Emphasis in Special Education | Emphasis in Reading | Schedule of Classes
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Reading Course Descriptions

ED 500 Professional Contexts: This course will examine the different governing bodies that influence policy and how it is created; the ethical lenses: the ethic of critique, the ethic of care, the ethic of justice and professional ethics; educational law; the theory of change and the processes for implementing change and review educational standards. Candidates will be provided with examples of the types of research possible for each area examined in the course as they prepare to undertake their own research.

ED 505 Professional Leadership: This course will examine the various types of leadership. Students will spend some time in the schools observing and examining the school culture and the primary leadership style. Students will use leadership inventories to help them determine their main leadership style.

ED 510 Foundations of Reading: Practitioners read, analyze and evaluate current and historical research in reading and writing processes. Research on instructional strategies, motivation and the major reading and writing components will be examined.

ED 515 Children’s Literature: Enhancing Instruction: This course provides a broad up-dated survey of children’s and adolescent literature with a focus on locating and using literature in the classroom to support reading, writing, and cross-curricular instruction.

ED 520 Language, Literacy and Culture: This course will examine some ways in which growth in language reflects and enables cognitive development and how language empowers and constrains children as they attempt to make sense of their world. First and second language reading and writing processes and the role socioeconomic status and cultural diversity have on children's literacy learning within various ethnic communities and school environments will be studied. Drawing on readings in psychology, anthropology, linguistics, and education, students will formulate ideas on the role language plays before children enter school and the role it plays once they begin their formal education.

ED 525 Content Area Reading and Writing: This course examines best practices for the integration of reading and writing across the language arts and content area subjects. Specific attention will be given to embedding the teaching of reading and writing skills into content area instruction. Practitioners will investigate how reading, writing, listening and speaking supports the acquisition of new knowledge across all subject areas.

ED 530 Diagnostic Assessment of Reading and Writing: This course focuses on the diagnosis of reading and writing proficiencies and needs. Tests, testing procedures, formal and informal diagnostic techniques will be examined, discussed and evaluated. The practitioner will reflect on assessment results to inform instructional decisions in light of the nature and causes of reading/writing disabilities. This course must be completed with a minimum grade of a C (2.0). Prerequisites: ED 210 or ED 310. Recommend completion of ED 237.

ED 535 Prescriptive Reading Instruction:(with Reading Clinic): Current research-based methods and strategies for instructing less proficient readers will be studied and implemented. Practitioners will complete a clinical field-based experience in a specialized reading setting where they will select appropriate materials and strategies for individualized and/or small group instruction. Reflective analysis of anecdotal and assessment data will be used by practitioners to evaluate the effectiveness of their instruction. This course must be completed with a minimum grade of a C (2.0). Prerequisites: ED 237, ED 310 and ED (Diagnostic Assessment of Reading and Writing). This course may be taken in conjunction with ED (Diagnostic Assessment of Reading and Writing).

ED 540 Reading Research Seminar: Practitioners select and explore a topic of professional interest through a review of the research and professional publications. Practitioners will prepare a literature review of the selected topic and share their findings with peers. Discussion, questioning and collegial feedback will frame the professional development paradigm for this course. This course is preparation and a prerequisite for ED 500.

ED 545 Topics in Literacy Instruction: This course will offer specialized study of current topics, issues, and trends in the field of literacy. Topics may include: Literacy Coaching, Word-study, Writing Process, English Language Learners, Gender Issues, Interest and Motivation, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Word Identification, Fluency, Vocabulary, Comprehension, or Reading Research. Practitioners may complete more than one topics course in consultation with an academic advisor.

Schedule of Classes

For more information on the Masters Degree Program in Education*, please contact:

Ellen O'Keefe, Education Division Chair
Mount Mercy College
1330 Elmhurst Drive NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
319-363-8213 x1830
eokeefe@mtmercy.edu

* Initial course offerings Spring, 2008; full program approval pending Higher Learning Commission and Iowa Department of Education review.

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