Critical Literacy Strategies for Learners Who Are Easily Bored (PD+)

Critical Literacy Strategies for Learners Who Are Easily Bored is designed for K–12 teachers and administrators seeking to increase student engagement, strengthen literacy instruction, and improve academic outcomes through critical literacy practices. The course examines the foundational principles of critical literacy and its role in fostering critical thinking, student voice, and meaningful learning experiences for learners who may struggle with motivation, attention, or traditional instructional methods. Through the analysis of scholarly resources, instructional models, and student engagement data, participants will explore how critical literacy supports equitable, student-centered instruction across diverse educational settings.

Emphasizing applied learning and classroom implementation, participants will design, adapt, and evaluate instructional strategies such as Literature Circles, Socratic Seminars, and Inquiry-Based Projects to meet the needs of diverse learners and instructional contexts. Educators will revise lesson plans, develop inquiry-driven literacy activities, create reflective self-assessment tools, and use data-informed evaluation frameworks to assess the effectiveness of instructional practices and make continuous improvements. By the end of the course, participants will be prepared to implement engaging, research-based critical literacy strategies that promote metacognition, collaboration, student engagement, and academic success in K–12 classrooms.

Enrollment, Delivery, and Completion Information 

• EDUC 5598PLinks to an external site. : Critical Literacy Strategies for Learners Who Are Easily Bored
• Credits: 1.5 semester credit hour (letter grade A-F)
• Enrollment Type: Open enrollment with self-registration
• Completion Timeframe: 120 days from the date of enrollment
• Delivery Format: Fully online
• Purpose: K-12 professional development recertification requirements
  
  

Recertification and Professional Advancement Statement

Successful completion of this course results in a letter grade and semester credit hour from Idaho State University. As a graduate 5000-level course aligned to Idaho State University’s Graduate Catalog EDUC 5598PLinks to an external site., the course includes engagement with a faculty member and a K–12 practitioner and is designed to support professional learning and implementation in educational settings. Learners enroll as non-matriculated students, and earned grades and semester credits are recorded on an ISU non-academic transcript endorsed by the university Registrar. Applicability of this course toward K–12 teacher license renewal, recertification, salary lane advancement, or other professional advancement is determined by the relevant state board of education, licensing authority, school district, human resources office, collective bargaining agreement, or other approving entity.

Student Expectations

To earn semester credit and a letter grade in this course, students must complete the course in full and engage at the level of rigor expected in a university course. The course includes academically engaged learning through readings, lectures, videos, discussions, applied activities, assignments, and assessments. Successful completion requires consistent participation and satisfactory performance on graded coursework.

Students must:

• Spend the time necessary to complete all assigned learning materials, activities, assignments, and assessments in support of the course learning outcomes
• Demonstrate thoughtful and substantive engagement by applying course knowledge through high-quality, timely work that produces practical strategies, tools, resources, or artifacts ready for use in educational settings
• Engage with instructor feedback, where applicable
• Successfully complete all graded requirements necessary to earn semester credit and a final letter grade

Required Materials and Technology

Students must have regular access to a reliable laptop or desktop computer capable of loading and running standard software.

The computer must support word processing, presentation tools, file downloads and uploads, data review, and multimedia tasks such as viewing videos, recording audio or video, and participating in web conferencing.

The learning management system supports mobile devices, but mobile access should be considered supplemental only. Mobile devices may limit a student’s ability to complete assignments successfully, particularly those involving file handling, multimedia creation, lesson plan development, or other course activities.

An up-to-date browser on any computer or device is required, along with a reliable internet connection.

General Technology Hardware for Online/Hybrid Courses - ISU Help DeskLinks to an external site.

No textbook purchase is required for this course.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:

1. Analyze the principles of critical literacy through course resources and instructional approaches to explain its role in enhancing student engagement, critical thinking, and academic success.
2. Use student engagement data to develop targeted critical literacy strategies that address identified literacy needs and support diverse learners.
3. Design critical literacy instructional strategies, including (1) Literature Circle, (1) Socratic Seminar, and (1) Inquiry-Based Project, to meet the needs of diverse learners and instructional contexts.
4. Develop reflective, student-centered practices that promote metacognition, self-assessment, and continuous improvement within critical literacy instruction.

