APLN500: Language and Linguistics

An overview of the study of language and linguistics intended to provide students with a clear understanding of human language and with the conceptual foundations of linguistics. The course will expose students to several major areas within linguistics: language acquisition, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. It will introduce the major tenets and principles of linguistics without surveying the areas treated in the other graduate courses in the department. It is a prerequisite for all other courses in the M.A. program. 3 sh.

APLN520: Current Theories of Second Language Acquisition

An in-depth analysis of the processes of child and adult second language acquisition (SLA) and how it differs from first language acquisition and the implications of these theories for the teaching and learning of second languages. The application of sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics to language teaching. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: APLN 500.

APLN524: Advanced Structure of American English

A detailed analysis of the phonological and grammatical structures of American English; advanced study of the social and stylistic varieties of American English; various theories of English grammar are studied. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: APLN 500.

APLN525: Methodology of Teaching ESL

The study of current issues in the teaching of English as a Second Language. Issues may include innovative teaching methodologies, the application of language learning theories to classroom teaching and the adaptation and development of instructional materials. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: APLN 500.

APLN529: TESL Practicum

To provide students who are seeking certification in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) as a second teaching field, with an opportunity to teach ESL in a formal classroom setting. Arrangements will be made on an individual basis for each student. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Completion of other required courses for TESL certification. APLN 525 may be taken as a corequisite.

APLN532: Language and Culture in Minority Education

An investigation of the intimate connection between language, culture, and ethnic pride and identity. Study of the communication problems faced by bilingual children due to differences in verbal and non-verbal patterns of communication; survey of various instructional methods and models employed in teaching children from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds; study of the correlation between language and various socio-cultural factors. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: APLN 500.

APLN534: Languages in Contact

A study of the effects of bilingualism and multilingualism on society and on the languages involved. By examining a variety of examples, students become familiar with the possible outcomes of language contact and with the factors that play a role in language-policy decisions in multilingual societies. Pidgins and creoles are also studied. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: APLN 500.

APLN536: Languages of the USA

A survey of the indigenous, colonial, and immigrant languages of the U.S. and how they are used in education and general communication. Also studied are factors affecting the maintenance or loss of languages and the shift from native languages to English with discussion of the mutual effects of language contact. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: APLN 500.

CHAD501: Introduction to Applied Child Advocacy

This course will examine the maltreatment of children from both a historical and contemporary perspective. It will discuss the three major reform movements of the Progressive Era that shaped the field of child advocacy. Students will also explore recent trends in legislation that affect abused and neglected children. Emphasis will be on the historical and current role of the child advocate. Empirical and applied research will be reviewed. 3 sh.

CHAD502: Child Abuse and Neglect

This course will take a comprehensive look at the social and psychological development of children caught in the child welfare system. It will compare normal and pathological models of child rearing. Special consideration will be given to the impact of family and social systems on the development and behavior of abused and neglected children. 3 sh.

CHAD503: Current Social Issues in Child Advocacy

This course will focus on current social issues in the field of child advocacy. Poverty, drug abuse, illnesses and violence will be explored. Strategies for social change will be highlighted and discussed. 3 sh.

CURR530: Principles of Curriculum Development

Philosophic, social and economic forces in our society that have determined and will determine the pattern of curriculum in American education in the American public schools from K-12 grades. Accepted manner of designing such curricula and professional bodies and individuals who play leading roles in the process of curriculum design. Connection of community interest and power structures in society which are related to the professional decisions. 3 sh.

CURR681: Leadership in Content and Instruction

The purpose of this course is to enrich teacher leaders' capacity to lead by example in their classrooms, develop knowledge for practice in their content area, and deepen their understanding of the knowledge, purposes, methods, and forms of their content area. Teacher leaders will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the construction of knowledge through inquiry with internship experiences and by developing a conceptual map of knowledge in the content area, understanding how that knowledge is developed, why it is important, and how that knowledge is communicated to others. In conjunction with CURR 682 and 683, teacher leaders will lead by example through the development of an interdisciplinary curricular unit based on the content that they have gained and an emphasis on the process of how they gained that content. May be repeated once for a maximum of 4.0 credits. 2 sh.

