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  2. EDU H811H

Language & Literacy Development Series:Reading to Learn:Socialization, Language & Deep Comprehension
EDU H811H

Course Information

Description

In today's world, students need to be equipped with the skills that allow them to update their knowledge independently in order to continue to be efficient learners, workers, and critical members of rapidly changing societies. Supporting students to become skilled comprehenders of texts--whether oral, written, or digital texts-- constitutes a central instructional goal in the larger enterprise of preparing lifelong independent learners. Beyond word reading ability, socio-cognitive skills, language enculturation, motivation, and background knowledge influence readers' comprehension of text. During the course, the interplay of these skills and factors throughout development--from the early years to adolescence--will be examined, focusing specifically on the interaction between four key elements: the reader, the text, the activity, and the sociocultural context. This course is designed to help students (1) become familiar with the major issues and key research literature in the field of reading comprehension; (2) critique and integrate findings from that research literature; (3) conceptualize effective practices to support reading to learn at school; and (4) critique and design reading-to-learn educational and/or research initiatives.

No prerequisites. This course is open to all HGSE students, but Language and Literacy candidates must take two of the four modules in this series.

School Graduate School of Education
Credits 2
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Department Education
Course Component Regular Course
Instruction Mode In Person
Subject Education
Grading Basis HGSE Student Option (Letter Graded, Sat/Unsat)
Learning Goals <p>- Understand that "reading to learn" entails complex cognitive processes and learned sociocultural practices.- Critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of the latest reading comprehension interventions.- Propose innovative research-informed educational interventions to promote "reading to learn"- Apply research evidence to inform pedagogical decisions and reflective practice- Develop the disposition to use research to persuade others about decisions related to literacy instruction</p>
Career Focus This course is open to students in all programs and is designed for those interested in understanding and promoting "reading to learn" from PreK through adolescence. The course will support practitioners and researchers who seek to understand how reading develops and how teachers, schools, out-of-school organizations, and families can best promote reading comprehension. Developmental theories and empirical research on reading comprehension will be discussed in ways that support course participants' future research and practice decisions related to classroom teaching, in- and out-of-school literacy contexts and practices, curriculum design, assessment, and leadership to promote literacy for learning.
Pedagogy N/A