The online Master of Science in Education (MSE) in Reading program from Arkansas State University (A-State) equips educators with the knowledge and competencies to advance student reading skills in their schools. These educators play a vital role in developing student literacy and the capacity to succeed in all school subjects.
A great deal of learning today depends on literacy. Learning to understand communication, recognize written information and process the data it contains is the cornerstone of learning in any discipline. In fact, given the prevalence of modern technology, literacy — as students and teachers have traditionally understood the term — is a broader concept than it once was. Because we now process data available via media ranging from text messages to video games, digital literacy is an essential part of the modern student’s education, incorporating traditional reading skills and other critical 21st-century skills.
The Importance of Reading Skills for Overall Academic Literacy
Digital literacy and reading skills are necessary in every subject, across disciplines. Whether delving into the transcript of a speech for a history course, studying the nuances of a persuasive essay, gathering information on a mathematical theory or researching the latest discovery in quantum physics, the ability to read competently is arguably the most important tool in a student’s educational skill set.
By enrolling in A-State’s online MSE program, educators can study the importance of teaching reading to students in all subject areas, as well as methods of integrating literacy-rich educational experiences. In turn, these educators can help colleagues across content areas integrate reading and literacy instruction, strengthening the multidisciplinary approach needed to help students develop agile, transferable literacy skills.
The Multidisciplinary Approach to Reading and Literacy Instruction
A beneficial way to approach multidisciplinary reading and literacy instruction is to present content that depends on reading for its learning outcomes — especially content that engages students and motivates them to continue challenging their reading abilities. In this way, reading skills become essential in every subject, as does student motivation to stretch themselves and further their own literacy skill acquisition.
A wealth of research demonstrates correlations between strong reading proficiency and higher levels of academic performance. This suggests that developing as a reader helps improve a student’s overall ability to succeed in school, across disciplines. Given this, helping students advance their reading and literacy skills is imperative for educators in every content area.
Moreover, research links reading for pleasure with better outcomes in cognitive performance and mental well-being for adolescents. This further supports the claim that reading is important to all areas of learning, from academic achievement to social and emotional development.
Appealing to the Individual and Scaffolding Reading Instruction
Multidisciplinary reading instruction can also support differentiated and personalized learning. These instructional methods accommodate the unique learning styles of individual students to increase engagement. Students process information in different ways, so through differentiation, teachers can present information to students in a manner that best meets their learning needs.
Reading, visual presentations, lectures and tactile learning are a few examples of processing styles that help students expand upon what they already know while learning new forms of processing. Through scaffolding components of reading instruction across processing modalities, teachers can help students engage with content in a more personalized, effective way while also supporting their literacy development.
Reading skills are the cornerstone of general learning literacy, which is necessary in multidisciplinary environments — and beyond the walls of the school. Including challenging reading materials to appeal to students’ varying interests in all classes can motivate students to improve their own reading, engendering continued literacy development.
Help Students Succeed With a Master’s Degree in Reading
Clearly, reading skills are critical and beneficial for students in all areas of study. Fostering a collective, school-wide, multidisciplinary effort to improve reading and literacy instruction can have an outsized positive impact on student learning and success, in school and beyond.
The approaches to reading instruction discussed above are just a few of the many effective ways to improve literacy development across educational settings. These ideas and more are available for study in the online MSE in Reading from A-State. In this comprehensive master’s degree in reading program, teachers develop necessary skills grounded in the latest research and current best practices to help students develop their reading abilities in ways that enhance learning itself.
Learn more about A-State’s online MSE in Reading program.