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INTERESTED?
- Who can apply?
- What is the time commitment and how are the courses laid out?
- How many credits are in each program and what might it cost?
- What do the Wisconsin licenses mean, and how might they benefit me?
- How does this program enhance our ability to serve ESL students?
- What do you learn in each course?
- How are you assessed, and what kind of assignments are there?
- Who are the instructors?
- How is Edgewood College’s School of Education accredited?
For more information about these programs or to speak with a professional advisor, contact us at 608-663-3297, or toll-free 800-444-4861 Ext. 3297, or by email at gps@edgewood.edu.
Who can apply?
Edgewood College’s K-12 Reading Teacher program awards the WDPI license
“Reading Teacher” (Code 316) and is offered to experienced teachers who have an
aptitude and desire to strengthen their teaching and/or become a reading teacher
and literacy coach in a K-12 setting. The five-course program is designed to
help teachers get to the heart of effective reading instruction supporting a
practical, creative and researched-based approach.
Edgewood College’s Reading Specialist program awards the WDPI license
“Reading Specialist” (Code 317) and is offered to experienced teachers who already
hold the Reading Teacher license (Code 316) and wish to pursue a Master of Arts degree.
This five-course continuation program is designed to produce instructionally focused
administrators who are expertly prepared in the area of literacy and reading.
What is the time commitment and how are the courses laid out?
The time commitment for the full sequence of courses resulting in two licenses
and an MA, is under two years. See
Course Sequence
- Courses are offered on evenings and weekends to accommodate busy schedules.
- Take one class, two classes or three classes. Begin in the fall, spring, or summer. It’s up to you!
- You will have the opportunity to work in a team-based setting that mirrors the professional work settings of classrooms and district offices.
- Collaboration with fellow students and schools and other organizations is encouraged and supported.
For more information about these programs or to speak with a professional advisor, contact us at 608-663-3297, or toll-free 800-444-4861 Ext. 3297, or by email at gps@edgewood.edu.
How many credits are in each program and what might it cost?
The initial course will be offered at a PD rate of $150 per credit ($300 total),
Remaining courses will be at the regular Edgewood College graduate credit cost.
Cooperating teachers for Edgewood College programs may use their course vouchers.
| Reading Teacher | Credits | |
| ED 611/or PD Equivalents | Approaches to Teaching Reading (or these PD equivalents: The Ways We Think About Reading and Champion’s of Literacy |
2 |
| ED 613 | Literacy Across the Curriculum | 3 |
| ED 618 | Diversity, Culture and Literacy | 3 |
| ED 624 | Reading Diagnosis and Intervention 1 | 3 |
| ED 629 | Reading Diagnosis and Intervention 2 | 3 |
| Reading Specialist | ||
| ED 627 | Managing Literacy | 3 |
| ED 628 | Mentoring, Coaching, and Supervising | 3 |
| ED 604A | Second Language Acquisition: Content Areas | 3 |
| ED 603R | Introduction to Educational Research | 3 |
| ED 692 | Action Research Project | 3 |
Plus one 3-credit graduate level course related to the degree.
What do the Wisconsin licenses mean, and how might they benefit me?
The Department of Public Instruction’s New Wisconsin Promise initiative includes a
focus on teaching and leadership for improved student learning at the school and
district level. This Quality Educator Initiative, as a part of the New Wisconsin
Promise, has a goal of placing highly qualified teachers in every classroom and highly
qualified leaders in every school. This program represents Edgewood College’s attempt
to assist with the Quality Educator Initiative and to help alleviate some of the
achievement problems by producing highly qualified and experienced teachers, and
instructionally focused administrators, who are expertly prepared.
The “Reading Teacher” license represents teachers who are able to get to the heart
of what effective reading instruction can be like supporting a practical, creative,
and research-based approach to the work of teaching reading and promoting literacy.
Edgewood’s Reading Specialist program awards the WDPI license “Reading Specialist”
and represents teacher administrators who have a deep understanding of the work of
teaching reading and promoting literacy, and equipped to apply reformative expertise
at a school, community, and district level. Such license holders will be competent
with data analysis, dealing with issues of second language acquisition, mentoring,
supervision, ethical leadership, and action research.
