Course Sequence
Note: Click on underlined course names below to view course syllabus.

• EDUC 615X - Practitioner Research (Spring 03) - Practitioner Research is an extension of what all good practitioners (teachers, administrators, curriculum specialists, materials developers, teacher educators) do--that is, they critically examine their practice, make changes based on what they find out and talk to others (formally and informally) about what they’ve learned. The purpose of the research project is to better understand how learning occurs in students’ classrooms.
  
  
• SPAN 397A - Intensive Elementary Spanish: Sheltered Immersion Theory & Techniques (Summer 03)
  
  
• EDUC 697P / 616 - Principles of Second Language Acquisition (Fall 03) - The purpose of this course is to support students in constructing a highly informed, explicit theory of classroom based language learning as it relates to supporting academic development and the teacher research projects developed under the direction of Dr. Willett. The central vehicle for building this framework and exploring research questions will be an in-depth analysis of students’ learning using digital video and audio recordings of interactions that take place in students’ classrooms.
  
  
• EDUC 684 / 697F - Reading, Writing, Language, & Thinking (Spring 04) - The purpose of this course is to provide beginning and experienced teachers with a forum for researching how their classroom practices support and/or constrain the literacy development of second language learners, specifically students’ ability to produce and interpret academic texts in a critical way.
  
  
• SPAN 497X – Intensive Spanish: Families and Community, Part 1 (Spring 04)
  
  
• EDUC 697TT / 650 – Teaching Content for Language Development (Fall 04) - Having something meaningful to think, talk, read, and write about is the catalyst for language development. Conversely, richly developed language is the foundation for thinking, talking and writing about important and meaningful content. This course will focus on developing and adapting curriculum to support language development through meaningful and worthwhile content. The essential question that will guide this course is: How can we design curriculum, classroom practices to simultaneously develop the language and content knowledge necessary to meet the goals of students, the expectations of their families and community, and the expectations of the broader society?
  
  
• EDUC 784 - Multicultural Children’s Literature (Spring 05) - The purpose of this course is to use children’s literature (K-8) that focuses on the Puerto Rican and Latino communities to explore the historical, philosophical, sociocultural, sociopolitical, and pedagogical foundations of multicultural education. Children’s literature will be used throughout the course as a way to understand the Puerto Rican experience in the United States, as a model for incorporating issues of language, culture, and power into the curriculum, and as a way to reach out to the community.
  
  
• EDUC 670 – Language and Language Learning (Spring 05) - In our everyday practices, we all define language in different ways. Our conceptualization, or what might be called our “theories,” whether derived from personal experiences or from reading books and articles, shape the kinds of learning opportunities we provide our ELL students and are therefore highly consequential to the academic trajectories of our students. For this reason, this course is intended as an introduction to a perspective on language called: functional linguistics. This course will support an understanding of how such perspectives on language can help to scaffold students’ academic achievement.
  
  
• EDUC 611 – L1 & L2 Language & Literacy Assessment, Testing & Evaluation (Fall 05) - This course is designed as an introduction to the field of testing, assessment and evaluation in language and literacy education. We will specifically examine these issues for teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students in classroom settings that range from K-12.
  
  
• EDUC 687 – L1 & L2 Language Development & Literacy (Spring 06) - This course covers the topic of reading and reading instruction through the lens of first and second language development. We will specifically examine early reading and language development and support as applied to teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students in classroom settings. In addition, we will compare and contrast first and second language acquisition at different levels of development.
  
  
• EDUC 500L (Spring 06) - Student Teaching ESL
  
  and / or
  
  
• EDUC 783 – Diagnosis of Reading Difficulties (Spring 06) - This course is designed for graduate students who are seeking licensure in the LLC Practitioner Concentration, particularly for those seeking Massachusetts certification as a Reading Specialist. This course is designed to prepare course participants for the role of the building literacy specialist who supports classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators in the improvement of reading, writing, and language instruction, including consultation techniques and professional development. It also supports participants in completing requirements for the practicum, EDUC 698R.
  
  and / or    EDUC 698R (Spring 06) - Reading Practicum
  
  

Sample Course Schedules

• EDUC 697P / 616 - Principles of Second Language Acquisition (Fall 03)