Professional Development for Practicing Teachers
If you are looking to extend your teaching repertoire, you may take any of Houghton College’s fully online literacy education courses for professional development
Courses
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[appropriate for preK-6 teachers]
Course Description: Examines the nature of students’ diverse language and literacy learning and the assessment and instruction of English language arts in inclusive classrooms. Considers the means of developing a learning environment that nurtures the language learning of all students with emphasis on students who are from diverse cultures as well as students who have learning differences, and/or are learning English as a New Language. Teachers are expected to establish a research-focused lens as they engage in reviewing current literacy research as well as completing a case study on an exceptional learner. Fieldwork required weekly or according to a schedule established by the instructor. Offered: Fall (15 weeks). 3 credits. Levels: Graduate.
Course Goals: Participants will:
- explore the ways in which literacy instruction is influenced by the relationship between language, texts, social groups, culture, and power;
- assess and evaluate the literacy learning of all elementary-aged students, including those learners who struggle to meet local and state expectations and standards, and use the data to inform your instruction;
- create a culturally responsive classroom learning environment that encourages the development of literacy for diverse learners;
- purposefully integrate technology as they design, implement, assess, and reflect on language and literacy instruction based on students’ diverse background knowledge of language and the world, students’ progress as literacy learners, students’ interests, and existing curricular standards.
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[appropriate for preK-2 teachers]
Course Description: Focuses on research-based principles and practices for language and literacy development of children birth to second grade. Emphasis is given to understanding the processes by which young children learn spoken and written language and to designing appropriate learning experiences to support the development of language and literacy in young children. Offered: Summer 1 Session Even Years (12 weeks). 3 credits. Levels: Graduate.
Course Goals: Participants will:
- explore and discuss the ways in which early literacy instruction is influenced by the relationship between language, texts, social groups, culture, and power describe the sociocultural theories supporting early language and literacy development;
- use informal and formal tools for assessing children’s language development and early literacy learning, including those learners who struggle to meet local and state expectations and standards, and use the data to inform your instruction;
- investigate, assess and critique an early childhood classroom literacy learning environment;
- design, implement, assess, and reflect on developmentally appropriate learning experiences to support diverse young children in their growth as speakers, listeners, readers, and writers.
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[appropriate for preK-2 teachers]
Course Description: Examines the cognitive and social development of children birth to second grade and explores a range of developmentally responsive pedagogies that help young children to grow, learn and develop through meaningful, integrated, interdisciplinary learning experiences. Offered: Summer 2 Session Even Years (12 weeks). 3 credits. Levels: Graduate.
Course Goals: Participants will:
- explore and discuss the developmental continuum for early language, reading, and writing within social and cultural contexts and content areas;
- use informal and formal tools for assessing children’s language development and early literacy learning across the content areas, including those learners who struggle to meet local and state expectations and standards, and use the data to inform your instruction;
- design a print-rich inclusive classroom environment that encourages the development of language and literacy for all learners across content areas;
- design, implement, assess, and reflect on developmentally appropriate learning experiences to support diverse young children in their growth in the content area literacies.
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[appropriate for preK-12 teachers]
Course Description: Immerses B-12 teachers in reading, writing, listening, and speaking across the content areas using multiple literacies. Grounded in multimodality, semiotics, and new literacy theories, teachers will wrestle with purposeful uses of technology that empowers motivating and creative literacy teaching and learning across the content areas (B-12). Discusses the concept of text broadly with attention to multimodal texts, multicultural literature, and popular media. Explores planning for literacy integration across content areas for B-12 inclusive learning contexts. Attends to developmentally appropriate instructional methods, standards, assessments, and reflection. Offered: Spring (15 weeks). 3 credits. Levels: Graduate.
Course Goals: Participants will:
- read, write, listen, and speak across the content areas using multiple literacies;
- explore and discuss text and literacy broadly, rooted in multimodality, semiotics, and new literacy theories of learning and instruction;
- examine the literacy standards across the content areas and grade levels and apply links in planning, instruction, assessment, and reflection processes;
- present to local school personnel the value and strategies for integrating multiple literacies across the content areas;
- purposefully integrate technology as they design, implement, assess, and reflect on language and literacy instruction based on students’ diverse background knowledge of language and the world, students’ progress as literacy learners, students’ interests, and existing curricular standards.
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[appropriate for preK-12 teachers]
Course Description: Critically examines current research and theory that affords understanding and responsiveness to students’ cultural and learning differences. Considers students’ sociocultural, cognitive, and motivational influences on literacy acquisition and learning. Explores culture, discourse, narrative, and power in diverse B-12 educational contexts. Investigates the power afforded to students and teachers alike when they are positioned as meaning makers and participants in their learning. Both in-class and out-of-class activities are designed to provide students with authentic occasions to apply their theoretical learning and develop their professional learning network. Fieldwork required weekly or according to a schedule established by the instructor. Offered: Fall (15 weeks). 3 credits. Levels: Graduate.