Prerequisites: Admission to M.Ed.in Teacher Leadership program.

CURR682: Leadership in Curriculum

This course explores theories and practices of curriculum development for high quality instruction and enhanced student learning and achievement. It provides teacher leaders with the habits of mind, skills, tools and resources to lead by example and to analyze and evaluate curriculum quality and effectiveness. Teacher leaders will study the history and differing models of curriculum development as well as state standards and apply their understandings to design high quality, developmentally appropriate, interdisciplinary, and standards-aligned curriculum for diverse students, including those with special needs and English Language Learners. May be repeated once for a maximum of 6.0 credits. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Admission to M.Ed.in Teacher Leadership program.

CURR683: Fieldwork Experience in Content, Instruction and Curriculum

Teacher leaders will deepen their content knowledge by reconnecting with their discipline in a discipline-based experience. Following this extra-curricular experience, they will implement a curriculum unit of their own design in their classrooms. Selection and redesign of the curriculum unit will occur in CURR 681 and CURR 682. Implementation of the unit, evidence of teaching, and a reflection on the discipline-based experience will occur in this field course. May be repeated once for a maximum of 4.0 credits. 2 sh.

Prerequisites: Admission to M.Ed.in Teacher Leadership program.

ECEL505: Observation and Inquiry in Early Childhood and Elementary Setting

Provides students with the tools to identify and implement sound and authentic assessment strategies in early childhood and elementary classrooms. Students will be introduced to formal and informal assessment processes, tools, and strategies related to documentation and assessment techniques that are appropriate to the age and experiences of children. Emphasis will be on authentic assessment methods including the use of rubrics, portfolios, conferences, and self- and peer-assessment. Additional forms of assessment including running records, anecdotal records, checklists, rating scales, and children's work samples as well as standardized tests will be examined. The relationship among ongoing assessment to plan instructional practice and to evaluate the progress and needs of children in early childhood and elementary settings will be a main focus. Fieldwork is required. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Three years of early childhood and/or elementary teaching experience.

ECEL517: Integrating Science and Technology in Early Childhood and Elementary Classrooms

Explores the nature of science as a discipline and examines how to integrate science, math and technology into the classroom curriculum. Students will learn strategies to engage children in active explorations aligned with the NJ Science, Math and Technology Standards. Students will recognize the integration of science and math content as vehicles for critical thinking, and children's engagement in the wonder and study of the natural and physical (human-made) world. Students will experience hands-on, minds-on science activities supported by technology and will examine successful management techniques and science safety codes. Students will gain confidence and skills in the scientific concepts and principles that unite the science disciplines: systems, order, and organization; evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement; evolution and equilibrium; and form and function. 3 sh.

ECEL518: Families, Communities, and Schools: Diversity, Culture and Democracy

Provides students with an understanding of how social and cultural influences shape children's development and learning. The relationships among teacher, parent, child, and community as they affect learning will be explored. Methods for developing school/family partnerships will be discussed. Students will learn to take into account issues of child diversity and culturally responsive teaching as they create learning experiences. Crosslisted with Family and Child Studies, FCST 518. 3 sh.

ECEL532: Research Seminar: Current Topics in Early Childhood and Elementary Education

Provides reading, discussion, and analysis of current research in the fields of early childhood and elementary education. Topics may include differentiated learning, inclusion, second language learners, curriculum development, policy implications, and/or culturally responsive teaching and learning, etc. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Completion of 15 credits of core courses required for ECEL M.Ed. Program.

ECEL610: Build Social & Emotional Relationships in Group Sett:Infant Toddler Mental Health for Educators

The course is designed to foster an understanding of development, care, and education of young children, birth to age three, and the caregiver's role in fostering a healthy social and emotional environment. Through exploring infant/toddler mental health and the interaction process, students deepen their understanding of the impact of the relationship and early experiences on young children's development and learning. Students examine developmentally appropriate practices, play based curriculum, and ethical issues in the field of infant mental health. Students also develop observations and assessment skills as well as strategies to create a nurturing environment and responsive curriculum for diverse infants and toddlers and their families. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: One semester of child development (birth-five years) or equivalent.

