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EDST 498L: Teaching Literacy: Strategies that Work
July 25 – August 11 (Tuesday to friday) | 1:00 P.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Format: Online – synchronously (1 to 1:45 p.m.) and asynchronously
In the BC curriculum, literacy refers to a student’s ability to understand and make meaning from text, while deepening their understanding of themselves and the world around them. This course is designed for middle and high school teachers who want to incorporate literacy strategies into their everyday practice. This course explores different aspects of literacy instruction and guides teachers towards how to effectively implement it within their classrooms. Research-based methodologies will be used as the basis for the class to participate in readings, discussions, reflections, and creations of lessons that can be incorporated into any classroom.
The main objectives of this course are to help teachers understand the importance of explicitly teaching literacy, and to feel comfortable implementing literacy strategies into their practice, regardless of what course they are instructing. Class time will focus on different facets of literacy instruction, including strategies for teaching literacy remotely. Students will explore topics such as digital literacy, fluency development and course-specific vocabulary instruction, as well as ways to improve literacy for ELL and other learners who are not meeting grade-level reading expectations. Additionally, students in this course will learn how to appropriately incorporate Indigenous text into their teaching.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- understand why literacy is the foundation for strong learners.
- create lesson activities that explicitly target literacy development.
- use appropriate literacy assessment.
- incorporate strategies in their lessons to reach struggling readers
- use online platforms to authentically teach literacy remotely
- know how to respectfully introduce Indigenous content into their classroom
Jennifer St Jean
Jennifer St Jean (MEd, BEd, BA) has been a middle school Humanities teacher in Kelowna since 2010. She is a curriculum and assessment leader at her school, and also works as a literacy consultant for the BC Ministry of Education. Developing strong fluency and literacy skills in students is a passion of Jennifer’s and she’s excited to have an opportunity to teach and learn from other educators during the 2023 Summer Institute Session. In 2020, Jennifer completed her graduate project on engaging students during remote and hybrid learning, and she’s looking forward to applying those same teaching strategies to her EDST 498class this summer.
How to register
This course is limited to Bachelor of Education, OSE graduate students and practicing educators only.
To register for courses, please visit the Student Information Service Centre (SISC).
Register for Term two (July/August) courses via the Student Information Service Centre (SISC).
If you are looking to transfer a course into UBC Vancouver, or another institution, please confirm transfer credit will be approved prior to registering for a UBC Okanagan course.
*It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the course is accepted towards the completion of a program.
Register for Term two (July/August) courses via the Student Information Service Centre (SISC). You must have current Summer registration eligibility. If not, please email sie.education@ubc.ca.
If you are looking to transfer a course into UBC Vancouver, or another institution, please confirm approval of transfer credit prior to registration.
*It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the course is accepted towards the completion of a program.
To register for a course, you will first need to submit an online application via Education Planner BC portal.
- Sign up for your EducationPlannerBC Account and follow the instructions to complete your applicant profile.
- Select University of British Columbia as the institution you want to apply to
- Select the upcoming Winter Session: September – December
- Select “Access Studies”
- Under “Access Studies” section, indicate that your program of interest is the Okanagan School of Education’s Summer Institute in Education Summer Session May – August.
- Once all necessary fields are filled in, click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page.
- You will be prompted to review your EPBC application and pay an application fee.
Once you have paid the application fee, email nondegree.ok@ubc.ca if you want UBC to process it quicker. If not, it will take three to five business days for UBC to admit you.
Please contact sie.education@ubc.ca with your UBC student number and courses of interest.