Literacy Instruction, Graduate Certificate

About the Certificate

The purpose of this 15-credit, graduate certificate program is to prepare individuals to effectively teach reading and writing skills (with students in general, and specifically, with those who struggle to learn literacy skills, including students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities), within the overarching frameworks of the Science of Reading, multi-tiered systems of supports, and culturally responsive literacy instruction in PK-12 learning environments. Courses in this certificate are part of programs accredited by the International Dyslexia Association.

This program is designed to assist educators in identifying and implementing assessment and instruction aligned with the principles of strategic and structured literacy, grounded in scientific evidence of effective instruction from the past 30 years of research. Intensive, systematic, and explicit instruction in specific reading and writing skills is the foundation of helping students acquire comprehensive grade-level literacy outcomes, including critical thinking and gaining meaning from literature and content-area texts. Understanding the culture-specific contexts that support students in engaging in and achieving specific reading outcomes is also a central focus of this certificate program, in order to address the need to reduce the racial and economic gaps in literacy achievement among student groups.

Online Learning

The online certificate program provides an opportunity for students living and working in a variety of regions in the U.S. and the world, to participate in a virtual format. The courses in this program operate asynchronously, meaning, the coursework can be completed at a time convenient to the student, within the posted course dates.

Requirements

This online certificate program includes three Pathways™ courses taught through the AIM Institute for Learning and Research, and transcripted for credit through Arcadia (3 credits each); and two, 3-credit, online courses from the Graduate Reading Program, for a 5-course Graduate Certificate in Literacy. 

Students complete three of the following online courses through AIM and transcripted through Arcadia:

• ED652: Pathways to Proficient Reading (3 credits)

• ED652A: Pathways to Structured Literacy (3 credits)

• ED652B: Pathways to Structured Literacy Lab (3 credits)

• ED652C: Pathways to Proficient Writing (3 credits)

Then, students will be asked to apply to the Graduate Certificate Program through the traditional admissions process. Once accepted, they will each successfully complete two (2) of the following three online courses to complete their Graduate Certificate:

• ED563: Seminar in Reading (3 credits)

• ED608: Literature for Children and Youth (3 credits)

• ED623: Multilingual/Multicultural Assessment (3 credits)

Note: Transfer credit is not permitted in this program.