Reading and Language Development

Reading and Language Development Program

The Reading and Language Development Program equips educators with the knowledge and skills to bring the science of reading to life in classrooms. Grounded in the latest research on reading acquisition and disorders—including dyslexia—the program prepares candidates to implement evidence-based practices that lead to measurable improvements in student outcomes.

Designed for educators seeking a cutting-edge, practice-based graduate experience, the program emphasizes Structured Literacy™ and other high-leverage instructional approaches proven effective for diverse learners. Through integrated coursework and practicum experiences, candidates build deep expertise in core, intervention, and remedial instruction, spanning Grades 1–12.

Candidates receive intensive training in the identification and remediation of reading and writing difficulties, including dyslexia, and are prepared to support and lead within multidisciplinary teams. The curriculum aligns with state and national policy priorities and reflects current best practices in both instruction and literacy leadership.

A hallmark of the program is its partnership with Wilson Language Training, offering candidates the opportunity to earn Wilson Level I Certification—a highly respected credential in the field of reading intervention.

Our program fosters a community of reflective, collaborative, and research-informed practitioners committed to advancing literacy for all students.

RLDV 5486  Foundations of Language and Literacy: Principles and Practices of Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction  3 Credits  
This course examines the foundational concepts, theories, and empirical research explaining how oral language supports the development of accurate and fluent word reading. Candidates analyze the relationships among phonological, orthographic, and morphological systems and their collective role in shaping word recognition, decoding, and spelling development. Key topics include phonological and phonemic awareness, the alphabetic principle, orthographic mapping, and reading fluency. Emphasis is placed on understanding how these skills interact during reading acquisition and how weaknesses in each area contribute to reading difficulties and dyslexia. Candidates learn to interpret data from state-approved and research-based assessments and to select and implement evidence-based instructional routines that strengthen decoding, word recognition, and fluency for beginning and struggling readers. Cross-listed with SPED 5486.
RLDV 5487  Developmental Literacy II: Essentials of Vocabulary and Text Comprehension  3 Credits  
This course addresses the foundational concepts, theories, empirical research, and developmental milestones associated with oral and written language. This course focuses on the development of essential comprehension strand reading skills (fluency, vocabulary, comprehension), as well as aspects of cognition and behavior that affect reading and writing. Candidates learn how to administer, score, and interpret universal screening and informal diagnostic measures in the areas of vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency for the purposes of determining the most appropriate starting point for instruction and planning differentiated instructional groups. Candidates also learn how to select and deliver varied research-based instructional strategies and routines to develop students' reading skills in the areas of vocabulary and comprehension. Crosslisted with SPED 5487.
RLDV 5488  Collaborative Approaches to Disciplinary Literary Instruction  3 Credits  
This course prepares candidates to collaborate with classroom teachers to plan and deliver evidence-based disciplinary literacy instruction that supports diverse learners, including students at risk for and with learning and language-based disabilities. Candidates apply evidence-based instructional practices, strategies, and routines to strengthen the comprehension strand of reading, including vocabulary, background knowledge, syntax, text structure, and written expression, within content-area instruction across grade levels. Emphasis is placed on co-planning, co-teaching, and progress-monitoring practices that embed explicit comprehension, vocabulary, and writing routines into mathematics, science, social studies, and English language arts classrooms. Candidates learn to adapt instruction based on diagnostic and formative data, promote accessibility for multilingual learners and students with disabilities, and foster a shared professional responsibility for equitable literacy outcomes across disciplines.
RLDV 5489  Principles and Practices of Structured Literacy  3 Credits  
This course introduces candidates to the principles and practices of Structured Literacy and prepares candidates to deliver reading and writing instruction from a systematic, explicit orientation. In this hands-on class, candidates are introduced to high-impact instructional routines, student-centered activities, and lesson planning and delivery conventions aligned with the essential components of reading. Crosslisted with SPED 5489.
RLDV 5583  Tests, Measurement, and Diagnostic Procedures for Educational and Instructional Decision-Makingc  3 Credits  
This course introduces candidates to the principles and practices of tests and measurement as applied to comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluations in general and special education. Candidates study the types and purposes of assessment, including universal screeners, progress-monitoring tools, standardized tests, curriculum-based measures, and diagnostic assessments of cognitive, academic, and behavioral functioning. Emphasis is placed on the foundations of test construction, administration, scoring, and interpretation, with attention to reliability, validity, standardization, scaling, and fairness. Through applied practice, candidates learn to administer, score, and interpret a wide range of assessments to support diagnostic decision-making, eligibility determinations, and instructional planning within multi-tiered systems of support (RTI/MTSS) and special education.  Cross-listed with SPED 6561  .
RLDV 5584  Guided Reflective Practice in Tier I Reading and Language Arts Programming  3 Credits  
