Nov 21, 2024  
2016-2017 Graduate Catalog 
    
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2016-2017 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Special Reading Advanced Certification

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The Special Reading Advanced Certification is for certified K-12 teachers. The Special Reading Advanced Certification program is designed to prepare teachers to focus on literacy development, instruction, and assessment of students with diverse learning and literacy needs. The courses in the Special Reading Advanced Certification program provide students with knowledge of advanced principles of learning and teaching literacy as well as practical applications of those principles in classroom and individualized teaching situations.

Admission Requirements for the Advanced Certification Programs

The applicant seeking admission to the program must:

  • Attend an information session/personal interview;
  • Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution;
  • Complete all parts of the online application, including writing sample;
  • Submit one letter of recommendation;
  • Submit official transcript(s) of all college-level work completed;
  • International students: an official transcript and/or an official transcript evaluation is required for admittance into a graduate program;
  • Submit verification of teaching certificate;
  • Have a grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale;
  • Have taken a course in Psychology of the Exceptional Child and Reading Strategies & Interventions in the Content Areas;
  • ELL: Satisfactory completion of one year of foreign language study or an equivalent experience learning a language within another culture is recommended; and
  • Students whose primary language is not English are required to submit official score reports of the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam. The examination results should not be more than two years old. The minimum TOEFL score required is 550. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam scores may be submitted in lieu of the TOEFL. The minimum IELTS exam score required for admission is an overall score of 6.5 with no individual band score below 5.5.
  • Avila alumni applying within two years of completing an Avila School of Education program do not need to submit a letter of recommendation, a writing sample, or an Avila transcript.

Required Courses:

Education Certificate & Advanced Certification Policies

To maintain enrollment, the student must maintain a 3.0 grade point average in all graduate coursework with no grade below a “C.” Only one grade of “C” is accepted toward the program. Only one course may be repeated one time in the entire program. Students who are unable to maintain these academic standards will be dismissed from the program.

Outcomes

Students who complete the Special Reading Advanced Certification program will meet the following outcomes:

  • Understand the characteristics and needs of literacy learners at various stages of development.
  • Analyze and critique past practices and current trends in literacy learning, teaching, and evaluation.
  • Know and access the wide array of texts types available for use with literacy learners.
  • Consider a range of theories, approaches, methods, and techniques for learning and teaching literacy.
  • Utilize appropriate evaluation tools and remedial procedures.
  • Design and implement individualized instructional programs for struggling readers and writers based on assessment results.
  • Apply literacy teaching skills in supervised settings.
  • Discuss literacy concerns with students, parents, and other school professionals.
  • Understand the evolving nature of literacy learning and teaching and have strategies for dealing effectively with the change.

Assessment

Outcomes for the Advanced Certification program are assessed through a combination of written examinations, key assessments and performance evaluations. Individual course syllabi show in detail the way in which each course addresses and evaluates the graduate and individual program outcomes. Alignment matrices showing the assessment of outcomes in each graduate course is located in the School of Education Office.

 

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