ECEL698: Master's Thesis

Independent research project done under faculty advisement. Students must follow the MSU Thesis Guidelines, which may be obtained from the Graduate School. Students should take ECEL 699 if they don't complete ECEL 698 within the semester. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

ECSE502: Sociocultural Context of Disability and Inclusive Education

This course applies critical perspectives to the study of disability and inclusive education through an examination of the shifting social, cultural and political constructions of disability in society. The course material deconstructs traditional psychological interpretations as well as medical models of disability, which conceptualize disability as a "problem" to be fixed or limitations that are located within individuals. In contrast, students explore sociocultural models of disability, which conceptualize disability as a social construct, and people with disabilities as members of marginalized minority group. By examining issues related to disability in the context of the sociocultural paradigm, students have opportunities to take varied perspectives on the ways in which social and environmental factors come to define the experience of disability. Students explore disability and inclusive education through multiple lenses, such as autobiography, personal narrative, film, social policy, and research. 3 sh.

ECSE505: Early Learning and Development in Young Children With and Without Disabilities

Examines various theories of child development related to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers from conception to age five. A strong focus is placed on the impact of risk and protective factors on early development. Specifically, the course addresses the etiology, behavioral characteristics, developmental outcomes, and family impact on the development of young children including those with environmental, biological, or established risk of developmental delays or disabilities. Students learn methods for observing and interpreting physical growth, motor, cognitive, language and communication, social/emotional and play development of typically developing young children and those with special needs. 3 sh.

ECSE506: Observation and Assessment of Young Children with Disabilities: Birth to Age 8

Focus on observation, screening and assessment of young children with special needs from birth to age five. Students explore commonly used techniques, instruments, examine administration procedures, and learn to interpret findings related to children's development. An emphasis is placed on family partnerships, using observation as a tool in natural settings, and creating appropriate assessment plans for young children. 3 sh.

ECSE508: Strengthening Partnerships with Families of Children with Disabilities

Addresses family-professional partnerships in early childhood special education. Students gain knowledge, skills and dispositions to work collaboratively with diverse families to support the development and education of young children with special needs. Various models including family-focused practice and family systems theory are discussed. 3 sh.

ECSE509: Principles and Practices in Inclusive Early Childhood Education

Provides an overview of curricular approaches in Early Childhood Education (birth to 8), specific intervention strategies, and curriculum planning issues. Emphasis is placed upon the development of knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to address outcomes identified in individual IFSPs or IEPs within the context of activity-based programs for young children in naturalistic environments. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: ECSE 506.

ECSE510: Supervised Practicum and Seminar in Inclusive Early Childhood

Supervised experience in diverse field settings with both typical and atypical young children; seventy-five (75) clock hours of field work and accompanying seminar are required. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

ECSE511: Advanced Curriculum and Methods for Early Learners With and Without Disabilities

Young children are naturally inqusitive about their world. They wonder, discover, explore and interact with their environment and the people in it. In this course, experienced practitioners receive advanced preparation for designing and implementing individualized and culturally responsive learning opportunities and curriculum for young children with and without disabilities in inclusive early childhood environments (i.e., child care centers, preschool, Head Start, early elementary school). Through an emergent and child-centered approach, students deepen their understanding of and ways of responding to young learners with a wide range of abilities and diverse backgrounds. Students learn through direct experience and evidenced-based strategies how to create, implement and evaluate high quality educational practices and innovative curricula for diverse young learners birth to age eight. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: ECSE 502 or equivalent and ECSE 509.

ECSE519: Language and Early Literacy Development

Explores the development of language, communication and early literacy in children birth to age five, focusing on both typical and atypical development pathways. Considers how children acquire language in social context and the relationships between communicative skills and literacy. Within a theory to practice framework, the course covers topics that include the family's role in early language development, language socialization across cultures, bilingualism and second language acquisition, speech and language impairments, and the emergence of literacy in both home and preschool settings. The role of early childhood teachers in fostering language and literacy development in children with diverse needs and backgrounds is highlighted. 3 sh.