This course presents an overview of varied research-based instructional approaches and materials to use in designing and delivering an integrated, comprehensive, and balanced evidence-based reading and writing curriculum. Candidates are provided with the opportunity to explore varied instructional approaches, materials, texts, and classroom routines, and their use in creating a literate environment that fosters reading and writing for diverse student populations. Media consent and fingerprinting required.
RLDV 5585  Curriculum and Methods for Diverse Learners  3 Credits  
This course examines curriculum as the organized framework of standards, content, instructional methods, materials, and assessments that guide teaching and learning across academic domains, including Language Arts and Math. Candidates learn how to evaluate instructional programs and materials for alignment with research-based and High Leverage Practices, and to modify curriculum, as needed, to address students’ unique learning needs. Candidates are taught to develop systematic and explicit lessons that reflect the gradual release model, and how to select and implement accommodations and modifications that promote access and expression for diverse learners in remedial, inclusive, and special education settings .   Cross-listed with SPED 6537.
RLDV 6503  Research and Evaluation in Multidisciplinary Contexts  3 Credits  
This course examines methods of empirical research and measurement, the role of descriptive and inferential statistics in data assessment, and critical analyses of effective quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research approaches. Topics will include: evaluation of current research studies and implications for professional practice, types of assessments (i.e. traditional print and electronic), data for general education teachers and a diversified student population, and the skills needed for effective data-based decision making and sharing of results. Crosslisted with EDTC 6503.
RLDV 6530  Content Language & Reading Acquisition for English Language Learners and Students with Special Needs  3 Credits  
This course develops literacy leadership skills to train others and foundational reading skills to be better prepared to teach K-12 students to learn how to read. This course is designed for candidates to learn about the developmental learning needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students, exceptional learners, and bilingual students with special needs, and promotes working in collaborative data teams. The course also explores the similarities and differences between bilingual/TESOL students and students with special needs with a focus on reading skills development (e.g. phonology, morphology, orthography, syntax) and instructional strategies that all teachers can use in their classrooms to support reading development in all students. Crosslisted with TSLA 6530.
RLDV 6575  Wilson Reading: Developmental Literacy Remediation Practices for Students in Grades 3+  1 Credit  
This course examines reading research and the five essential components of reading in relation to students in Grade 3+ with persistent phonological coding deficits. Candidates will learn about the principles and practices of Structured Literacy and multi-sensory language instruction through study of the Wilson Reading System (WRS), including student identification and placement, program implementation, progress monitoring, scheduling, creating a successful classroom environment, principles of language structure, and how to teach language with direct, multi-sensory methods. This course is offered online. Crosslisted with SPED 6575.
RLDV 6576  Wilson Reading: Intensive Instruction I for the Non-Responsive Reader, Steps 1-6  3 Credits  
Corequisite(s): RLDV 6577.  
Prerequisite(s): RLDV 6575.  
This course presents in detail how the principles and practices of multi-sensory, structured language instruction are applied to support the remedial reading needs of students with word-level deficits in Grades 3+ who have not adequately responded to intervention. This course features practical application of reading research, with particular emphasis on phonological awareness, phonics and spelling at the beginning levels of decoding and encoding. It also provided specific procedures to teach the following syllable types: closed, vowel-consonant-e, open, and consonant-le. The course includes additional topics on diagnostic teaching and differentiating instruction, program pacing, high frequency word instruction, vocabulary instruction, fluency instruction, dyslexia, listening and reading comprehension strategies, use of differentiated texts, and handwriting. Candidates explore the above in relation to Steps 1-6 of the Wilson Reading System (WRS). This course is offered online. Crosslisted with SPED 6576.
RLDV 6577  Wilson Reading: Practicum I for the Non-Responsive Reader in Grades 3+, Steps 1-6  1.5-3 Credits  
Corequisite(s): RLDV 6576.  
Prerequisite(s): RLDV 6575.  
This supervised practicum experience prepares candidates to effectively implement a multi-sensory structured language reading program with students in Grades 3-12 that present with significant word-level reading and spelling deficits, including those diagnosed with a language-based learning disability or dyslexia. Candidates will acquire a sophisticated working knowledge of the sound-symbol system of English (phonology) and its structure (morphology) as well as the use of specific diagnostic methods in teaching reading and spelling. This Wilson Reading System Steps 1-6 web-based practicum is supervised by a Wilson Credentialed Trainer. This course is offered online. Crosslisted with SPED 6577.
RLDV 6578  Wilson Reading: Intensive Instruction II for the Non-Responsive Reader, Steps 1-6  3 Credits  
Corequisite(s): RLDV 6579.  
Prerequisite(s): RLDV 6576.  
