Syllabus

Master of Science in Education

EDU 746: Professional Learning and Literacy Leadership – Spring 2020

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. The 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 coursework in Administration and Supervision of Reading and Language Arts Programs.

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Materials

Bean, R. M. (2015). The reading specialist: Leadership for the classroom, school, and community. (3rd ed). New York, NY: The Guilford Press. (ISBN 978-1462521531, E-text 978-1462521579)

Additional required reading and viewing materials are provided within the weekly course modules.

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, in 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 2010: These standards sets forth the criteria for developing and evaluating preparation programs for reading professionals.

Course Objectives	Student Learning Outcome	Key Assignments	ILA Standards for Reading Professionals
Students will effectively communicate as active and contributing members of a learning community in order to deepen understanding of the Reading Specialist/Literacy Coach role.	Discuss their school’s current structures surrounding literacy in order to deepen the understanding of the Reading Specialist/Literacy Coach role. Explain the role of the literacy specialist in their schools in order to develop a foundational understanding of the literacy specialist’s role. Discuss the role of the literacy specialist in their schools in order to develop a foundational understanding of the role of the literacy specialist’s role. Communicate and collaborate within a learning community to share and discuss solutions to challenges of literacy instruction.	Discussion Board	Standards 1 & 6
Students will formulate appropriate instructional plans based upon researched best practice and individualized student needs.	Create research supported Literacy Action Plan Goals for differentiating reading and writing instruction across grade levels and content areas. Create research supported action goals for differentiating reading and writing instruction in a target population of struggling learners. Justify components of a schoolwide Literacy Action Plan with current research and school data to support reading and writing instruction across grade levels and content areas. Justify components of a schoolwide literacy action plan to support success for struggling learners. Justify the goals, action steps, resources, and evidence of success found within a Literacy Action Plan	Action Plan Goals for Literacy Across Grade Level or Content Areas Action Plan Goals That Target Struggling Readers and Writers Literacy Action Plan and Justification	Standards 2 & 5
Students will demonstrate literacy leadership, utilizing researched best practices to coach teachers in a variety of formal and informal situations.	Assess existing infrastructure at their school, including literacy structures, teaching practices, community opportunities, and policies. Justify when to adapt literacy infrastructure to best meet the needs of learners. Use school-wide data as a starting point to justify the effectiveness of the plan as a pathway to greater literacy achievement within the school.	Discussion Board Infrastructure Proposal: School Policy, Structure, Culture and Community Literacy Action Plan and Justification	Standard 6
Students will demonstrate literacy leadership, using their expertise to bring parents in as partners in their children’s literacy development	Discuss options for involving parents and as partners in literacy development.	Discussion Board Infrastructure Proposal: School Policy, Structure, Culture and Community	Standard 6
Students will apply research supported literacy best practices when planning for instruction.	Create research supported Literacy Action Plan Goals for differentiating reading and writing instruction across grade levels and content areas. Create research supported action goals for differentiating reading and writing instruction in a target population of struggling learners. Justify the goals, action steps, resources, and evidence of success found within a Literacy Action Plan	Literacy Action Plan Goals for differentiating reading and writing instruction across grade levels and content areas. Literacy Action Plan Goals That Target Struggling Readers and Writers Literacy Action Plan and Justification	Standard 2
Students will address student needs through individualized instruction and model instructional approaches for teachers in a coaching situation.	Create research supported action goals for differentiating reading and writing instruction in a target population of struggling learners. Outline professional development, including coaching, to support a schoolwide literacy action plan. Justify components of an action plan for teacher support to improve literacy using research to support schoolwide improvement. Utilize research and peer feedback to revise each section of a school wide plan in order to create a comprehensive plan which will provide a pathway to school-wide literacy achievement.	Literacy Action Plan Goals That Target Struggling Readers and Writers Action Plan Goals to Help Teachers to Improve Literacy Instruction Schoolwide Literacy Plan and Justification	Standards 2 & 6
Students will act as literacy leaders and agents of change at the schoolwide level.	Create action plan steps for a differentiated coaching model which will support all teachers toward improved classroom instruction. Outline professional development, including coaching, to support a schoolwide literacy action plan. Justify components of an action plan for teacher support to improve literacy using research to support schoolwide improvement. Create effective, engaging and authentic professional development in literacy for a variety of staff members.	Action Steps to Help Teachers to Improve Literacy Instruction Professional Development	Standard 6
Students will collaborate with others in order to effectively solve problems related to literacy	Discuss options for involving parents and as partners in literacy development.	Discussion Board	Standards 1 & 6
Students will synthesize researched best practices in literacy into authentic professional development experiences for school faculty.	Create action plan steps for a differentiated coaching model which will support all teachers toward improved classroom instruction. Outline professional development, including coaching, to support a schoolwide literacy action plan. Justify components of an action plan for teacher support to improve literacy using research to support schoolwide improvement. Create effective, engaging and authentic professional development in literacy for a variety of staff members.	Action Steps to Help Teachers to Improve Literacy Instruction Professional Development	Standard 6
Students will be reflective learners who are able to self-evaluate and self-direct their own learning.	Self-direct their research process based on determinations about what they will need to know about their school in order to create a Schoolwide Literacy Action Plan. Self-evaluate their research process as it pertains to the development of a vision for a Schoolwide Literacy Action Plan. Reflect on their literacy research in the development of a Schoolwide Vision Statement for Literacy. Utilize research and peer feedback to revise each section of his/her school wide plan in order to create a comprehensive plan which will provide a pathway to school-wide literacy achievement. Evaluate a variety of action plans and provide feedback which demonstrates that each plan for effectiveness.	Discussion Board Schoolwide Literacy Plan and Justification	Standard 6

Assignments

Weeks 1-8: Class and Grade Level Group Discussions

Discussions provide you with an opportunity to synthesize course readings and research while learning from professional peers. Post an original response to the prompt, and respond to posts made by at least two classmates.