ECSE520: Research in Inclusive Early Childhood Education

Research design, statistical analysis and methods for writing a research paper are studied. Significant problems in the field of early childhood special education are investigated and discussed. Published research projects are evaluated. 3 sh.

EDFD531: Foundations of Education for Language Minority Students

This course examines the social, cultural, political, and linguistic foundations of schooling in the United States for students who speak languages other than English. Issues addressed include the history of education for U.S. immigrants; socio-cultural, legal, and political influences on the education of language minority students; and linguistic factors in the education of language minority students. Students also explore curriulum, instruction and school organization as they relate to the education of language minority students. 3 sh.

ELAD540: Differentiated Supervision

This course will examine the supervisory roles of school leaders, focusing on the process of clinical supervision and the learning and supervision needs of teachers at different professional levels. Topics include professional development, hiring and interviewing, intensive assistance, and adult learning. All students will engage in simulated and authentic supervision of classroom practice. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: ELAD 510. Graduate students in ELAD, ADSU, SUPR, PRIN.

ELAD543: Administrative Aspects of Management and Supervision

This course will focus on comprehensive principles and future perspectives of schools as learning organizations and the management of personnel and facilities toward implementing a vision for a learning framework for all students and staff. Topics will include the law, policy, guidelines, procedures and ethics of administrative decisions; management and leadership of human resources; distributive leadership within the learning community; recruitment, selection and termination; staffing patterns; schedule design; and planning and budgeting processes. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: ELAD 540. Graduate students in ELAD, ADSU, SUPR, PRIN.

ELAD680: Leading Curriculum Change in Diverse Settings

This course will help students make the transition from thinking of curriculum for a particular subject within a classroom setting to thinking of the philosophical frameworks that help shape curriculum and the curricular approaches and professional learning for school staff that will increase student achievement. Students will develop an understanding of the nature of the presented curriculum and learn how to effectively restructure that curriculum and create professional learning opportunities in response to staff and student emerging needs. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CURR 530. Graduate students in ELAD, PRIN, SUPR or department approval.

ELRS504: Action Research

Principles and techniques of research applicable to classroom situations. Various kinds of classroom research are studied and analyzed. Practice provided in the planning and outlining a research project. The development of experimental designs, and evaluation of the structure and outcomes of classroom research. 3 sh.

FCST620: Social Policy and the Family

The course provides a historical overview of family policy in the United States. Students examine the relationships among research, theory, and public policy, and explore the role of the economy, politics, race, class, gender, and legal and advocacy issues. Students learn about major social policies and the programs derived from those policies that affect diverse families' well-being and quality of life across the life course. They consider the intended and unintended family consequences of governmental policies as well as the policy implications of change in the structures and composition families. They examine family policies from a social justice perspective in historical and current contexts. They learn the basics of policy formation and the competing constituencies that help shape the process. 3 sh.

FCST640: Family Theories

This course provides and overview of the interface between theory, research, and the application of various developmental and behavioral theories related to the study of families and interpersonal relationships. Students engage in an extensive and in-depth review and analysis of the major theoretical frameworks underlying the understanding of family functioning and development. They analyze current research on diverse families through varying theoretical lenses. They analysis emphasizes the influences of gender, age, ethnicity, disability, religion, language, immigration, cultural values and beliefs, education, social class, and sexual orientation on the development, understanding, and application of family theories. 3 sh.

MATH577: Mathematics Education in the Elementary School

The contemporary mathematics curriculum of the elementary and middle school. The role of behavioral objectives and learning theory in curriculum development/teacher training. Related research findings. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Permission of graduate program coordinator.

MATH611: Leadership Development in Mathematics Education

Students gain experience in recognizing, acquiring, and applying key leadership characteristics in the field of mathematics education at the middle and high school grades. Specific attention is given to how teachers become stewards of best practices and active educational change agents in their schools and community and through professional development and involvement. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Acceptance in the master's program in Teaching Middle Grades Mathematics and permission of the graduate program coordinator.

