Language & Literacy

Curriculum

Ed.M. Program Requirements

The following L&L program requirements are for the 2012-2013 academic year only and are subject to change for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Students in the Language and Literacy program must fulfill thirty-two credits*, as outlined below:

16 credits from the practice-, policy-, and research-based courses listed below. Language and Literacy students are strongly encouraged to take at least one course from the practice-based list, one course from the policy-based list, and one course from the research-based list.
16 elective credits (either at HGSE or at another Harvard or MIT schools through cross-registration)

Please see "Cross-Registration" below for more details.

*This is the minimal course load needed to fulfill degree requirements. Students may choose to take up to twenty credits per semester without any additional cost. It is strongly recommended that students interested in taking more than a sixteen-credit per semester load discuss their proposed schedules with their academic advisors.

PRACTICE-BASED

H-800	Reading Specialist Licensure Practicum* Mason	Spring, 4 credits
H-801	Literacy Assessment and Intervention Practicum* Mason	Fall, 4 credits
H-803	Developing Adolescent Literacy Lesaux	Spring, 4 credits
H-804	Writing Development and Instruction Dobbs	Fall, 4 credits
H-818	Reading Instruction and Development* Mason	Fall, 4 credits
HT-820	Introduction to Psychoeducational Assessment* Thomson	Fall, 4 credits
H-810H	Introduction to Literacy Coaching	Fall, 2 credits
H-821	Literacy Coaching*	Fall, 4 credits
H-810C	Literacy and Learning in the Content Classroom Jacobs	Spring, 2 credits
H-810 F/G	Child / Adolescent Literature* Robinson	Fall, 2 credits
T-210M	Teachers as Writers Sommers	Spring, 2 credits
T-210Z1	Dimensions of Diversity: English Language Learners Leith	Spring, 2 credits
H-813	Bilingual Learners: Literacy Development and Instruction Uccelli	Spring, 4 credits

POLICY-BASED

A-117	Implementing Inclusive Education Hehir	Fall, 4 credits
H-107	Introduction to Educational Neuroscience Rose	Fall, 4 credits
H-110G	Learning in a Globalizing World: Language Acquisition, Cultural Awareness, and the Brain della Chiesa	Winter, 4 credits
A-11J	Critical Issues in Special Education Policy and Practice Hehir	Winter, 2 credits
HT-500	Growing Up in a Media World Blatt	Fall, 4 credits
A-326	School Reform: Curricular and Instructional Leadership Merseth	Fall, 4 credits
AH-516	Chinese Education in Comparative Perspective Fong	Fall, 4 credits
A-341	Supporting Teachers for Instructional Improvement* Elmore	Fall, 4 credits
H-811C	Connecting Literacy Assessment with Instructional Improvement: Response to Intervention in Practice Lesaux	Spring, 2 credits
T-560	Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Challenge of Individual Differences Rose	Spring, 4 credits

RESEARCH-BASED

H-112	Cognitive Neuroscience and Education Luk	Spring, 4 credits
H-118	Bilingualism: Language, Cognition and the Brain Luk	Spring, 4 credits
H-370	The Promotion of Social Development in Students and a Sense of Community in Classrooms Selman	Spring, 4 credits
H-512	Research Seminar on Early Childhood Language Development across Cultures, Languages, and Countries Fong	Yearlong, 4 credits
H-700	From Language to Literacy Snow	Fall, 4 credits
H-860	Reading Difficulties* Thomson	Spring, 4 credits
H-870	Reading Comprehension Uccelli	Spring, 4 credits
S-504	Introduction to Qualitative Research Fong	Fall, 4 credits
T-221	Advancing the Learning of and Teaching of English Jacobs	Fall, 4 credits

Notes on Courses:

*Limited enrollment course / permission of the instructor required.

Reading Specialist Licensure with Ed.M.

Student Reading Within the Language and Literacy program, students who apply and are admitted to the Reading Specialist strand fulfill requirements established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for licensure as a Reading Specialist Teacher.

This approved program consists of specific requirements for licensure that are somewhat different from the generalist strand of the Language and Literacy program.

Reading Specialist Licensure Requirements

To be eligible for admittance to the Language and Literacy Reading Specialist licensure strand, a candidate must hold an Initial or Professional teaching license and must have at least one full year of teaching experience (i.e., August 2005 to August 2006) under that license in the subject or area appropriate to that license and in the state of license issuance. Neither Preliminary nor Emergency certificates are eligible in this program. See the Massachusetts Department of Education's Laws and Regulations for further information on prerequisites for reading specialist licensure, or for other information about licensure contact the HGSE Licensure Unit at 617-495-5848, or visit HGSE's Educator Licensure website.

Institutional Report Card on the Quality of Teacher Preparation 2008-09

View the 2008-2009 Institutional Report Card on the Quality of Teacher Preparation (66KB pdf)

The Reading Specialist licensure program provides a comprehensive program of courses and field-based experiences that align to the Massachusetts' standards of professional and subject matter knowledge for reading specialist licensure candidates. Similar to the generalist students, licensure students fulfill thirty-two credits in the one-year master's program. Additionally, these students participate in at least one hundred and fifty hours of field-based experience in local public schools.
The Reading Specialist licensure strand course requirements are as follows:

H-801 Literacy Assessment and Intervention Practicum (fall)
H-818 Reading Development and Instruction (fall)
HT-820 Introduction to Psychoeducational Assessments (fall)
H-800 Reading Specialist Licensure Practicum (spring)
H-860 Reading Difficulties (spring)
H-870 Reading Comprehension (spring)

Reading Specialist licensure students must also take one Language and Literacy-related course. Former students have taken:

H700 From Language to Literacy (fall)
H-821 Literacy Coaching (fall)
H-804 Writing Development (spring)
H-810 Modules on children, adolescent, and language minority learners (fall & spring)

The remaining four (4) of the thirty-two (32) credits are allotted to elective courses, allowing students to take advantage of educational opportunities throughout the school and/or within the wider University and MIT. Please see "Cross-Registration" below for more details.

Literacy Coach Strand

Within the Language and Literacy program, students who apply to and have been admitted to the Literacy Coach strand fulfill requirements which prepare experienced teachers to assume the instructional leadership roles of the Literacy Coach.

Literacy Coach Strand Requirements

To be eligible for admittance to the Literacy Coach strand of the Language and Literacy program, a candidate must hold an Initial or Professional teaching license and must have had at least three years of experience teaching.

The Literacy Coach strand provides a comprehension program of courses and internship experiences. The Literacy Coach strand course requirements are as follows:

T-006 Adult Development (Spring)
H-818 Reading Instruction and Development (Fall)
H-821 Literacy Coaching (Fall)
S-999 Field Experience Program (Spring)

Literacy Coach students must also take one course in advanced methods. Former students have taken:

H-813 Bilingual Learners: Literacy Development and Instruction
H-870 Reading Comprehension
H-810Y Developing Adolescent Literacy
H-810C Literacy and Content Learning in Middle and Secondary Schools

The remaining twelve (12) of the 32 credits are allotted to elective courses, allowing students to take advantage of educational opportunities throughout the school and/or within the wider University and MIT.

Cross Registration

Many HGSE students choose to take courses at other Harvard graduate schools (aka, cross registering), including the Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). For more information about cross registering at other Harvard schools, please visit the Cross Registration website.