Education: Excp. Child Cor (EEX)

Provides an overview of exceptional student education, including definitions, characteristics, and eligibility criteria for students with disabilities. Covers evaluation procedures, instructional planning, and current teaching practices used to support learners in educational settings.

Introduces the foundations of special education, including legal principles, service delivery models, and instructional and behavioral strategies to support the learning and participation of students with varied support needs in general education settings.

Provides an overview of early childhood special education, including instructional strategies and service models that support young children with varying needs. Emphasizes applied learning and development of instructional competencies through hands-on experience.

Introduces policies, procedures, and legal requirements guiding the assessment of students for special education services. Emphasizes commonly used assessment methods and includes a required practicum to apply course concepts in educational settings.

Focuses on instructional strategies, accommodations, and modifications that support students with exceptionalities in general education classrooms. Emphasizes planning and implementation practices that promote access to grade-level content and support progress toward earning a standard high school diploma.

Provides knowledge and skills for planning and conducting assessments to support identification, instructional planning, and program evaluation for infants and young children with and without disabilities. Emphasizes appropriate use of assessment tools and interpretation of results in early learning environments.

Focuses on strategies for creating structured learning environments, teaching behavioral expectations, supporting student self-regulation, and responding effectively to behavioral challenges in educational settings.

Independent Study.

Topics of special or current interest. The special topic will be discussed in depth based on current research and required observations in the field. The student will examine the applicability to classroom practice. just prior to the final internship semester.

Capstone course taken concurrently with the final internship. Trends and issues within the field of special education are examined from the perspective of the final internship experience and an action research project.

Provides a supervised final internship in a special education setting where candidates refine and demonstrate effective instructional and classroom management practices. Emphasizes full participation in the teacher role in school or agency-based placements.

Provides a supervised field experience in a special education setting where candidates observe instruction and begin to demonstrate teaching practices. Emphasizes gradual assumption of instructional responsibilities in school or agency-based placements.

A broad systemic view of family theory amenable to the panorama of ethnic and cultural diversity. Stresses the multi-faceted role of the special education teacher, an increased emphasis on today's pluralistic society, the need to keep abreast of the changing discipline of exceptional education, the importance of collaboration with other child-caring disciplines, and the ability to identify and intervene with families and children at risk.

Current state of the art trends as well as issues related to the education of exceptional students are addressed. In addition to the specific exceptional student populations, including the culturally diverse attention will be directed to the issues of definitions, identification and assessment practices.

Primary goals are to review and critique a variety of assessment procedures that are commonly used in special education programs and to examine the assessment process and the attendant policies and legal issues in special education. Preferred courses in Measurement and Introductory Special Ed.

Designed to provide teachers of individuals with disabilities with skills to enhance opportunities for successful transitions. Specific skill areas addressed include strategy, social skill and career/vocational instruction.

Indepth study of instructional strategies that are effective when teaching students with behavior disorders, mental retardation (developmental disabilities) and learning disabilities. Content includes techniques for curriculum adaptation, IEP development, direct, database and metacognitive strategy instruction, and technology applications.

A critical look at the conceptual and research bases of disciplinary approaches commonly seen in classrooms for exceptional students, with particular attention to those systems that support the inclusion and success of students with disabilities. Understanding and dealing with challenging student behaviors, reviewing theories commonly used, critiquing intervention research, and examining teacher beliefs that underlie teacher interventions.

Collaborative/consultative models for special education majors including theories and research pertaining to consultation, working with teams of other professionals, and collaborating with parents and professionals.

Independent study in which students must have a contract with an instructor.

Critical examination of the field of special education and evaluation of controversies and ethical dilemmas confronting the field. Skills to systematically evaluate the conceptual, practical, and ethical challenges they encounter and critically assess the impact of changes on their professionals practices.

Delivered in a seminar format, this course provides a forum to discuss, critically analyze, and evaluate critical issues in special education impacting stakeholders in K-12 and higher education.