MEDI500: Media, Technology, and Learning in the Curriculum

The organizing and integrating of media in school curricula and other educational programs. Identifying instructional purposes and defining roles for technology and media in learning and teaching. Examining and comparing curriculum designs for their concordance with the procedures of technology in education. Selection and evaluation of materials. 3 sh.

MEDI503: Critical Basics of Media and Technology Production

This course introduces critical and practical frameworks for producing educational media. Students engage in hands-on production of multiple media forms to support a variety of curricular goals, with emphasis on digital media. Students explore the possibilities of multimedia and non-linear teaching and learning for educators and learn the fundamentals of interactive and integrative curriculum design across MacIntosh and PC-based computer platforms. Open to matriculating and non-matriculating students. 3 sh.

MEDI506: Evaluation and Selection of Educational Media

Emphasizes the evaluation and selection of research materials in multiple media formats - from print to digital. The course provides opportunities to discover what kinds of resources are available and generate criteria for evaluating the quality and usefulness of new and traditional media in supporting the research process. 3 sh.

MEDI520: Production of Materials for Media Technology

For developing advanced proficiency in preparing audio, photographic, and graphic materials. Especially for persons charged with materials preparation in media centers. Laboratory instruction. 3 sh.

MEDI521: Design of Innovative Curriculum Resources

Emphasis on systems design, software, program development, creative development of media for special learning situations, basic design of programmed instruction and multi-media techniques. 3 sh.

MEDI523: Integrating Technology Across the Elementary Curriculum

This laboratory course provides students with hands-on experience in creating educational and instructional technology environments that are student-centered, collaborative, inquiry-based, and emphasize critical thinking. The course explores the fundamentals of interactive design using both MacIntosh and PC-based computer platforms. Students orchestrate object, print, video and digital media technologies to support specific curricular goals at the early childhood and elementary levels. 3 sh.

MTHM505: Number and Operations in the Middle Grades

Topics are organized around the fundamental concepts of number and operations with them. This course prepares middle-grade teachers to help their students understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, number systems, operations on numbers, how to compute fluently and how to make reasonable estimates. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Acceptance in the certificate or master's program in Teaching Middle Grades Mathematics and permission of the graduate program coordinator.

MTHM506: Algebra and Algebraic Thinking in the Middle Grades

Topics from pre-algebra and algebra are studied to prepare middle-grades mathematics teachers to enable all students to understand patterns, relationships and functions; represent and analyze mathematical situations and structures using algebraic symbols; use mathematical models to represent and understand quantitative relationships; and analyze change in various contexts. Topics initially approach algebra from a numerical perspective. Strategies for gradually increasing the use of variables and abstract thinking with middle-grade students are discussed. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: MTHM 505 and permission of graduate program coordinator.

MTHM507: Geometry for Middle-Grade Math Teachers

Topics are organized around the fundamental concepts of geometry, the use of geometric thinking as a problem-solving tool, and the methods and techniques needed to help students understand and apply these concepts and skills in the middle grades. Teachers gain the knowledge needed to enable their students to develop spatial sense and an ability to use geometric properties and relationships to solve problems in mathematics and in everyday life. Specific emphasis is placed on recognizing, visualizing, representing, and transforming geometric shapes in two and three dimensions. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: MTHM 505 and permission of graduate program coordinator.

MTHM508: Data Analysis and Probability in the Middle Grades

Topics include the basics of collection, summarization, and interpretation of data, and the fundamental ideas of probability. Sampling techniques, experimental design, graphical and numerical summarization of data and the basic ideas of drawing conclusions from data are discussed. Methods for teaching these concepts in the middle grades are discussed in tandem as the material is presented. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: MTHM 505 and permission of graduate program coordinator.

