This article describes a literacy methods course designed to introduce reading specialist candidates to research-based practices for comprehension instruction. Specifically, this article focuses on a sequence of assignments and class sessions within that course that introduced theoretical perspectives about comprehension processes and how those…

This mixed methods study reports on seven library science and reading education students' experiences before, during, and after a small newly developed shortterm interdisciplinary study abroad, and its effects on their intercultural sensitivity. The evidence collected in this study affirms our belief in the potential for experiential learning,…

In this cross-case study, we examined how two reading specialist candidates negotiated their yearlong practicum experiences in relation to university coursework and their previous teaching experience. Data sources included interviews, weekly teaching logs, and field observations. Findings reported in extended vignettes reveal how both interns were…

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the self-efficacy beliefs of 25 literacy specialist candidates in three key leadership areas before and after 15-week internships in schools. The three leadership areas, identified by university faculty as important to the leadership role of literacy specialists in schools today, are: 1)…

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore the ways in which one specialized literacy professional (SLP) navigated and reflected on coaching conversations with teachers. The participants for this study were one elementary school SLP and two classroom teachers at the same school. Coaching conversations the SLP held with teachers, the…

Literacy coaches need support developing their professional capacities for coaching (Kern et al., 2018). This study explored the ways novice literacy coaches developed literacy coaching discourses during coursework in two reading specialist master's degree programs. Through qualitative and discourse analysis of transcribed coaching videos and…

This investigation focuses on a tool used in a reading methods course to introduce reading specialist candidates to text analysis as a critical component of planning for text-based discussions. Unlike planning that focuses mainly on important text content or information, a text analysis approach focuses both on content and how that content is…

This study examined the motivation, perceptions/future plans, and expectations of postgraduate students (referred to as literacy coaching candidates) enrolled in the first course of a Literacy Coaching Endorsement program at a large comprehensive institution of higher education. Results from data focus to: What motivates a licensed Reading…

The purpose of this single-site case study was to examine the experiences of graduate teachers enrolled in a Reading Specialist Certification (K-12) program who engaged in literacy-related action research that was woven throughout their coursework. Qualitative data included 24 graduate teachers' video self-analyses, reflection blog entries, and a…

This paper describes findings from the first cohort of an ongoing longitudinal study investigating the impact of master's coursework and related coaching experiences on in-service teachers' coaching skill development leading to literacy specialist identity. The study follows literacy specialist candidates through coursework and into their first…

Scores on national and international tests for students in the United States indicated that students are not performing proficiently in reading. Furthermore, students are not able to comprehend complex reading tasks, which resulted in an adolescent literacy crisis (NGA & CCSO, 2010). In this collective case study, I explored ways four fifth…

This dissertation examines the problem-solving processes of seven graduate student novices enrolled in a course in educational assessment and ten educational assessment experts. Using Jonassen's (1997) ill- and well-structured problem-solving frameworks, I analyze think-aloud protocols of experts and novices as they examine ill-structured…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how the experiences in a master's in literacy program are preparing teacher candidates to be school leaders and to examine candidates' self-perception as literacy leaders before, during, and after the program. Data sources include surveys, field notes, course syllabi, assignments, and rubrics.…

The purpose of this research is to share the reading assessments that graduate students selected for their clinical practice with struggling readers. After a careful look at assessments, their place in the recent shift to Response to Intervention (RTI), specifically regarding reading instruction and the preparation of reading…

The authors are professors of literacy in a teacher education program that leads to a reading endorsement. Their graduates are reading specialists, literacy coaches, and district language arts specialists--but only if, in addition to the coursework and practicum experience that make up their National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education…