The Science of Reading

(Grades K-5) / Flex Course

PDI Course Number: 138T02 / UCSD Course Number: EDUC42326

Course Description

Are you one of the many educational professionals who seek to understand the science of reading and how to put its principles into practice in your classroom? The science of reading simply means reading instruction that is based on what has been scientifically proven to work. This online course provides K-5 teachers with the perfect tools to approach reading instruction using best practices, with readers specifically putting five areas of focus together (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) in order to become successful readers. Teachers will be provided with thorough background information and research-based support for each component of reading, as backed by reading science. As they progress through this course, teachers will be introduced to a variety of best practices as they relate to the teaching and learning of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and reading comprehension. Teachers will add many tools to their already-existing schemas to help students who struggle in any of these five areas of reading. Additionally, effective research-based strategies for working with students who are learning English as an additional language and students with dyslexia are also shared. By the end of this course, teachers will feel more confident and successful in their quest to embed the science of reading practices into their own reading instruction so that all K-5 students can become better, more literate readers. This course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units/5 quarter units (50 hours of training) from University of California San Diego (UCSD) Division of Extended Studies. For detailed information on university credit, click here.

"The content was very informative to understanding the Science of Reading. Many helpful resources that can easily be used in any classroom were also available." - Jennifer Jardina