MTHM509: Measurement in the Middle Grades

Topics are organized around the fundamental and unifying topic of measurement. What attributes of an object are measurable? How are those attributes measured? What system of measurement should be used? What are the units and how are the results converted to other systems? Measurement is a topic that is found across the school curriculum, not just in the mathematics curriculum, and thus it is a topic that can be used to develop cross-subject discussions and investigations. Methods for teaching measurement in the middle grades are discussed in tandem with the content being studied. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: MTHM 507 and permission of graduate program coordinator.

MUED518: Technology for Music Teachers

A history and overview of computer platforms and applications for music. A review of pre-college, collegiate, and professional music software; the basics of music programming; a review of MIDI applications and interfaces; the use of interactive media in music pedagogy; and the future of computer applications in this field. 3 sh.

READ500: The Nature of Reading

Examines the foundations of reading: the nature of the reading process, readiness, beginning instruction, current practices in the teaching of reading in early childhood and elementary education, a reappraisal of the role of reading in a technological society. 3 sh.

READ503: Literature for Adolescents

Offers background for the development of recreational reading programs in middle schools and high schools. Literature written for students, as well as literature intended to be read widely by adolescents, criteria for book selection, censorship, role of mass media, minority group identification through books, bibliotherapy, bibliographic tools, and the importance of the librarian. 3 sh.

READ508: Critical Thinking and Literacy

Offers a critical thinking framework for the communication arts with an emphasis on reading comprehension, writing, and discussion. Relevant psychological, sociological, and philosophical theories will be studied and applied to texts that are representative of diverse genres and cultures and that challenge conventional beliefs. 3 sh.

READ510: Field Experience in Reading

Provides students opportunities to observe, participate and report community-based activities of agencies. For students in long-range research, students with limited teaching experience, and students who need additional field and clinical experience. Independent study. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

READ519: Language and Early Literacy Development

This course examines the nature of language, communication, and literacy development in children of diverse backgrounds and abilities during the foundational early childhood period from birth through age five. Students explore how children acquire language in social context and the impact of biological, psycholinguistic, and sociocultural factors on language development in both typically and atypically developing children. Students examine the relationships between language skills and emergent literacy, and the role of parents, teachers and other caregivers in helping prepare children to successfully acquire school-based Literacies. Students explore state and national policies that seek to improve preschool supports for language and early literacy development and the impact of increasing linguistic and cultural diversity on early childhood language arts/literacy education. 3 sh.

READ522: History of Literacy and Media

This course examines literacy evolutions through physical innovations from cuneiform to the printing press to the internet, educational initiatives from the tutor system to mandated public education to No Child Left Behind, and historical eras from ancient to modern to post-modern. This course will run as a seminar co-developed by the professor and students. This class engages students in learning the history of literacy and literacy pedagogy and, through that, wrestling with issues of discourse, culture, theory, and practice in education and society - both as practicing or potential teachers and as scholars. Topics covered include: development of literacy as related to the printing press, literacy definitions and educational policy, new media and new Literacies, and issues of literacy and power in educational settings. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: READ 500 or READ 501 or instructor's permission.

READ524: Teaching Multiethnic Literature in P-8 Classrooms

This graduate-level course is designed to assist in-service teachers and school media specialists in their efforts to examine multiethnic children's literature as both aesthetic forms and pedagogical tools. Students will analyze the social, political, and educational implications of such literature and its use in P-8 classrooms. If teachers and school media specialists introduce powerful, but enjoyable, literary pieces through which they explore the topics of race and ethnicity and ask critical questions, children might have a greater chance of living up to democratic principles and becoming active participants in the global community. This course will help teachers to use multiethnic children's literature more frequently in their respective classrooms and to approach that responsibility with confidence. 3 sh.

READ525: Literacies, Digital Technology and Learning

This course is designed to provide a context in which pre-service and in-service teachers can explore a range of "new" Literacies and the implications of these new Literacies for school-based literacy education. This course comprises a theoretical dimension that focuses on literacy as a social practice, and a practical dimension that includes hands-on use of a range of new digital technologies and new literacy practices. Attention will be paid to developing effective ways of taking up new Literacies in classroom contexts. 3 sh.

