Syllabus

Master of Science in Education

EDU 746: Professional Learning and Literacy Leadership

Credits - 3

Description

This course will focus on the leadership skills that the professional will need as a Reading Specialist/Literacy Coach. Specifically, this course will explore the coaching relationship and how to work collaboratively to plan, implement, and supervise literacy programs at the individual, classroom, school, and district-wide level. Focus will also be on facilitating a literate environment, working with literacy in a diverse society, and developing leadership skills. This course will also fulfill the requirements that many states have for course work in Administration and Supervision of Reading and Language Arts Programs.

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Materials

Required

Bean, R.M., & Goatley, V. J. (2021). The literacy specialist: Leadership and coaching for the classroom, school, and community. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Supplemental

American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed. American Psychological Association. (ISBN 978-1433832154, ISBN 978-1433832161, E-text ISBN 978-1433832185). Available from the UNE Libraries in print on both campuses.

Additional reading as assigned in the course.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

For each course in this program, there are overall program goals. Below is a chart of how the overall program goals match the key assessments for this course. In addition, within each module, there are smaller learning objectives. These will be specified at the beginning of each week’s introduction along with how these match the broader program goals. This chart will detail the following:

Course Objectives
Student Learning Outcomes
Key Assignments
ILA Standards for Reading Professionals

Standards Alignment Chart

Assignments

Class and Grade Level Group Discussions

Discussions provide you with an opportunity to synthesize course readings and research while learning from professional peers.

Week 2: Action Plan Goals Across Grade Levels & Content Areas

You will determine at least three action plan goals for your Literacy Action Plan in support of your school’s literacy success across grade levels and content areas.

Week 3: Action Plan Goals that Target Struggling Readers and Writers

You will once again utilize theory and research to inform best practice as you create three additional Action Plan Goals. This time, your goals will be specific to supporting the needs of struggling readers and writers in your school.

Week 4: Action Plan Goals that Target School Policy, Structure, Culture & Community

You will develop at least three measurable and achievable action plan goals for infrastructure & inclusion.

Week 5 & 6: Timeline

Now that you have created and finalized your Literacy Action Plans, it’s time to think about the steps you will need to take in order to implement these plans.

Week 7 & 8: Presentation & Justification

You will need to think carefully about how to present to staff members at your school.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Week	Assignment	Points
Weeks 1-8	Discussions (7 discussions @ 3 Points each	21
Week 2	Action Plan Goals Across Grade Levels and Content Areas	10
Week 3	Action Plan Goals That Target Struggling Readers and Writers	10
Week 4	Action Plan Goals that Target School Policy, Structure, Culture and Community	10
Week 5 & 6	Detailed Timeline for Implementation	20
Week 7	Presentation of Plan and Timeline to Staff AND Research-Based Rationale and Justification	29
	Total	100 POINTS

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00

Schedule

Week 1: Sep 4 – Sep 8
Week 2: Sep 9 – Sep 15
Week 3: Sep 16 – Sep 22
Week 4: Sep 23 – Sep 29
Week 5: Sep 30 – Oct 6
Week 6: Oct 7 – Oct 13
Week 7: Oct 14 – Oct 20
Week 8: Oct 21 – Oct 27

Week	Topic	Activities & Assignments	Dates
Week 1	Introduction: The Importance of Literacy Action	Introductions	Discussion: Initial Post due Friday at 11:59PM; Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
Week 2	Action Plan Goals across Grade Levels and Content Areas	Grade Level Small Group Discussion Action Plan Goals across Grade Levels and Content Areas	Initial Post due Wednesday at 11:59 PM; Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET Assignment Due: Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
Week 3	Action Plan Goals to Support Struggling Readers and Writers	Grade Level Small Group Discussion Action Plan Goals That Target Struggling Readers and Writers	Initial Post due Wednesday at 11:59 PM; Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET Assignment Due: Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
Week 4	Infrastructure Supports for Literacy & Inclusion	Grade Level Small Group Discussion Action Plan Goals that Target School Policy, Structure, Culture & Community	Initial Post due Wednesday at 11:59 PM; Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET Assignment Due: Sun. at 11:59 PM ET
Week 5	Finalizing Literacy Action Plans and Vision Statements	Grade Level Small Group Discussion Timeline (work week)	Initial Post due Wednesday at 11:59 PM; Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET Working week – Timeline due Week 6
Week 6	Timelines for Implementation	Grade Level Small Group Discussion Timeline	Discussion Due: Sun. at 11:59 PM ET *Note: Initial discussion responses should be posted by Wednesday night Assignment Due: Sun. at 11:59 PM ET
Week 7	Justifying Literacy Action Plans and Presenting to Staff	Presentation & Justification	Initial Post due Wednesday at 11:59 PM; Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET Assignment Due: Sun. at 11:59 PM ET
Week 8	Critiquing and Celebrating Our Plans as a Community of Literacy Professionals	Whole-Class Discussion	Feedback Due: FRIDAY at 11:59 PM ET

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Visit the Student Support Education page

UNE Libraries:

Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Blackboard/Brightspace.
Education Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/education/
Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

UNE Student Academic Success Center

The Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of services to support your academic achievement, including tutoring, writing support, test prep and studying strategies, learning style consultations, and many online resources. To make an appointment for tutoring, writing support, or a learning specialist consultation, go to une.tutortrac.com. To access our online resources, including links, guides, and video tutorials, please visit:

UNE Student Academic Success Center

Information Technology Services (ITS)

ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Online Peer Support

Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

Students should notify their Student Support Specialist and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.

ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673.

Career Ready Program

The College of Professional Studies supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!

The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.

Policies

AI Use

The Graduate Programs in Education holds the position that Grammarly and other AI writing and generative technology should not be used when completing course assignments, unless explicitly permitted by course faculty and assignment instructions. These tools do not support a student’s personal and direct capacity to develop and hone skills in creativity, logic, critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, theorization, and writing, which are central to graduate-level rigor, assessment, and research. Use of these tools when not explicitly permitted may result in an academic integrity infraction.

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.

You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements

Course Evaluation Policy

Course surveys are one of the most important tools the University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.

Late Policy

Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Attendance Policy

8 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

16 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Friday at 11:59 pm ET of the second week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

UNE Online Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.