to conducting meetings, providing professional development, and literacy coaching. In addition, you will investigate the responsibilities of the reading specialist through writing proposals, developing external partnerships, and becoming an agent of change for a school’s literacy program.
3 credits
Prerequisites: EDAM 5060
EDAM 5067: Reading Specialist Internship
This culminating experience prepares you for the role of reading specialist while working in an instructional setting under the supervision of a licensed reading specialist. You will implement reading programs, plan interventions, and apply a range of reading assessments and instructional strategies in the diagnosis and remediation of reading problems. You will also be able to demonstrate the ability to manage the instructional environment and effectively communicate to promote the development of literacy.
6 credits
Prerequisites: EDAM 5060, EDAM 5061, EDAM 5062, EDAM 5063, EDAM 5064, EDAM 5065, EDAM 5066, EDAM 5033
