Graduate Literacy Courses

ECI 620K: Special Topic – Strategy Instruction

As a student in ECI 620K, I learned about the uses and benefits of strategy instruction and about strategies related to reading comprehension (e.g., Visual Imagery Strategy), writing (e.g., COPS, Error Monitoring Strategy), and vocabulary (e.g., LINCS Vocabulary Strategy). I also had opportunities to practice these strategies and to design lessons in which they were used to foster the growth of literacy skills and content knowledge.

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ECI 546: Literacy, Media, and Technology

ECI 546 addressed the application of media and technologies to the literacy curriculum. As a student in this course, I learned about and developed numerous activities (e.g., WebQuest, Subject Sampler) in which technological tools and/or digital texts were used to support the development of both literacy skills and content knowledge.

For details, click here.

ECI 521: Teaching Young Adult Literature

Through this course, I learned about contemporary literature and the issues that surround its integration into secondary classrooms, such as censorship and outdated notions of literary merit. During this course, I read 10 Young Adult (YA) novels, including The Giver, Crank. and Gathering Blue, and wrote a substantive blog post about each one. I also developed a reader-response activity for La Casa en Mango Street (Cisneros, 1991)

For details, click here.

ECI 620: Special Topic – I.S. Writing Process

I completed this independent study, which addressed the teaching and application of the writing process, under the supervision of Dr. Alan Reiman. I conducted research on the writing process and wrote a literature review consisting of more than 20 pages. Through this course, I learned how to use the writing process to scaffold writing assignments and to improve writing skills and outcomes.

For additional information, including excerpts from the paper, click here.

ECI 541: Content Area Reading

ECI 541 addressed methods for improving comprehension, vocabulary, and other literacy skills in content-area classrooms. As a student in this course, I learned many important concepts, including efferent and aesthetic responses, B-D-A structures, and levels of understanding. I also had opportunities to apply such concepts to my work as a secondary language teacher.

For additional information about the course, click here.

C&I 5793: Seminar in Reading Supervision

This course emphasized the design and implementation of effective literacy programs. As a student in this course, I was afforded many valuable learning experiences, such as taking part in a book club, observing a literacy tutoring program for children, and planning and implementing literacy workshops for adults. These experiences not only enhanced my literacy expertise, but also impacted my instructional practices in substantial ways.

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ILT 7973: Tools Used in Literacy Research

This course provided opportunities to conduct observational research pertaining to 17 literacy tools (e.g., tradebooks, serials, textbooks, process charts). As part of a student-led research team, I inventoried the literacy tools in one K-12 classroom, identified the tools that were used during several lessons, documented the uses of those tools, and interviewed the teacher about her instructional practices. This course greatly enhanced my knowledge of effective literacy instruction and the types of tools associated with it.

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ILT 7143: Internship with Dr. Misty Sailors

I completed this three-credit internship under the supervision of literacy professor, Misty Sailors. During the internship, I worked on several literacy projects, as specified in my learning contract. One such project involved writing the framework for a chapter on effective print environments. I read numerous articles pertaining to the framework, connected components of the framework to literacy instruction and practices, and used the writing process to draft the framework section of the chapter.

For details regarding this project and other projects associated with the internship, please click here.

ILT 8793: Dissertation

As a part of my dissertation, I facilitated a two-hour workshop in a methods course for prospective English and Social Studies teachers. In the workshop, I addressed the use of popular music (e.g., lyrics, videos) to promote academic and critical literacies in English and Social Studies classrooms. My data set included participants’ reflections on the use of popular music for instructional purposes, lesson plans they wrote for the methods course, and interviews with three select participants.

For details, including excerpts from several sections of the dissertation and a list of references, click here.