Program Overview

In this course, you will explore the fundamentals of continuous improvement with a specific focus on enhancing literacy practices within your classroom or school. Through guided inquiry, you’ll examine your current literacy system to identify areas of strength and opportunities for growth. A key component of the course involves selecting a specific problem of practice—a recurring challenge or gap in student learning—and applying a structured improvement process to address it. Using the PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) cycle, you’ll design, implement, and evaluate a targeted intervention aimed at improving one aspect of your literacy system. Throughout the course, you will also learn how to collect and analyze meaningful data, using at least one key data measure to inform your decisions and monitor progress. By the end of the course, you'll gain practical experience with a powerful improvement framework and be better equipped to lead sustainable, data-driven change in literacy instruction.

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At a Glance

Extended Education
Approximately 15 hours
Up to 6 months to complete coursework
1 PDU
Graduate Level Professional Development Credit
$150
Key Features

Online and self-paced  |  Dedicated mentor  |  Interactive assignments
Real-world case studies  |  Earn graduate-level professional development credits

Upon successful mastery of this course, you will be able to: 
  • Explain continuous improvement and how it can help improve literacy in classrooms and schools.
  • Demonstrate how to investigate a classroom system through a  literacy lens.
  • Determine a problem in a system of literacy.
  • Define an Aim statement in order to implement change ideas.
  • Explain the parts of a PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) cycle and how to use it to improve literacy.
Course Topics:
  • Improving Literacy in Classrooms
  • Investigating a Classroom System Through a Literacy Lens
  • Determining a Problem in a System of Literacy
  • Defining an Aim Statement to Implement Change Ideas
  • Using the PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) Cycle to Improve Literacy

This course is part of the 5-course "Comprehensive Literacy State Development" grant program. Educators can enroll in a single course or up to all 7 courses at no cost using the same “REGISTER NOW” button above.

  • Basic Tools For Continuous Improvement in Literacy
  • Using Culturally Diverse Texts
  • Developing Community Literacy Access
  • Parent and Family Partnerships
  • Language Development to Support Literacy
  • Standards Aligned Conferring With Readers in Grades 6-12
  • Setting up and Implementing Effective Book Clubs Grades 6-12  

Who Should Enroll? 6-12th grade teachers, teacher candidates, school administrators, para-educators

Earn your credit in 3 simple steps
 

Step 1 Register online at no cost.

Step 2 Complete the course.

Step 3 Receive credits and obtain an official transcript.

Resources

Syllabus

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What are Graduate-level Professional Development Credits?

Graduate-level professional development credits are not part of a degree program but instead are primarily used for professional advancement such as salary increment steps and recertification. Students should seek approval from appropriate district officials before enrolling in these courses.

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