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 Reading Specialist Certificate Program

The Reading Specialist Certificate program prepares students to be pre K-Adult reading specialists who will offer literacy leadership and work with other educators to evaluate students' reading abilities, plan assessments, and provide appropriate reading and writing instruction. As Reading Specialists, graduates of Fairmont State's certificate program will have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to serve their schools and communities as resource persons and plan collaboratively and cooperatively with other professionals to offer programs for diverse populations of learners. Fairmont State's Reading Specialists will also demonstrate leadership as they advocate for children and families and provide professional development opportunities at the local and state levels.

The Reading Specialist Certificate Program provides the opportunity for students across the region to earn credits toward a Reading Specialist Certificate via the Internet. Please refer to the "Program of Study Components" below for information on how specific courses are delivered (face-to-face, online or hybrid).

The School of Education's program gives current teachers the chance to earn an advanced degree that not only will serve them well in the classroom, but also provide them with opportunities for career advancement.

Graduate School Admission Requirements:

All students seeking admission to this graduate program must first meet the minimum standards of the Office of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also be approved for admission to the department where the program will reside, where the admissions standards may be more rigorous than those of the Office of Graduate Studies. Regular admission to any graduate degree program at Fairmont State University requires a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution, and a minimum 2.75 overall undergraduate grade point average (GPA) (4.0 scale) or a 3.0 GPA on the last 60 hours attempted.

Official transcripts are required to be submitted from all institutions attended. Additionally, the Office of Graduate Studies requires applicants to submit scores on a graduate aptitude test such as the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), Miller Analogies Test (MAT), or the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT). Scores more than five years old are not accepted. While test scores will be one measure used to determine a prospective student's chances of success, letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose and interviews may also be utilized. Applicants who do not meet all minimum admission criteria may be admitted provisionally.

Admissions Requirements for the Reading Specialization:

The program requires the following for admissions criteria:

  • An UG degree in education with certification as a classroom teacher,
  • A 3.0 and teaching experience; a 3.25 if the applicant has no teaching experience,
  • Submission of a score on the GRE,
  • Successful interview with the Program Committee comprised of program faculty, and
  • Successful completion of a writing sample.

Note to Applicants:

  • The program of study is a combination of on-line courses, courses that combine on-line and face-to-face strategies ('hybrid"), and clincal components that are face-to-face.
  • The clinical components of the program are done on the Fairmont State Campus in a Reading Clinic.
  • There are pre-requisites for many courses in the program of study. Where a course has a pre-requisite, and a student wishes to take two courses, two sequential courses may be taken as co-requisites (with the exception of READ 6330 and 6340 which cannot be taken simultaneously).
  • A student wishing to take more than six credit hours of courses, where pre-requisites are involved, must request permission to do so from the Dean of Education.
  • The core course requirments (listed in Part I below) may be taken at any time, and do not count against the pre-requisite restrictions listed above.

36 Total Semester Hours for Degree Completion: 33 credit hours in course work (including 3 hours of elective coursework), plus 3 hours in thesis research.

 

Part I: Professional Core

[See the list of "Elective Courses" at the end of this document for options for the elective requirement ]

12 Credit Hours

Part II: Reading/Related Areas Courses and Clinicals

21 Credit Hours

Part III: Thesis Seminar

3 Credit Hours

 

Program of Study Components

Part I: Professional Core (12 semester hours - Required Courses)

EDUC 6301 Research in Education (3 credit hours) ON-LINE

Instruction in the knowledge, skills and techniques necessary to understand and design research as applied to teacher education, with an emphasis on methodology, including statistical analysis and computer applications.

EDUC 6305 Advanced Educational Technology and Media (3 credit hours) ON-LINE

Advanced study of the design, development and integration of educational technology and media for teaching, learning and personal productivity including principles of multi-media design and production and web-based formats.

EDUC 6395 Demonstration Project in Education (3 credit hours) ON-LINE

This course focuses on the development of a research design using action research guidelines. Through this activity, the student will develop artifacts that support competence in teaching and research. Students will construct a project from a classroom concern or need, and then share their final product with classmates and the course instructor.

Elective (3) Choose one course from the list of electives listed below in the electives section

 

Part II: Reading/Related areas Courses (21 semester hours - Required Courses)

READ 6300 Foundations of Reading and Writing (3 credit hours) ON-LINE

The elements of emergent literacy: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension, are explored. Assessment techniques and the reading/writing needs of all learners, including the exceptional and culturally diverse are also examined. Research based approaches, practices and materials are emphasized, as well as the importance of professional development, modeling, and leadership.

READ 6315 Reading and Writing in the Content Areas (3 credit hours) ON-LINE

This course focuses on literacy in the content-area subjects. The importance of reading and writing literacy in the content areas is emphasized as well as the integration of literacy into a variety of instructional areas. The development of speaking and listening skills is also included as a part of literacy development. A variety of literacy strategies and skills is presented and examined. Approaches for developing and applying these strategies in various subject-matter areas are explored. PREREQ: READ 6300.

