Course Description
Focuses on students with special needs in preschool through grade 5. Topics include legal requirements, collaboration between general and special educators, family partnerships, Response to Intervention, positive behavior support, evidence- based instructional strategies, the IEP process, and accommodations for students with disabilities in the general education classroom.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will complete all requirements assigned to
undergraduates. In addition they will read a book and complete
a written review. They will have differentiated examinations
requiring more rigor and more synthesis than the undergraduates.
They will also complete an in-depth review of a specific method
and determine how it addresses students with special needs in
the early childhood classroom.
Athena Title
Students Special Needs PreK-5
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in EDSE 4020E, EDSE 4030, EDSE 4030E or EDSE 6020E, EDSE 6030, EDSE 6030E
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall, spring and summer
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The following standards that provide a structure for this course are identified by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and also Georgia House Bill 671 as critical content knowledge and skills for pre-service teachers PreK - Grade 5. Foundations - Know the models, theories, and philosophies that form the basis for special education practice. - Know and apply the laws, policies, and ethical principles regarding behavior management. - Understand the relationship of special education to the organization and function of educational agencies. - Know the rights and responsibilities of students, parents, teachers, and other professionals, and schools related to exceptional learning needs. - Familiar with the issues in definition and identification of individuals with exceptional learning needs, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. - Knowledgeable about the issues, assurances, and due process rights related to assessment, eligibility, and placement within a continuum of services. - Understand family systems and the role of families in the educational process. Development and Characteristics of Learners - Understand typical and atypical human growth and development. - Understand the educational implications of characteristics of various exceptionalities. - Understand the characteristics and effects of the cultural and environmental milieu of the individual with exceptional learning needs and the family. - Aware of similarities and differences among individuals with and without exceptional learning needs. - Aware of similarities and differences among individuals with exceptional learning needs. - Understand the effects of various medications on individuals with exceptional learning needs. Individual Learning Differences - Understand the effects an exceptional condition(s) can have on an individual’s life. - Understand the impact of learners’ academic and social abilities, attitudes, interests, and values on instruction. - Understand differing ways of learning of individuals with exceptional learning needs including those from culturally diverse backgrounds and strategies for addressing these differences. Instructional Strategies - Use strategies to facilitate inclusion into various settings. - Teach individuals to use self-assessment, problem solving, and other cognitive strategies to meet their needs. - Select, adapt, and use instructional strategies and materials according to the characteristics of the individual with exceptional learning needs. - Use procedures to increase the individual’s self-awareness, self-management, self-control, self-reliance, and self-esteem. Learning Environments and Social Interactions - Know and apply basic classroom management theories and strategies for individuals with exceptional learning needs. - Know principles of effective management of teaching and learning. - Aware of teacher attitudes and behaviors that influence behavior of individuals with exceptional learning needs. - Identify realistic expectations for personal and social behavior in various settings. - Design learning environments that encourage active participation in individual and group activities. - Modify the learning environment to manage behaviors. - Use performance data and information from all stakeholders to make or suggest modification in learning environments. Instructional Planning - Identify and prioritize areas of the general curriculum and accommodations for individuals with exceptional learning needs. - Involve the individual and family in setting instructional goals and monitoring progress. - Make responsive adjustments to instruction based on continual observations. Assessment - Know basic terminology used in assessment. - Know screening, pre-referral, referral, and classification procedures. - Administer nonbiased formal and informal assessments. - Modify individualized assessment strategies. - Evaluate instruction and monitor progress of individuals with exceptional learning needs. Collaboration - Know models and strategies of consultation and collaboration. - Understand the concerns of families of individuals with exceptional learning needs and strategies to help address these concerns. - Maintain confidential communication about individuals with exceptional learning needs. - Use group problem solving skills to develop, implement and evaluate collaborative activities. - Understand what the Georgia Alternative Assessment is and who participates.
Topical Outline
1. Person-First Language and Evidence-based Practices 2. Foundations of Special Education 3. Learning Disabilities 4. Response to Intervention 5. ADHD 6. Emotional and Behavior Disorders 7. Intellectual Disabilities 8. Communication Disorders 9. Sensory Impairments and Physical Disabilities 10. Collaboration and Teaming 11. Differentiating Instruction 12. Effective Instruction in Elementary Inclusive Classrooms 13. Classroom Management and Positive Behavioral Supports 14. Functional Behavioral Assessments 15. Using Technology to Enhance Inclusion
Syllabus
Public CV