Module EFPM321 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
EFPM321: Reading the World
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
The principal aim of this module is to enable you to develop a stronger theoretical understanding of reading and the teaching of reading. This will have a direct impact on your own pedagogical practices and a direct impact on your students’ outcomes in reading assessment and in using reading to access the curriculum. The module also aims to broaden and extend your familiarity with a wide range of literature for children.
Specifically, the module aims to:
develop your understanding of theoretical models of the reading process;
clarify the respective roles of phonics and comprehension in becoming an effective reader;
support your ability to make connections between research in reading and your own classroom practice;
develop your subject knowledge of literature written for children and young people;
enable you to understand readers’ perspectives on reading;
support your ability to manage effective classroom practice in reading.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
---|---|
Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate systematic understanding of theoretical models of the reading process; 2. identify students learning needs in reading and interpret these learning needs in order to plan, teach, assess and evaluate lessons and schemes of work which involve reading; 3. evaluate critically and analyse a wide range of books written for children and young people; |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. critically evaluate the relevance of reading research to classroom practice; 5. synthesise relevant reading research literature in support of an argument; 6. use appropriate technologies for data handling and writing in education; 7. present data and findings in a form appropriate for educational contexts; |
Personal and Key Skills | 8. manage your own learning development; 9. learn effectively and be aware of your own learning strategies; 10. express ideas and opinions, with confidence and clarity, to a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes; 11. think creatively about the main features of a given problem and develop strategies for its resolution. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
Introduction: an overview of research in reading; learning to read; the role of phonics in decoding text; the role of comprehension in reading; international reading standards.
Children’s Literature: the place of picture books in reading development; the history of literature written for children; classic children’s literature; fiction for the primary school; teen fiction; non-fiction texts; contemporary authors; reading for pleasure.
Developing Comprehension: taxonomies of comprehension skills; comprehension strategies; self-regulation; analysing students’ comprehension levels; developing comprehension skills.
Reluctant Readers: reading and motivation; understanding readers’ perspectives; gender differences in attitudes to reading; supporting reluctant readers.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
---|---|---|
33 | 267 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
---|---|---|
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 26 | 8 seminars of 3 hours each (4 Study Days): Face-to-face or online webinar, plus 2 one hour webinars |
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 7 | Workshop: Reader Exchanges (conducted online), One per week. |
Guided independent study | 32 | Fieldwork: observing childrens responses to teenage literature, and observing comprehension skills revealed in lessons |
Guided independent study | 60 | Independent Study: reading childrens literature and collation of critical evaluation of texts read |
Guided independent study | 10 | Preparation of a research proposal for the research assignment. |
Guided independent study | 40 | Data collection and analysis for research assignment |
Guided independent study | 40 | Preparation of a Powerpoint presentation with audio recorded commentary offering a critical evaluation of childrens literature |
Guided independent study | 85 | Completion of written assignment for summative assessment. Task includes further reading in relation to focus of the project, synthesis of material and drafting/redrafting the final piece of work. |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Module Dropbox for sharing resources and materials
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Development of an assessment tool to capture reading comprehension skills | 500 words | 6, 7, 9, 11 | Written feedback |
Draft design of research intervention | 1000 words | 6, 7, 11 | Written feedback |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Individual Oral presentation (Powerpoint with audio) | 40 | 15 minutes | 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 | Written feedback |
Research report | 60 | 5,000 words | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 | Written feedback |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Individual Oral presentation (Powerpoint with audio) | Individual Oral presentation (15 minutes) | 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 | 6 weeks |
Written assignment | Written assignment (5000 words) | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 | 6 weeks |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Appleyard, J.A. (1991) Becoming a Reader. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Clark, C (2013) Children's and Young People's Reading in 2012: Findings from the 2012 Annual Literacy Survey London: National Literacy Trust
Fox, G. (1995) Celebrating Children’s Literature. London: Hodder and Stoughton
Gough, P.B. and Tunmer, W.E. (1986) Decoding, reading, and reading disability. Remedial and Special Education, 7, 6-10.
Harrison, C. (2004) Understanding Reading Development. London: Sage
International Reading Association (2007) Reading Well: A Synthesis of the International Reading Association's Research on Teacher Preparation for Reading Instruction. Newark, DE: Author.
NSW Teaching Comprehension Strategies http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/literacy/assets/pdf/packages/combook.pdf
Snow, C., Griffin, P. and Burns, M.C. (2007) Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading. San Francisco: Jossey Bass
Stainthorp, R. and Stuart, M. (2008) The simple view of reading and evidence based practice. Evidence to UCET ITE Committee http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=the+simple+view+of+reading&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a
Stuart, M., Stainthorp, R. and Snowling, M. (2008) Literacy as a complex activity: deconstructing the simple view of reading. Literacy, 42, 59-66.
Thomson, J.M. and Goswami, U. (2010) Learning novel phonological representations in developmental dyslexia: Associations with basic auditory processing of rise time and phonological awareness. Reading & Writing, 23, 453-69.
Torgerson, C. Brooks, G. and Hall, J. (2006) A Systematic Review of the Research Literature on the Use of Phonics in the Teaching of Reading and Spelling. London: DfES Research Report 711
Wyse, D. and Goswami, U. (2008) Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading. British Educational Research Journal, 34: 691–710.