Microcourse 1: The Science of Word Reading: Assessment and Instruction for Early Literacy

Microcourse 1: The Science of Word Reading: Assessment and Instruction for Early Literacy

This microcourse emphasizes the foundational science of word recognition, exploring key components such as phonological awareness, phonics, decoding, and sight word recognition.

This is Microcourse 1 of a three part microcredential that provides a research-backed, practical approach to early literacy instruction with focused training in word reading, fluency development, and responsive coaching. Microcourses 1 and 2 may be taken individually; microcourse 3 requires completion of microcourse 2. Badges and certificates of participation will be given for completion of each microcourse. To earn the microcredential, learners must complete all three microcourses. There will be a $125 fee for each microcourse, or $325 for all three microcourses.

Click here to learn more about the Full Microcredential

Learning Objectives

• Define the key components of word recognition (phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, phonics knowledge, decoding skill, and recognition of words at sight).
• Use various assessment tools to identify students' word recognition strengths and instructional needs.
• Triangulate assessment data from phonemic awareness, letter-sound knowledge, and phonic decoding measures to create targeted instructional plans.
• Implement phonemic awareness instruction that explicitly connects sounds to graphemes to support decoding development.
• Design sequential small group instruction that systematically builds accuracy and automaticity of targeted phonics skills.
• Integrate isolated word practice with connected text reading using appropriate decodable texts.
• Explain how word recognition skills connect to other reading processes within a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction.

Registration

Format:  Asynchronous Online Microcourse

Price:  $125

For more information, questions or to register:  Email tcacademy@tc.columbia.edu

Please Note: This microcourse will have rolling registration and will be closing in January. Once registration is completed, learners will have until January 2026 to complete their microcourse.