Faculty of Humanities and Education (Postgraduate) - The University ...

POSTGRADUATE REGULATIONS & SYLLABUSES 2012 - 2013
THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES & EDUCATION
Websites
International Reading Association (www.reading.org)
Middle Web (http://www.middleweb.com)
NRP Report, 2000 (http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/
upload/smallbook_pdf.pdf)
NELP Report on Early Reading, 2008 (http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/
NELP/NELPreport.html)
Adolescent Literacy Research (http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/
literacy/tenYears.pdf)
John Nemes’Website
YEAR:
SEMESTER:
COURSE CODE: EDRL6001
COURSE TITLE: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF READING
INSTRUCTION
NUMBER OF CREDITS: 4
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course, Theoretical Foundations
of Reading Instruction, is essentially about the psychological,
sociological and linguistic foundations of reading and writing
acquisition processes and how these link with instructional
models, theories, and best practices. It is also about varied
critical instructional approaches and materials, as well as
ways of creating in-school and out-of-school environments
in which struggling readers can thrive. It presents CONTENT
through a melding of interactive lectures, vignette-driven
tutorials, professional dialogue, hands-on workshop activities,
and independent scrutiny of seminal research. Its purpose is
to equip participants with the foundational knowledge and
insights necessary to make informed instructional choices and
to create environments in which struggling adolescent readers
can grow in their love and appreciation of reading as a life skill
and worthwhile pastime.
The course addresses Standards 1, 2 and 4 of the International
Reading Association (IRA) Standards for Reading Professionals
(2003).
Content
Content is comprised of Lectures and Theory-to-practice
workshops.
Lectures
The following topics will be addressed:
• Dimensions of the reading concept
• Language models and reading acquisition processes
• Lexical development and stage models
• Models of the Reading and Writing Processes
• Reading instruction models and models of writing
instruction.
Theory-to-practice workshops
The following topics will be addressed:
• Building knowledge of Standard English and Creole
orthography
• Vocabulary instruction
• Comprehension instruction
• Fluency
• The reading-writing connection
General Objectives
In order to achieve the course goal, the participants will:
• relate theories of language acquisition/learning to reading
acquisition processes
• explore the psychological, sociological, and linguistic roots
of reading and writing development, and models that have
attempted to capture these
• develop a profile of the competent reader
• identify factors that contribute to individual differences in
reading acquisition processes
• explore influential studies on the teaching and learning of
reading and summarise their principles, approaches, and
strategies
• develop concepts of learning environments that would
improve the reading of struggling adolescents
• select appropriate learning materials and instructional
approaches and activities by reference to the literature on
acquirers’/learners’ development/progression in language
in general and reading in particular.
Course Assessment
Coursework will be worth 40% and will comprise
1. A discussion forum (on aspects of reading
instruction or the reading process) (10%)
2. Two article reviews (10%)
3. In-class assessment addressing the basic tenets
of theories and models (20%)
The final examination will be of 3 hours’ duration and be
worth 60% of the total marks. The questions will address links
between theory and best practice and the contributions to the
development of best practices in particular areas of reading.
Resources
Books
Calkins, L. M. (2000). The art of teaching reading. New York, NY:
Allyn & Bacon.
Gunning, T. G. (2001). Building Words: A resource manual for
teaching word analysis and spelling strategies. Boston: Allyn
& Bacon.
McCormack, R.L., & Paratore, J.R. (2003). After early intervention,
then what? Teaching struggling readers in grades 3 and
beyond. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Nero, S.J. (2006). Dialects, Englishes and Creoles and education.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.: Mahwah, NJ.
Pearson, P. D.; Barr, R., Kamil, M. L. & Mosenthal, P. B. (Eds.).
Handbook of Reading Research. White Plains, NY: Longman.
Pollard, V. (2007). From Jamaican Creole to Standard English.
University of the West Indies Press: Kingston, Jamaica.
Rudell, R.B., & Unrau, N.J. (2004). Theoretical model and processes
of reading. (5 th Ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.
Tierney, R.J. & Readence, J.E. (Eds.). (2005). Reading strategies and
practices: A compendium (6 th Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Tompkins, G.E. (2004). Literacy for the 21 st century: Teaching
reading and writing in grades 4 to 8. Columbus, OH: Pearson/
Merrill Prentice Hall.
Tracy, D. H. & Morrow, L. M. (2006). Lenses on reading: An
introduction to theories and models. New York, NY: Guilford
Press. (Online)
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