Course Deliverables & Takeaways

Learner Developed

• Critical Literacy Implementation Portfolio: Cumulative portfolio that includes a collection of practical, classroom-ready materials designed to help engage learners who are easily bored through meaningful, critical literacy practices. 
• Visualizing Critical Literacy Instructional Routines: Visual instructional routine that uses a selected critical literacy strategy that aligns with a specific student need in the classroom. 
• Designing Discussion Prompt Cards: Discussion prompt cards that promote deep, meaningful conversation in literature circles that encourage critical thinking, student interaction and rich dialogue.

Course Provided

• Code-meshing and Dual Drafting: Instructional guide designed to support educators in implementing code-meshing and dual drafting strategies. 
• Critical Literacy Strategy Routines and Framework Guide: Explicit, step-by-step instructional routines for implementing key critical literacy strategies aligned with a data-driven decision-making framework. 
• Literature Circle Script - Discussion Quality in Action: An example literature circle script that can be used to model high quality discussions. 
• Student Survey - Literature Circle Preferences and Perspectives: Student survey designed to identify student preference and perspective to increase engagement, voice and student-buy in for literature circles. 
• Socratic Seminar Norms - Thinking, Participation and Inclusion: Document with 12 “norms” that facilitate thinking, participation and inclusion within socratic seminars. 
• Socratic Seminar Inclusion Toolkit for Neurodivergent and Anxious Learners: Toolkit with 14 strategies that can be used to reinforce safety, gradual participation, and rigor without exclusion in socratic seminars. 
• Implementing an Inquiry-Based Project from Start to Finish: Guide that provides a detailed, step-by-step roadmap for educators to design and implement inquiry-based projects for any content area. 
• Companion Toolkit: Toolkit that helps students track their thinking over time during reading, discussion and analysis.
• My Thinking Playlist: Digital reflection notebook template.
• Normalizing Uncertainty in Critical Literacy: Outline of strategies on how to normalize uncertainty and support critical literacy strategies across K12 settings. 
• Feedback Template and Weekly Schedule: Feedback tracker template with preloaded functions and a weekly feedback schedule template adaptable for elementary, middle and high school classrooms. 
• Belief Mapping Toolkit: Toolkit to support educators in intentionally planning a belief mapping routine prior to instruction.

Units

Assignments and Grading

As a credit-bearing course, grading emphasizes knowledge acquisition, meaningful engagement, and the development of practical tools and artifacts that can be implemented in real educational settings.

Final Artifact– 100%

Create a professional-quality implementation artifact that demonstrates your understanding of the course content and your ability to apply it in practice. The final artifact should synthesize learning across all units and result in a comprehensive toolkit, plan, framework, resource set, or other professional-grade product that is ready to use in your educational setting. The project should reflect both knowledge mastery and practical application and be appropriate for use by a K–12 teacher or administrator.

Projects are assessed for clarity, accuracy, depth of understanding, alignment with course concepts, professional quality, and readiness for implementation in an educational setting. Final submissions should demonstrate the level of rigor expected of university coursework and be suitable for review in professional or accreditation contexts

Projects are assessed on clarity, accuracy, connection to course concepts, and appropriateness for course level.

Grading Scale: ISU grading policyLinks to an external site.

• A = 90–100%
• B = 80–89%
• C = 70–79% 
• D = 60–69%
• F = below 60%

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to follow institutional policies on academic honestyLinks to an external site.. Plagiarism, cheating, or misrepresentation of work undermines learning and will result in appropriate consequences as defined by university policy. If you are unsure whether something is acceptable, ask before submitting work.

Accessibility and Disability Services

The university is committed to providing an accessible learning environment. If you have a documented disability and need accommodations, contact the Disability Services office Links to an external site.as early as possible to ensure that reasonable accommodations can be arranged. Students without documentation who believe they may have a disability or learning difference are encouraged to consult Disability Services about evaluation options and campus resources.

Classroom Climate and Respect

This course addresses topics related to disability, learning differences, and personal experiences. Students are expected to maintain a respectful, supportive environment, keep classmates’ stories confidential, and listen with openness and empathy. Disagreement is normal, but it should be expressed respectfully.