This course is a continuation of RLD 0576 and presents in detail how the principles and practices of multi-sensory structured language instruction are applied to support the remedial reading needs of students with word-level deficits in Grades 3+ who have not adequately responded to intervention. This course features practical application of reading research, and expands upon the topics of phonological awareness, phonics and spelling at the beginning levels of decoding and encoding. It also provides additional opportunities to refine procedural skill associated with teaching the following syllable types: closed, vowel-consonant-e, open, and consonant-le. The course includes additional topics on diagnostic teaching and differentiating instruction, program pacing, high frequency word instruction, vocabulary instruction, fluency instruction, dyslexia, listening and reading comprehension strategies, use of differentiated texts, and handwriting. Candidates explore the above in relation to Steps 1-6 of the Wilson Reading System (WRS). This course is offered online. Crosslisted with SPED 6578.
RLDV 6579  Wilson Reading: Practicum II for the Non-Responsive Reader in Grades 3+, Steps 1-6  1.5-3 Credits  
Corequisite(s): RLDV 6578.  
Prerequisite(s): RLDV 6576.  
This supervised practicum experience is a continuation of RLDV 6577 and prepares candidates to effectively implement a multi-sensory structured language reading program with students in Grades 3-12 that present with significant word-level reading and spelling deficits, including those diagnosed with a language-based learning disability or dyslexia. Candidates will acquire a sophisticated working knowledge of the sound-symbol system of English (phonology) and its structure (morphology) as well as the use of specific diagnostic methods in teaching reading and spelling. This Wilson Reading System Steps 1-6 web-based practicum is supervised by a Wilson Credentialed Trainer. This course is offered online. Crosslisted with SPED 6579.
RLDV 6586  Practicum in the Diagnosis and Remediation of Reading and Writing Disabilities  3 Credits  
This advanced clinical practicum prepares candidates to conduct comprehensive diagnostic evaluations and to design evidence-based intervention plans for students with reading and written language disabilities, including dyslexia and related learning disorders. Under close faculty supervision, candidates administer, score, analyze, and interpret a range of individually administered diagnostic instruments assessing decoding, fluency, comprehension, spelling, written expression, and the underlying cognitive and linguistic processes that support literacy development. Each candidate evaluates one student in Grades​​ 1–12 referred for reading or writing assessment and produces a professional, integrative case report. The final diagnostic report and parent presentation address referral questions related to differential diagnosis and educational programming, include sample IEP goals and objectives, and offer instructional, environmental, and assistive-technology recommendations for consideration by the student’s educational team.
RLDV 6900  Special Topics (Shell)  1.5-3 Credits  
This course explores advanced topics in the field of reading and language development. Topics vary each semester and are determined by the faculty as a reflection of pertinent themes of interest in the field.
RLDV 6951  Supervised Practicum in Structured Literacy and Dyslexia Intervention  3-6 Credits  
Prerequisite(s): Instructor Permission.  
This supervised clinical practicum provides candidates with an intensive opportunity to apply a diagnostic-prescriptive approach to planning, implementing, and evaluating the efficacy of intensive, individualized reading and writing interventions for students with profiles characteristic of, or diagnoses of, dyslexia. Candidates conduct a literacy screening assessment and collaborate with faculty to develop an individualized instructional plan and progress-monitoring framework aligned to each student’s strengths and areas of need, design an instructional scope and sequence, set measurable practicum goals, and implement a series of diagnostic-prescriptive lessons that explicitly address phonological awareness, decoding, spelling, fluency, comprehension, and written expression using evidence-based reading and writing practices, strategies, and routines.  Candidates maintain detailed lesson records, monitor student progress using curriculum-based and diagnostic measures, and adjust instruction based on data trends. Faculty provide remote supervision and individualized feedback through scheduled video observations and conferencing sessions. The practicum culminates in a formal case presentation in which candidates synthesize assessment data, document student growth, and articulate recommendations and sample IEP goals and objectives for continued intervention. Crosslisted with SPED 6951.
RLDV 6952  Clinical Practicum: Structured Literacy Applications with Peer Coaching Elements  3-6 Credits  
Prerequisite(s): RLDV 6951.  
Candidates in this course apply their knowledge of assessment and structured literacy remediation practices to plan, deliver, monitor, and evaluate the impact of 1:1 remedial reading interventions provided to an approved student in the context of a supervised off-site clinical practicum experience and engage in a series of coaching observation and feedback cycles with an assigned peer. A remote practicum supervision and coaching platform is utilized.
RLDV 6990  Independent Study  1-3 Credits  
This course is available to candidates who are slated to graduate but have an outstanding required course that is not scheduled to be offered during the present term, and to candidates who wish to pursue focused study in an area associated with remedial reading that is not offered through the RLD program or through the broader Fairfield University curriculum. Enrollment by permission only.
RLDV 6999  Capstone Seminar: Designing, Implementing, and Leading the School Literacy Intervention Program  3 Credits  
Candidates will learn the essential components of a classroom environment that support and promote literacy development with a focus on planning instruction for K-6th graders in the school reading and language arts program. There will be a particular emphasis on children who are experiencing difficulties in developing literacy, addressing the special needs of diverse learners. Students will also learn how to facilitate meetings with a literacy focus including grade-level literacy team meetings, literacy leadership meetings, data team meetings, data analysis, and RTI meetings. This course will also support students' ability to design and deliver literacy-focused professional development workshops.