Educating Special Needs Students

ED 605

Syllabus

Course Description

This course is designed for all educators and related providers who work with students that have learning disabilities, attention deficits (with or without hyperactivity), developmental delays, behavior problems or other distinctive disorders. Participants will also gain understanding of students with dyslexia, autism and multiple disabilities. Federal laws will be explored: IDEA, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitations Act of 1973, along with many required applications to the classroom.

Participants will develop a clinical eye towards all students (with or without an IEP) as they learn about differentiated instructions and apply various curriculum adaptations to their specific educational setting. In addition, they will understand the differences between the various types of testing modifications (flexible scheduling, flexible setting, revised test format etc.) and will be able to apply said modifications to students in their classrooms. Each course participant will organize and complete a case study based on their selected student already classified with a learning disability or ADD. We will review symptoms, describe individual deficits and customize an educational plan that will help that student function better in class while providing support and greater insight for the teacher. That plan will be put into effect during the last five sessions and monitored closely by course instructor.

Objectives

Acquire a solid foundation of knowledge relating to students with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, dyslexia, autism and many other disabilities.
Understand Federal laws that drive curriculum and classroom management throughout the grades.
Facilitate learning for all students (with or without the IEP) by applying academic accommodations and specific modifications.
Interpret student documents (IEP, Psychological) and learn how they can help you understand your students and their capacity to learn.
Strategize on how to work effectively with support staff (Resource, Speech, OT, PT, Psychologist, Social Worker) and develop partnerships that will benefit everyone.
Update and organize Internet sites to provide easy access for course research.
Develop a case study based on one student's collected data, present a profile analysis and a plan of action that will be implemented in the classroom.
Empower educators with tools, strategies and knowledge that will allow them a clinical view of all students in class.
Inspire course participants to perceive all students as unique and special, needing advocates in those they call teachers.

Curriculum Design

Educating Special Needs Students is a forty-five hour, three credit graduate level course that runs over fifteen weeks online. The teaching methodology behind this course will empower participants with a strong knowledge base while providing them with necessary tools and strategies to identify and teach students with special needs. Participants will apply course curriculum to a student case study that will be developed throughout the modules and presented to instructor as a final project.

Time Requirements

This course is offered over a period of 15 weeks. Modules are completed over the 15-week period pending length of assignments per week.

Skill and Hardware Requirements

Students may use either a Macintosh computer or a PC with Windows 2000 or higher. Students should possess basic word processing skills and have Internet access as well as an active email account. Students also are expected to have a basic knowledge of how to use a Web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, etc.

Course Materials

The required textbook for this course is Commonsense Methods for Children with Special Educational Needs- 4th Edition (Strategies for the Regular Classroom), written by Peter Westwood and published by Routledge Falmer Press, London and New York. In addition, online readings and web reviews (including journal articles and best practices from the body of educational research) will be assigned during the course to enhance learning.

Course Outline

Module One: Special Education in the Classroom

Objective: Introduce the history of special education including regulations and developments; Define the role of classroom teachers within those parameters.
Contents:

Definition and History of Special Education
IDEA aw and regulations
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
Mainstreaming
Necessary documents (The IEP and Psychological Report)
District/Teacher responsibilities
Common integration models

Module Two: Eligibility for Special Ed. Services and Possible Categories Therein

Objective: To outline procedures that identifies and assists students with special needs; to review all categories of disabilities.
Contents:

Criteria for eligibility
Developmental delays

Physical development
Cognitive development
Communication development
Social/Emotional development
Adaptive development

Categories of Disabilities (13)

Module Three: Learning Disabilities

Objective: Review the study of learning disabilities; Allow educators opportunities as diagnosticians.
Contents:

Types of Learning Disabilities
Classroom teachers as diagnosticians
Symptomatic checklist to facilitate educational diagnosis
Establishing a profile and developing a clinical eye
Group project

Module Four: Behavior Problems in the Classroom

Objective: Introduce the full gamut of behavior problems and facilitate plans for improvements.
Contents:

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
Conduct Disorder
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Childhood depression
Section 504 (Of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973)
Medication
Behavior Improvement Plan (BIP)
Behavior modifications

Module Five: Autism and Other Distinctive Disorders

Objective: Review and distinguish the difference between Autism and other forms of PPD; Outline a plan for a student case study.
Contents:

Autism and PPD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder)

