The primary goal of the Language Essentials for Teaching Reading and Spelling (LETRS) project is to develop and deliver to educators, in a readily accessible and cost effective manner, research-based knowledge, methods, and sound practices for remediating and teaching reading, writing, and spelling to children and adolescents with learning disabilities and language delays. The end product will be a series of interactive, multi-media training modules that will effectively marry the best of traditional professional development methods with new and emerging information technologies. In Phase I, we identified and divided into logical sequential modules, research-based knowledge of reading development and language structure as well as sound instructional practices; we identified the strongest technologies and media for delivering the literacy intervention content and methods; we synthesized the information to design LETRS and produced a prototype training module in phonemic awareness; lastly, we proved that teachers' learning of instructional methods for phonological awareness was as good with CD-based instruction as it was with in-person instruction, but that the best combination of experiences for teachers included CD-based instruction and a facilitator. In Phase II, the LETRS design blueprint will be revised and refined reflective of the data gathered in Phase I. Using the development processes and software templates created in Phase I, seven of the learning modules for the LETRS course, to include the interactive, multimedia CD-ROMs, Internet communication technologies, facilitated sessions, and other training materials including study guides and case study materials, will be produced. The course efficacy will be tested in classroom and non-classroom by assessing teacher knowledge and classroom behaviors, and their students' performance. The primary target market includes classroom teachers at every level, reading specialists, speech/language coordinators and therapists, special education staff, and ELL/ESL specialists.
