EdM in Reading Education

The Boston University EdM in Reading Education is designed for licensed K–12 teachers who wish to expand their understanding of literacy development and apply this knowledge to instruction and leadership rooted in a critical and humanizing approach. Students in this program prepare for licensure as a Specialist Teacher of Reading in Massachusetts, which is a K–12 license, and qualify for Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) endorsement. The program admits both full- and part-time students. Full-time students must enter in the fall term and typically complete the program in two terms (fall, spring). If a student has previously completed coursework for the four-course, 16-unit Graduate Certificate in Reading & Literacies: Equitable Instruction and Leadership, earned units may be applied toward this EdM.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of theory and research related to equity, diversity, and humanizing pedagogies, including an understanding of themselves and others as cultural beings and the need to advocate for equity at school, district, and community levels.
• Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of major theoretical, conceptual, historical, critical, and evidence-based foundations of literacy and language and their interconnections.
• Students will be able to work collaboratively and reflexively with colleagues, families, and communities.
• Students will be able to develop well-structured lessons with challenging, measurable objectives and appropriate student engagement strategies, pacing, sequence, activities, materials, resources, technologies, and grouping.
• Students will be able to organize and analyze results from a variety of assessments to determine progress toward intended outcomes and use these findings to adjust practice and identify and/or implement appropriate differentiated interventions and enhancements for their students.
• Students will be able to meet diverse needs by using appropriate practices, including tiered instruction and scaffolds, to accommodate differences in learning styles, needs, interests, and levels of readiness, including those of students with disabilities and multilingual learners.
• Students will be able to create a safe learning environment by using rituals, routines, and appropriate responses that create and maintain a safe physical and intellectual environment.
• Students will be able to maintain high expectations for learning by effectively modeling and reinforcing approaches that will help their students master challenging material.
• Students will be able to engage in reflective practice and collaboration by frequently reflecting on the effectiveness of lessons, units, and interactions with their students and using insights gained to improve practice and student learning.
• Students will be able to communicate with family members and consider cultural and/or linguistic diversity in these communications; keep families informed of students’ progress; and encourage family participation and engagement.

Program Requirements

The program requirements include graduate-level courses in literacy development, assessment, instruction, and leadership. These courses introduce students to theory, research, and evidence-based practice in literacy from multiple perspectives, including foundational, critical, and disciplinary literacies; multilingualism; multiliteracies; and the social, cultural, and historical contexts of literacy.

The program also includes two practice-based experiences. In one of these experiences, students shadow and work alongside a literacy specialist within a K–12 school setting. In the other practice-based experience, students work as literacy tutors through the Donald D. Durrell Literacy Collaborative under the supervision of Wheelock faculty and literacy coaches. In collaboration with their tutees’ parents/guardians and classroom teachers, tutors design and implement individualized literacy learning experiences that honor their tutees’ literacies and identities, respond to their interests and curiosities, and extend their literacy learning based on ongoing analysis of strengths and areas for growth.

An initial teaching license is required prior to beginning this program. Teaching experience is not required; however, please note that students must complete one year of full-time teaching to be eligible to apply to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for licensure as a Specialist Teacher of Reading. Licensure reciprocity exists with many states, but students should investigate specifics in the state of anticipated residence.

Coursework (36 units)

Required Literacy Content Courses (24 units)

• WED EN 711 Critical Literacy as a Lens (4 units)
• WED LS 627 Critical Analysis of Children’s and Young Adult Literature (4 units)
• WED LS 762 Instruction and Assessment for Emergent and Developing Literacies (4 units)
• WED LS 764 Introduction to Literacy Leadership: Becoming a Critical Specialized Literacy Professional (4 units)
• WED LS 792 Instruction and Assessment for Disciplinary and Digital Literacies (4 units)
• WED SE 580 Instructional Methods for Teaching Foundational Literacy Skills (4 units)

Practicum Courses (4 units)

• WED LS 763 Practice-Based Experience in Literacy: Pre-Practicum (Gateway Course) (2 units)
• WED LS 793 Practice-Based Experience in Literacy: Practicum (2 units)

SEI Endorsement Course (4 units)

• WED TL 520 Teaching English Language Learners (4 units)

Elective Course (4 units)

Elective options include (but are not limited to):

• WED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students: Instruction and Assessment (4 units)
• WED EN 712 Methods of Teaching Writing in Secondary English Language Arts
• WED LS 560 Introduction to Language and Language Acquisition (4 units)
• WED LS 658 Second Language Acquisition
• WED LS 727 Topical Seminar in Literacy and Language
• WED LW 736 Teaching Writing in Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Schools (4 units)
• WED RS 600 Introduction to Research

The appropriate elective course should be chosen in consultation with the advisor or program director. If students have completed prior advanced coursework in any of the areas above, another course may be substituted in consultation with the advisor or program director.