Course Goals: Participants will:
- examine and critique current literacy research, theory, and practices through inclusive, dialogic, and culturally responsive lenses of literacy learning and development;
- analyze classroom talk for markers of dialogic teaching and learning;
- discuss the teaching and learning implications of teaching repertoires that attend to the conduct, ethos, and content of classroom talk;
- analyze and critique a classroom learning environment for culturally responsive materials, structures, and pedagogical practices that encourage literacy learning and development for all learners;
- purposefully integrate technology as they design, implement, assess, and reflect on language and literacy instruction based on students’ diverse background knowledge of language and the world, students’ progress as literacy learners, students’ interests, and existing curricular standards.
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[appropriate for preK-12 teachers]
Course Description: Explores learning and teaching as active, social and interactive processes. Considers inclusive application of historical and current research and theory around inquiry-based learning and teaching. Engages teachers to further develop their own questions that will facilitate their ongoing inquiry about the content and processes they teach, the methods they use, and the transactions that occur as they teach and learn from their diverse B-12 students. Both in-class and out-of-class activities are designed to provide students with authentic occasions to apply their theoretical learning and develop their professional learning network. Fieldwork required weekly or according to a schedule established by the instructor. Offered: Spring (15 weeks). 3 credits. Levels: Graduate.
Course Goals: Participants will:
- explore the ways in which literacy instruction is influenced by the relationship between language, texts, social groups, culture, and power;
- develop, refine, and investigate questions that will support them in their teaching inquiry;
- critically observe and analyze various teaching contexts (B-12) for inclusive and culturally responsive pedagogy;
- present discoveries about how literacy instruction is influenced by the relationship between language, texts, social groups, culture, and power and the implications for inclusive school contexts;
- purposefully integrate technology as they design, implement, assess, and reflect on language and literacy instruction based on students’ diverse background knowledge of language and the world, students’ progress as literacy learners, students’ interests, and existing curricular standards.
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[appropriate for preK-12 teachers]
Course Description: Reviews major theories that help explain human communication behavior and considers the applications of these theories in daily interactions in B-12 educational contexts. Explores effective practices for designing sustainable co-teaching and collaborative partnerships across the diverse learning contexts present in today’s B-12 classrooms. Immerses candidates in working together across the grade levels as well as content areas to support diverse learners through collaborative planning, differentiated instruction and assessment practices, as well as mindful classroom management. Both in-class and out-of-class activities are designed to provide students with authentic occasions to apply their theoretical learning and develop their professional learning network. Two synchronous meetings will be required for this course. Fieldwork required weekly or according to a schedule established by the instructor. Offered: Fall (15 weeks). 3 credits. Levels: Graduate
Course Goals: Participants will:
- discuss theories of human communication behavior and implications for daily interaction in B-12 educational contexts;
- develop, refine, and investigate questions that will support them in their teaching inquiry;
- investigate effective practices for designing sustainable co-teaching and collaborative partnerships across the diverse learning contexts present in today’s B-12 classrooms;
- present to local school personnel the value and strategies for designing sustainable co-teaching and collaborative partnerships across the diverse learning contexts present in today’s B-12 classrooms;
- collaboratively design, implement, assess, and reflect on instruction for language and literacy learning based on students’ diverse background knowledge of language and the world, students’ progress as literacy learners, students’ interests, and existing curricular standards.
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[appropriate for preK-12 teachers]
Course Description: Extends the current understandings of rurality while examining theory, pedagogy, and practices specific to multiple rural contexts. Investigates the impact rural contexts’ diverse geography, sociocultural, and socioeconomic norms have on rural school and communities. Considers how rural educators (B-12) can work against marginalizing discourses around rural ways of living while communicating to rural students the value of their roots that are part of their identity. Explores place-based pedagogy while engaging in dialogue with the views and voices of rural schools and communities. Offered: Spring (15 weeks). 3 credits. Levels: Graduate.
Course Goals: Participants will:
- discuss the impact rural contexts’ diverse geography, sociocultural, and socioeconomic norms have on rural school and communities;
- explores place-based pedagogy while engaging in dialogue with the views and voices of rural schools and communities.
- investigate how rural educators (B-12) can work against marginalizing discourses around rural ways of living while communicating to rural students the value of their roots that are part of their identity;
- present research and strategies that would empower rural educators (B-12) in their work against marginalizing discourses around rural ways of living while communicating to rural students the value of their roots that are part of their identity;
- purposefully integrate technology as they design, implement, assess, and reflect on language and literacy instruction based on students’ diverse background knowledge of language and the world, students’ progress as literacy learners, students’ interests, and existing curricular standards.
Cost
$150 audit fee per course
Register
Complete the Special Student Application and indicate your intention to enroll in “Online Graduate Courses.” If you have any questions, please contact msed@houghton.edu.