READ 6320 Psychological, Sociological, and Linguistic Factors in Reading and Writing Ability (3 credit hours) ON-LINE

This course provides an overview of the psychological and social factors that affect reading ability. Focusing on reading as a linguistic process, the course helps teachers understand how cognitive processes, motivational factors, and brain mechanisms interact to contribute to success in reading. PREREQ: READ 6315

ENGL 6360 Literature and Response (3 credit hours) FACE-TO-FACE/HYBRID

Examines literature for children and adolescents and their responses to it. Students investigate the types of, and influences upon, response patterns such as motor, oral, written, and expressive-art. Students will learn to use authentic assessment of the various responses. Literature in all genres will be read. PREREQ: READ 6320

READ 6330 Diagnosis and Correction of Reading and Writing Difficulties: Reading Clinic Practicum I (3 credit hours) FACE-TO-FACE

Laboratory interpreting psychological, sociological, and educational factors affecting the reading process. A case study will be developed for identifying and analyzing reading disabilities. OFFERED SUMMER I ONLY. PREREQ: ENGL 6360

READ 6340 Diagnosis and Correction of Reading and Writing Difficulties: Reading Clinic Practicum II (3 credit hours) FACE-TO-FACE

Course focuses on procedures and materials for correction of reading difficulties, evaluation of pupil progress, and differentiation of instructional techniques. OFFERED SUMMER II ONLY. PREREQ. READ 6330.

READ 6370 Administration and Supervision of Reading/Writing Programs (3 credit hours)
FACE-TO-FACE/HYBRID

This course provides an overview of the challenges that reading specialists face in their roles as administrators and supervisors of reading/writing programs. Students will come away from this course with guidelines and tools that will help ensure the creation and implementation of strong reading programs at the classroom, school, and district levels. PREREQ: READ 6340

 

Part III: Thesis Seminar (3 semester hours Required Course)

READ 6390 Thesis Seminar (3 credit hours) FACE-TO-FACE/HYBRID

Students complete a thesis in collaboration with the seminar leader and the faculty member who teaches the course content underlying the selected research topic.

 

Elective Courses (Hours counted in core requirements)

PSYC 6675 Cognitive Processes and Reading (3 credit hours) FACE-TO-FACE/HYBRID

With a focus on individual differences based upon current cognitive models of the structures and processes involved in reading, this course provides an overview of the cognitive processes involved in understanding written text.

ENGL 6301 Theories of Language and their Application to English (3 credit hours)
FACE-TO-FACE/HYBRID

Syntax, morphology, phonology, semantics, and pragmatics as providing concepts and techniques for understanding languages, with special emphasis on English. Descriptive versus prescriptive grammar; dialect and register; synchronic and diachronic language variation; history of English; language acquisition; leading theories of language; language theory and the art of composition.

THEA 6605 Creative Drama in Reading Instruction (3 credit hours) FACE-TO-FACE/HYBRID

This course provides an introduction to research-based creative drama techniques for the reading classroom

ENGL 6380 Folklore in Reading (3 credit hours) FACE-TO-FACE/HYBRID

This course analyzes folklore as a powerful body of content not only for reading development and comprehension, but also as a tool to enhance personal cultural awareness and diversity in learning, especially reader responsiveness. While exploring the relationship between all three categories of folklore ( oral, customary, and material), the course will emphasize the components and genres of folk (traditional) literature through poetry (the folk song, ballad, and instrumentation), narratives ( myths, folktales, legends, fables and other animal tales, tall tales, formula/cumulative tales, and marchens), and language/verbal lore (dialect, accent, beliefs and superstitions, proverbs, sayings, riddles, rhymes, and jokes) within the contextual process of perpetuation (storytelling) and preservation (collecting and motifing). The Appalachian Region with be highlighted. A field study and educational resource/research project with be part of the course.

READ 6310 Teaching Reading to Special and At-Risk Learners (3 credit hours)
ON-LINE

A study of the causes of reading difficulties and procedures used to support students with reading difficulties, emphasizing those with learning disabilities, behavior disorders and mental impairments. Approaches reading difficulty from a holistic view. Attention is given to assessment strategies and remedial procedures for correction

SPED 6320 Students with Special Learning Problems (3 credit hours) ON-LINE

This course surveys the theories, etiologies, characteristics, learning styles and learning problems of children and youth with disabilities, emphasizing those with learning disabilities, behavior disorders and mental impairments. State and federal definitions and policies for students experiencing learning difficulties will be examined.

SPED 6321 Students with Special Behavior Problems (3 credit hours) ON-LINE

This course surveys the theories, etiologies, characteristics, and special behavior problems of children and youth with disabilities, emphasizing those with learning disabilities, behavior disorders and mental impairments. State and federal definitions and policies for students experiencing behavior problems will be examined.

EDUC 6303 Advanced Educational Psychological (3 credit hours) ON-LINE

The development and behavior of the school-aged child with attention to current research and theories of classroom learning and curriculum innovation.

 

Employment Opportunities:

Statewide, there is a clear and critical need for highly qualified reading teachers. According to the 2005-2006 Educational Personnel Data Report, only 188 of the 206 Reading Specialist teaching positions were filled. There were no qualified applicants for 14 of the 18 unfilled positions (the other 4 were in progress). There are three Title I positions currently (2006) open and one developmental reading position. Fairmont State's proposed program can address these needs.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (2006), there will be a growing need for teachers of adult literacy and remedial education due to retirements in the aging "baby boomer" population and vacancies left by professionals changing careers. While such vacancies will necessitate the hiring of new reading teachers, they do not account for the need that will result due to increased numbers of literacy classes requested by employers who require a more literate workforce. It will be the schools' responsibility to provide additional adult literacy, basic education, and secondary education classes to meet employers' needs. Opportunities for jobs as adult literacy and remedial education teachers are expected to be favorable. Employment is projected to increase from nine to seventeen percent through 2014.