Reading Education
Degrees and Certificates Offered
- EdM, CAGS Programs
Reading Education
The Reading Education Program prepares teachers, specialists, clinicians, and consultants in the area of reading and writing assessment and instruction. Because many of our students are in-service teachers, we strive to accommodate everyone by offering late afternoon and evening classes during the academic year and field experiences during both the academic year and the summer months.
Through the Reading Education Program, students may earn either a Master of Education or a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study. Each of these programs is approved for licensure as a Specialist Teacher of Reading in Massachusetts. Most of the students who enroll in the Reading Education Program are interested in school- or classroom-based practice and research in public settings. Students must enter the program with a teaching license; classroom teaching experience is not required for admission. However, students who complete degree requirements prior to completing one year of teaching experience must do so to be eligible to apply to the Massachusetts Department of Education for licensure as a Specialist Teacher of Reading.
Coursework includes the study of current research and practice in acquisition and development of reading and writing, classroom and clinical assessment of reading and writing, and analysis of commonly used assessments and instructional materials. Particular attention is paid to instructional practices that accelerate learning for struggling readers and writers. Students are also required to complete two field experiences. During a prepracticum, students work with a credentialed literacy specialist to learn about the roles and responsibilities of the reading professional in a typical school or clinical setting. During a practicum, students work under the supervision of a University faculty member and an experienced literacy specialist to put into practice their understandings of research-based assessment and instruction as they teach an individual child and children in a small-group context in ways that will accelerate reading and writing growth. For full-time students the Reading Education program requires three semesters of study: Fall, Spring, and Summer.
Varied career opportunities await degree recipients. Many graduates seek positions as general education classroom teachers, where their expertise in reading and writing assessment and instruction enables them to provide exemplary instruction to students of all performance levels. Others use their newly acquired depth of knowledge to specialize in literacy assessment and instruction. In this case, degree recipients meet requirements for positions as reading and literacy teachers, specialists, and coaches.
