Graduate Certificate Program in Evidence-Based Reading Instruction and Intervention (RIIC)

This online (asynchronous and partially synchronous) Graduate Certificate Program in Evidence-based Reading Instruction and Intervention prepares education professionals (e.g., reading interventionists, tutors, elementary teachers, reading coordinators, special education teachers, secondary teachers, district curriculum supervisors, and others) to identify and effectively deliver science-based reading instruction to address the academic needs of diverse K-12 learners. Students who complete this certificate will learn about how children learn to read and why some have difficulty. They will practice implementing essential elements and principles of effective reading instruction that have been shown to improve reading skills and support literacy development. They will learn to apply data-based decision making grounded in a comprehensive assessment system to support all learners (including those with educational disabilities like dyslexia) within a multi-tiered systems of support.

Admission criteria:

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
An overall grade point average of at least 3.0 during undergraduate work.
A 250-word statement of purpose indicating why you have chosen this program and what you hope to accomplish.
Three letters of recommendation

SPLS Graduate Faculty:

Meagan Walsh (SPED)
Laura Tieichert (LS)
Kate Connor (SPED)
Elizabeth Isidro (LS)
Jennifer Lennon (LS)
Wendy O’Connor (LS)

Required Courses (a minimum of 12 hours):

LS 6180 - Literacy Acquisition and Instruction Credits: 3 hours
SPED 5340 - Evidence Based Interventions I: Foundations of Reading, Written Language and Content Areas Credits: 3 hours
SPED 6200 - Advanced Assessment in Schools Credits: 3 hours
OR
SPED 5330 - Introduction to Assessment and Data-Based Decision Making in Special Education Credits: 3 hours
(Students who have already completed a Master’s Degree in Special Education can take SPED 6200, all others should take SPED 5330.)
LS 6240 - Reading and Writing Assessment and Effective Instruction Credits: 3 hours

Student Learning Outcomes

Program candidates demonstrate knowledge of typical and atypical reading development, characteristics of dyslexia and other educational disabilities, and essential instructional practices that support reading skill and literacy development.
Program Candidates demonstrate the ability to provide scientifically-based reading instruction in phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Program candidates demonstrate skills related to utilizing universal screening data to identify students at risk for reading difficulty, developing individualized reading intervention plans, selecting and utilizing valid and reliable progress monitoring measures, and implementing data-based individualization to adapt instruction based on data.
Program candidates demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support to address the needs of diverse k-12 students demonstrating reading difficulty.