Special Education

Units: 2

Designed to enable students to understand and use appropriate classroom assessment practices by applying knowledge of pedagogy and development to high-quality strategies for formative and summative assessment. Students will explore best practices using developmentally-appropriate assessment strategies including authentic assessment, portfolios, and electronic portfolios, real-time feedback, open-and closed-ended formal assessments, and standardized testing. Particular attention will be paid to examining the rationale for assessment, and the implications of assessment.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 3

Students will explore and apply the major philosophical and historical influences to current educational context as they relate to issues of diversity. Focus will be placed on theoretical and practical issues of diversity in classroom settings, especially related to culture, race, gender, ethnicity, language, and socio-economic levels. [Field-based experiences will be required].

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 1

Provides a brief introduction to educational research focusing specifically on classroom action research. Requires admission to MAT; completion of 6 hours in the program.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 1

Builds on earlier course work [ED 570] preparing students to refine an action research proposal, collect data in a school setting, write a report, and to identify resources and activities that will support their ongoing professional development; requires 9 hours of graduate credit in the MAT curriculum.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 3

To increase students' knowledge of persons with high incidence disabilities [i.e., learning disability, mild intellectual disability, and serious emotional disability], and how to manage the behavior of all pupils in educational environments. Characteristics of students with high incidence disabilities will be emphasized , as well as strategies to reduce the likelihood of problem behavior of all pupils in the classroom.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 3

Resource teaching in area of special education, with emphasis on resource teaching with students with special needs. Types of resource programs, establishment and maintenance of a program, selection of students, curriculum and materials.

Offered in Summer

Units: 4

A supervised teaching experience requiring a minimum of 10 consecutive full-time weeks in an appropriate school classroom. Designed to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for teaching at the elementary, middle and/or secondary level. Includes regularly scheduled clinical observations and conferences. Requires successful completion of at least 21 hrs. in the MAT program and approval by specialty area faculty. Student responsible for transportation to placement site.

Offered in Fall and Spring

TYPE: Internship Course

Units: 3

Methods and materials for teaching students with disabilities in elementary and secondary school. Focus on research-supported instructional strategies for teaching academic skills, Universal Design for Learning, implementation of appropriate academic interventions, and evaluation of instructional outcomes within the context of Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Systems of Supports.

Offered in Spring Only

Units: 3

Methods of instruction and materials related to teaching children and persons with mild-moderate levels of disability are emphasized. Effective general pedagogical approaches are stressed, as well as the teaching of functional academic skills, curricula used in instructions, teaching social and adaptive behavior as well as daily living skills, and transition-related skills necessary for independent adult life. Multi-tiered Systems of Support as well as Positive Behavior Intervention and Support are also discussed.

Offered in Spring Only

Units: 3

Concept of educational diagnosis of students with exceptionalities, including examination of educational diagnostic procedures in current use in special education. Development of informal diagnostic techniques and procedures for adapting curriculum and instruction for learner with exceptionalities.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 3

Curriculum materials, instructional strategies and behavior management techniques related to teaching children and youth with behavioral disorders including individualized instruction, group process, organization and evaluation of classroom programs, parent involvement, community resources and teachers' personal and professional growth and development.

Offered in Spring Only

Units: 3

Introduction to field of special education. Focus on historical overview, definitions and terminology in basic areas of exceptionality; etiological factors in exceptionality; developmental and learning characteristics of each area of exceptionality;and educational settings and strategies employed in special education including Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and Positive Behavior Intervention and Support. Review of current educational laws and policies affecting special education.

Offered in Fall and Spring

Units: 3

A case study approach is used in the seminar that requires the application of assessment techniques and instructional intervention methodologies in literacy for K-12 students with disabilities. Assigned activities require access to and experience in schools and/or related settings. This seminar is designed to be completed during the last half of the graduate program. It is restricted to graduate students in SPE, SPL, SPM, SPB or consent of instructor.