Who should enroll?
Educators in all capacities, parents, psychologists, private practitioners, SLPs, advocates, district staff, school staff, etc.
An Introduction to Structured Word Inquiry (SWI)
This six-week class (30-40 hours) will introduce participants Structured Word Inquiry (SWI). SWI is a process for analyzing and developing an understanding of the underlying structure of the spelling of English words to help a student read and spell words. SWI is instruction that assists all students, those with or without dyslexia. Participants will have multiple opportunities to practice the concepts and strategies they learn.
Participants will learn how to support students using inquiry-based word investigations to understand the spelling of English words so instructors no longer exclaim “Well, English is just crazy, you will have to memorize that word?”
Topics Covered:
- What morphology is how to identify morphemes in words, including affixes, free bases and bound bases.
- What etymology is and the role it has in helping understand English spellings.
- What phonology is and how it is integrated in SWI.
- Participants will be able to define and identify graphemes and phonemes.
- An introduction to the four questions in SWI to investigate and analyze English spellings, including so called “sight words.”
- An introduction to constructing word matrices.
- An introduction to constructing and announcing word sums.
Each week participants will watch instructional videos for each concept, complete assignments, and interact with instructors via discussion boards. Every two weeks participants will be invited to participate in a live Qu & A session. All live sessions are recorded and posted on the virtual classroom site for participants unable to attend live sessions. All class discussions, chats and assignments will be interactive and moderated by the instructors.
Instructors: All DTI courses are taught by a seasoned instructor who helps build community within the course as well as provides an opportunity to have questions answered.
Materials: All supplemental materials and videos are included within the course site.
Graduate Extension Credits are available from the University of San Diego. More Information
**This course can be customized for groups (e.g. districts, schools, parent, advocacy).
