Language & Literacy

Students

2010 Current Class Profile

30 Students

• 23 Generalist-Strand Students
• 7 Specialist-Strand Students
• 26% Students of Color
• 24% International Students (Taiwan, South Korea, Chile, England)
• 10 States
• Average Work Experience: 3.5 years

Students came most recently from working in:

• Public Schools: 43%
• Private Schools: 14%
• Business: 10%
• Student: 13%
• Other: 20%

Interests: Language minority learners (policy and practice), urban, low income schools, reading development, gender and ethnicity, reading difficulties, instruction and classroom practice, reading comprehension, literacy (instruction and theory), children's literature, educational publishing.

Chris Buttimer - L&L Master's Student Ed.M '10
When I was hired as a middle school English teacher in Cambridge, MA, I did not expect that I would have to work on fluency, decoding, and spelling with 7th and 8th graders. Even if I had anticipated this, I was completely ill-equipped to instruct students in these areas. I worked hard to piece together best practices in these areas from professional development and my own research, but the demands of teaching simply did not allow me to learn enough of what I needed to know. That said, I decided to pursue the answers to the questions which kept me up at night from the experts in the field here at HGSE. Not only have I learned about the theory behind best practices in literacy instruction, but I have also put them into practice - the true test - through my practicum in the Reading Specialist program. In addition, I have learned a lot about policy implementation from several other classes, which truly exemplifies HGSE's belief that we should be working at the “nexus of practice, policy, and research.”

Internships

L&L's Favorite Books

During Orientation Week, faculty and students talked about their favorite children's books. Below are some of the books mentioned as well as some adult favorites. Children's Books:
The Dot, Peter H. Reynolds
The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams
Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate di Camillo
Children Just Like Me: A unique celebration of children around the world, Barnabas & Anabel Kindersley
Knots on a Counting Rope, John Archambault & Ted Rand
Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak
The Missing Piece, Shel Silverstein
The Nunga Punga and the Booch, Jean Kennedy
Love That Dog, Sharon Creech
The Giving Tree, Shel Sivlerstein
Mama, Do You Love Me?, Barbara M. Joosse
The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein
The Witches, Roald Dahl
Trouble with the Fiend, Sheila Lavelle
Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis
Maniac Magee, Jerry Spinelli
Charlotte's Web, E.B. White
Robert Munsch picture books
Patricia MacLachlan books
Hush! A Thai Lullaby, Mingfong Ho.

Adult:
The Ladies' Number One Detective Agency series, Alexander McCall Smith
Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond
The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollen
Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
Dance, Dance, Dance, Haruki Murakami
Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonegut
The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
The Red Tent, Anita Diamant
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
Jane Austen novels

Life at Harvard

In addition to the formal curriculum, students at HGSE have a rich panoply of extracurricular opportunities for academic and professional development, social life, and community service. Students regularly have individual and small group conversations with national leaders in education who come to Harvard to speak in classes, to attend Harvard's executive education programs, or to consult with Harvard faculty. Informal career exploration conversations with senior administrators are scheduled throughout the year.

HGSE students can also take advantage of the extraordinarily rich offerings found throughout the Harvard University campus and the greater Boston area. For a sample of Harvard programs, see:

• the Harvard University Events Calendar
• the Harvard College Events Calendar
• KSG Today
• the Askwith Forum

Links to Harvard Square and Cambridge:

• Harvard Square
• Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Map of Harvard
• Harvard Virtual Tour

Language & Literacy Related Links

 Readings:

• Alliance 4 Education's 2005 Policy Update on Adolescent Literacy 2005 update from the Alliance 4 Education group around the literacy needs of 4th through 12th graders.
• Reading for Understanding: Toward an R&D Program in Reading Comprehension authored by the RAND Reading Study Group, and chaired by Catherine Snow, this report is an invaluable resource to both researchers and practitioners.
• Seeing Themselves as Capable and Engaged Readers: Adolescents and Re/Mediated Instruction focuses on ways to engage youthin school-related literacy activities with the aim of not only completing the task, but facilitating a positive relationship to reading and self-esteem.

Organizations:

• Massachusetts Department of Education A comprehensive resource that offers information in categories such as News, Resources & Information, Education Reform, and Educational Technology.
• National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) is a research and development center focused on adult literacy and learning issues.
• The International Reading Association (IRA) is a membership organization for literacy professionals. In addition to current topics within the field, their website contains information on professional development opportunities as well as a comprehensive list of grants offered to support professional development, graduate work and research.
• The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is a non-profit organization that focuses on the study and treatment of dyslexia. Anorganization made up of both professionals in the field and parents/individuals with dyslexia, their website is accessible to both the laymen and the expert, providing current information on educational policy issues pertaining to dyslexia as well as research and upcoming conferences in the field.
• The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is a professional membership organization that is devoted to scholarly inquiry within education. Many members of the HGSE community, faculty and students, attend or present their work at AERA's annual meeting.
• American Psychological Association (APA) style and guidelines are used when writing papers within Language and Literacy courses. Their website includes quick APA style tips.

School Districts:

• Cambridge Public Schools: Provides general information about Cambridge Public Schools and contact information for schools and administrative departments.
• Boston Public Schools: Provides general information about BPS and contact information for schools and administrative departments.
• Newton Public Schools: Provides information about Newton Public Schools and administrative departments.