Definition
Criteria
Social issues
Communication concerns
Stereotypical Behaviors
Intervention/teaching method

Other distinctive disorders

Tourette’s Syndrome
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Selective Mutism
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Module Six: The Referral Process

Objective: Provide a timeline for making referrals and establishing criteria within that timeline.
Contents:

School-Based Intervention Team (SBIT)
Elementary and Secondary pre-referral strategies
The Special Ed. Referral timeline
The Committee of Special Education (CSE)
Being prepared, developing your file and presenting your case at CSE
Voting members and possible outcomes

Module Seven: No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)

Objective: Introduce regulations and provisions of NCLB; Review changing roles and accountability for all educators.
Contents:

Facts and mandates
Student testing
National Assessment of Educational Progress (Nation’s Report Card)
Adequate yearly progress (AYP)
Aligning Special Education with NCLB
New requirements for teachers and paraprofessionals

Module Eight: Adapting/Modifying Curriculum

Objective: Provide educators with plans and strategies for modifying curriculum of all special needs students.
Contents:

Alternative ways of teaching
Suggestions for academic/related accommodations
Testing Modifications: Purpose and Eligibility
Modifying the Classroom
Practical Academic Strategies
Group project

Module Nine: Building Partnerships

Objective: Strategize opportunities for cooperative partnerships that will strengthen and support all educators.
Contents:

Working with parents
Administrators lend a hand
Getting help from special care providers and support staff
Collaborative Teaching
Aides and Paraprofessionals

Module Ten: Becoming Advocates

Objective: Offer opportunities for educators to become clinicians and advocates for all students.
Contents:

Developing sensitivity towards the special-needs student
Remember to honor the IEP
Rebuilding self-esteem
Protecting the vulnerable student

Course Requirements:

Actively participate in all activities.
Complete all readings and reaction forms based on those readings.
Develop a case study based on participant’s selected student already classified with a Learning Disability or ADD. This study should include academic history, described deficits/disabilities, classroom social and behavioral observations, and relevant curriculum testing. In addition, the study will include an educational plan that will accommodate the specific weakness of that student.
Pass a final exam.

Requirements	Points
Reading Assignments and Reflections	50
Case Study	30
Final Exam	20
Total	100

Grades
100-93 - A
85-92 - B
75-84 - C

Student Academic Integrity

Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined by the Teacher Education University catalog and is subject to academic disciplinary action.

Bibliography

Books

Bender, William N. Differentiating Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities: Best Teaching Practices for General and Special Education. Corwin Press, 2002.

Heward, William L. Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education. Prentice Hall, 1999.

Koplewicz, Harold S. It’s Nobody’s Fault: New Hope and Help for Difficult Children. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1996.

Richard, Gail J. and Hoge, Debra R. The Source for Syndromes. East Moline, IL: Lingui Systems,1999.

Riley, Stanley R. Learning Process Skills. Novato, CA: Academic Therapy, 1992

Stevens, Suzanne H. The LD Child and the ADHD Child: Ways Parents and Professionals Can Help. Winston-Salem, N.C: John F. Blair Publisher,1996.

Westwood, Peter. Commonsense Methods for Children with Special Educational Needs -Strategies for the Regular Classroom (4th edition). London & New York. Routledge Falmer.

Periodicals

Cowley, Geoffrey, ‘Girls, Boys and Autism’ Newsweek, 8 Sept. 2003: pp. 42-50

Gorman, C., ‘The New Science of Dyslexia’ Time, 28 July 2003: pp.52-59

Hoffman, D. and Levak, B.A. ‘Personalizing Schools’ Educational Leadership, Sept.2003: pp.30-34

Jenkins, Joseph R., ‘Tutoring First-Grade Struggling Readers in Phonological Reading Skills’ Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, Vol. 15, no.2

Kauffman, James M., ‘Commentary: Today’s Special Education and its Messages for Tomorrow’ Journal of Special Education, Vol.32, 1999

Licht, B.G. (1983). ‘Cognitive-motivational factors that contribute to achievement of learning disabled students’. Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol.16, pp.483-490

Nash, M.J. ‘The Secrets of Autism’ Time, 6 May 2002: pp.47-56

Rogers, H., & Saklofske, D.H. (1985). ‘Self-concepts, locus of control and performance expectations of learning disabled children’. Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol.18, pp.273-278

Slee, Roger, ‘Inclusion in Practice: Does Practice Make Perfect? Educational Review, Vol.53, no.2