How does this program enhance our ability to serve ESL students?
Cutting edge instructional techniques for ELL literacy development are
interwoven throughout the program with two courses specifically focused
in this area.
What do you learn in each course?
ED 611: Approaches to Teaching Reading 3 Credits
This course focuses on major historical developments in the teaching of reading,
especially influential literacy paradigms and their impact on curriculum. Students
will develop a critical understanding of national literacy initiatives, including No
Child Left Behind, as well as research, public policy, and media opinion as to the
future of teaching reading.
ED 613: Promoting Literacy: Reading and Writing across the Curriculum 3 Credits
This course addresses the literacy demands of content areas and the design of curriculum
and teaching to optimize student success and promote literacy. It emphasizes creative
curriculum design grounded in understanding the structure of expository texts, the
dialogical and integrated nature of reading and writing, the role of genre and register,
and the use of scaffolded instruction, comprehension and meta-cognitive strategies.
ED 618: Diversity, Culture, and Literacy 3 Credits
This course provides a thorough review of current thinking in diversity, culture, and
literacy from an ethnographic perspective, drawing from sociolinguistics, culture studies,
and discourse analysis. It emphasizes the impact ethnicity, learning English as an
additional language, class, gender, urbanization, and popular culture may have on
developing multiple literacies and how these play out in schooling.
ED 623: Reading: Diagnosis, Assessment, and Programmatic
Intervention 1 3 credits
This course promotes a deep understanding of specialist and general reading diagnosis
techniques and language assessment. Students learn to identify key reader behaviors,
assess textual demands of emergent and beginner reader materials, and develop
practical interventions. There is sustained focus on phonemic awareness, phonics,
reading fluency, vocabulary development, and comprehension strategies for young children
through to adolescents.
ED 624: Reading: Diagnosis, Assessment, and Programmatic
Intervention 2 3 Credits
This course develops ethnographic skills through extensive fieldwork and case
studies to capturing the student experience of literacy at elementary and adolescent
levels. Students develop greater “kid watching” sensitivities and techniques to
better understand and appreciate the multiple ways students experience literacy,
especially the diverse experiences of ELL students and students at risk.
ED 627: Managing Literacy 3 Credits
This course emphasizes the principles and guidelines behind managing literacy issues
at school, community, and district levels. Students survey literacy initiatives
worldwide and learn to interpret psychometric, sociometric, and qualitative data
to establish meaningful school and district profiles of literacy challenges and
conditions. They produce an actual profile for a local school or district and
generate data-driven policy recommendations.
ED 628: Mentoring, Coaching, and Supervising
3 Credits
This field-work intensive course promotes the art of supporting and nurturing
educational leaders and teachers who are in the process of reforming their own or
their institution’s literacy practices. It focuses on critical ways for identifying
needs, selecting instructional materials, developing phased implementation plans,
and creating an open accountability culture to productively monitor effectiveness.
ED 604A: Second Language Acquisition in the Content Areas
3 Credits
A study of the nature of research in relationship to educational practice, with
attention to research tools, planning and design, methodologies, modes of reporting,
samples, and practice.
ED 692: Action Research Project
3 Credits
Actual 692 catalog copy: Planning and conducting an action research project under
faculty direction and evaluation. Prerequisite: completion of at least 27 credits
toward degree.
How are you assessed, and what kind of assignments are there?
Assessment is heavily biased towards performance-based approaches as these have a
greater potential for creating meaningful engagement with an area of learning that
takes on a ‘real world’ functional quality. Student reflection, as captured in a
portfolio of authentic work that documents the value added of the courses are
critical in this program.
Below is a table summarizing the forms of performance assessments that are
embedded in courses. They fall into three broad categories: (1) field practices,
(2) simulations, and (3) scholarship. Examples of performance tasks are given in
the right hand column. Samples of performance task products will be archived in
the candidate licensees’ portfolio.
Who are the instructors?
The instructors include nationally recognized professionals who are experienced
practitioners of teaching reading and literacy coaching.
How is Edgewood College’s School of Education accredited?
Edgewood College’s School of Education is fully accredited by the National
Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Edgewood College is
accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools.