READ600: Workshop in Contemporary Issues in Reading

Explores contemporary issues in reading instruction, basic skills, literature, cultural literacy and critical thinking. Each workshop will be topic-specific. Faculty determine topic selection according to timely public policy issues and philosophical concerns. Collaborative research between workshop faculty and participants will be emphasized. 1 - 3 sh.

SPED566: Language-Based Learning Strategies for Use in Inclusive Settings

This course presents an overall view of language development and language disorders as the basis for implementing instruction that attends to language-based learning difficulties. A major focus will be the development of instructional strategies that can be employed in inclusive classroom settings to promote learning across the curriculum. The use of metalinguistic and metacognitive strategies will be stressed. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: SPED 579.

SPED567: Instructional Planning for Students with Disabilities in Inclusive Settings I

This course is designed to provide educators with the skills necessary to meet the needs of students with disabilities in K-5 inclusive classrooms. Educators will learn how to use developmentally appropriate practice and universal design curriculum to enhance the learning of students who display competencies across a wide range. The major focus will be on practical techniques and strategies that can be used to provide quality instruction in inclusive settings. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: SPED 579.

SPED579: Special Education for Students with Disabilities

An overview of instruction for students with special needs; characteristics of special populations, federal and state legislation, educational implications of disabling conditions, principles for instruction and planning for inclusion are presented; community resources and special issues related to the education of students with disabilities are discussed. 3 sh.

SPED584: Assessment and Evaluation in the Inclusive Classroom

This course is designed to be an introduction for pre-service teachers in the field of Special Education assessment and accountability. The course will introduce students to elements of traditional assessment, including record keeping, grading, objective and essay testing, theories of validity as well as authentic, performance, and portfolio assessment. The keeping of anecdotal records, inclusion, heterogeneous groups, and accommodations will also be components of this course. 2 - 3 sh.

Prerequisites: SPED 579 and SPED 567 or 568. Starting Spring 2011: SPED 579.

SPED585: Technology for Inclusive Classrooms

The course is designed to provide educators with an understanding of how to use technology as a seamless part of the teaching and learning experience for students with disabilities in inclusive settings. Two main purposes for students with disabilities will be emphasized. Teachers will learn how to provide access to the curriculum for students with disabilities by using the principles of Universal Design for Learning as a framework for curriculum design. They will learn how to utilize technology to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities in order for them to attain maximum independence and participation in all environments. 2 - 3 sh.

Prerequisites: SPED 567, SPED 568. Starting Spring 2011: SPED 579.

SPED586: Transition Services for Students with Disabilities

This course will focus on a Research-Based and Teacher-Tested Support Model for planning and implementing transition services for students with disabilities. Successful transition services will allow students to build the bridges toward becoming independent self advocates with the insights, skills, knowledge, and learning techniques for successful transition from school to adult life. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: SPED 567, SPED 568, SPED 579. Starting Spring 2011: SPED 579.

SPED588: Promoting Prosocial Behaviors in Inclusive Settings

This course is designed to provide future teachers with theory and practice related to the development of appropriate prosocial behaviors within inclusive classroom settings for students with disabilities. This course will focus on behavior and the developmental and environmental factors that influence its expression. Emphasis will be placed on functional analysis of behavior, how to promote appropriate behavior, and how to develop a classroom setting that fosters prosocial behaviors. Principles of social/emotional learning, social skills development as well as data collection, schedules of reinforcement monitoring progress, social problem solving, and promotion of positive behavior plans will be explored. 2 - 3 sh.

Prerequisites: SPED 579.

SPED597: Practicum and Seminar in Teaching Students with Disabilities

This course provides students with direct experience in teaching children and adolescents with special education needs in a controlled internship program. Students learn to analyze and carry out individualized education programs developed by child study teams that will help children and adolescents with learning difficulties be successful in regular and special education settings. The emphasis is on instruction of children and adolescents with mild to moderate disabilities. In addition to 90 hours of direct instruction of children and adolescents with special needs in an approved placement, each practicum student must participate in class seminars, conferences and planning sessions. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: SPED 566, SPED 584, SPED 585, SPED 588, and permission of graduate advisor.