Literacy Learning Cohorts

Literacy Learning Cohorts (LLC) is a professional development innovation designed to improve special education teachers' content and pedagogical knowledge for providing reading instruction to upper elementary students with learning disabilities. The LLC targets students in grades 3-5 with learning disabilities and focuses on word study (decoding and structural analysis) and fluency instruction. The intervention is delivered through a comprehensive professional development model that includes a 2-day initial institute, six monthly cohort meetings (small groups of 5-6 teachers led by expert coaches), four classroom observations with individualized coaching and video self-reflection, and resource materials including a manual and book. Teachers receive support in implementing evidence-based strategies for teaching syllable types, decoding rules for multisyllabic words, structural analysis, and fluency strategies such as repeated reading. The PD model emphasizes active learning, collective participation, content focus, sufficient duration, coherence with teachers' curriculum and goals, and individualized support based on teacher need.