Week 2: Action Plan Goals for Literacy Across Grade Levels and Content Areas

Craft three Action Plan Goals for Literacy Development across Grade Levels and Content Areas. The goals should be measurable, specific to your school setting, and justified with school data and library research. This assignment should be no more than two pages double-spaced, not including cover page and references.

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

Craft three Action Plan Goals That Target Struggling Readers and Writers. The goals should be measurable, specific to your school setting, and justified with school data and library research. This assignment should be no more than two pages double-spaced, not including cover page and references.

Week 4: Infrastructure Supports for Literacy

Use information about your school’s current infrastructure in the creation of a proposal to suggest changes in literacy infrastructure in your school setting. The proposal will include three measurable and achievable action plan goals along with specific action steps for achieving them. This research supported proposal should be 2-3 double-spaced pages, not including cover page and end references.

Week 5: Action Steps for Helping Teachers to Improve Instruction

Craft three Action Steps for Helping Teachers to Improve Instruction. The goals should be measurable, specific to your school setting, and justified with school data and library research. This assignment should be no more than two pages double-spaced, not including cover page and references.

Week 6: Mini Professional Development Assignment

Use one of the areas of your emerging Data-Based Literacy Action Plan to create a research-based min-professional development presentation for professional educators in your school. Your presentation should be in the form of a 7-10 minute screencast of a slideshow presentation.

Week 7: Data-Based Literacy Action Plan

Making sure to make use of instructor and peer feedback, bring together all of your research and weekly assignments in the creation of a large-scale Data-Based Schoolwide Literacy Action Plan. Your final plan will have the following sections: Statement of Purpose, Literacy Vision Statement Action Goals Across Content Area and Grade Levels, Action Goals that Target Struggling Readers and Writers, an Infrastructure Proposal, Action Steps for Supporting Teachers, a Goal Action map, and an APA Reference Page.

Grading Policy

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

Grade Breakdown

Week	Assignment	Points
Weeks 1-8	Class or Grade Level Group Discussions (8 discussions @ 4 Points each	32
Week 2	Action Plan Goals Across Grade Level or Content Areas	10
Week 3	Action Plan Goals That Target Struggling Readers and Writers	10
Week 4	Infrastructure Proposal	10
Week 5	Action Plan Goals for Helping Teachers to Improve Instruction	10
Week 6	Professional Development	10
Week 7	Final Schoolwide Plan and Justification	18

	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

Topic

Activities & Assignments

Dates

Mar 4 – Mar 8

Introduction: The Importance of Literacy Action

Whole Class Discussion

Discussion Due: Sun., Mar 8 at 11:59 PM ET

*Note: Initial discussion responses should be posted by FRIDAY night

Mar 9 – Mar 15

Action Plan Goals across Grade Levels and Content Areas

Grade Level Small Group Discussion

Action Plan Goals across Grade Levels and Content Areas: Reflection and Visual Representation

Discussion Due: Sun., Mar 15 at 11:59 PM ET

*Note: Initial discussion responses should be posted by Wednesday night

Assignment Due: Sun., Mar 15 at 11:59 PM ET

Mar 16 – Mar 22

Supporting Struggling Readers and Writers

Grade Level Small Group Discussion

Action Plan Goals That Target Struggling Readers and Writers: Reflection and Visual Representation

Discussion Due: Sun., Mar 22 at 11:59 PM ET

*Note: Initial discussion responses should be posted by Wednesday night

Assignment Due: Sun., Mar 22 at 11:59 PM ET

Mar 23 – Mar 29

Infrastructure Supports for Literacy

Grade Level Small Group Discussion

Infrastructure Proposal

Discussion Due: Sun., Mar 29 at 11:59 PM ET

*Note: Initial discussion responses should be posted by Wednesday night

Assignment Due: Sun., Mar 29 at 11:59 PM ET

Apr 30 – Apr 5

Action Steps to Support Teachers

Grade Level Small Group Discussion

Action Plan for Supporting Instructors to Improve Instruction

Discussion Due: Sun., Apr 5 at 11:59 PM ET

*Note: Initial discussion responses should be posted by Wednesday night

Assignment Due: Sun., Apr 5 at 11:59 PM ET

Apr 6 – Apr 12

Supporting Teachers through Professional Development

Grade Level Small Group Discussion

Mini-Professional Development

Discussion Due: Sun., Apr 12 at 11:59 PM ET

*Note: Initial discussion responses should be posted by Wednesday night

Assignment Due: Sun., Apr 12 at 11:59 PM ET

Apr 13 – Apr 19

Finalizing and Sharing Schoolwide Plans

Grade Level Small Group Discussion

Data-Based Literacy Action Plan

Discussion Due: Sun., Apr 19 at 11:59 PM ET

*Note: Initial discussion responses should be posted by Wednesday night

Assignment Due: Sun., Apr 19 at 11:59 PM ET

Apr 20 – Apr 26

Sharing of Action Plans

Whole Class Discussion

Discussion Due: FRIDAY, Mar 24 at 11:59 PM ET

*Note: Initial discussion responses should be posted by Wednesday night

Assignment Due: FRIDAY, Mar 24 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 Tutorial: Find an article
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.

Policies

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 Turnitin Student quick start guide.

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.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

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

Attendance Policy

Online students are required to submit a graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. If a student does not submit a posting to the graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET, the student will be automatically dropped from the course for non-participation. Review the full attendance policy.

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.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and 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.