SPED 300 Introduction to Special Education

SPED 420 Advanced Theories and Practices in Special Education

6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Monday in Lawson Hall 171

Professor:
Office: Phone: E-mail:
Office Hours:

Co-Intrsuctor: E-Mail:
Office:
Office Hours:

Required Text: Heward, W. L. (2013). Exceptional children: An introduction to special

education (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. ISBN# 9780132626163
Cost: NEW:$154.75 USED:$116.25 RENTAL USED:$77.30

Recommended Text: The university has approved a writing handbook:

Aaron, A. (Ed.). (1998). The Little, Brown compact handbook (3rd. ed.). New York: Addison-
Wesley. This book may help you improve your writing style, and your final written products.

COURSE OVERVIEW:
The purpose of this course is to provide a broad overview of the terminology, strategies,
and issues commonly encountered when addressing the needs of exceptional individuals. The
course contents will address Council for Exceptional Children and Illinois Professional Teaching
Standards for the preparation of special education professionals. The course takes a
multidisciplinary approach which covers the lifespan of these students. We will begin with an
introduction to the history of special education and important legislation, followed by discussion
of individual areas of exceptionality within a social systems perspective. Emphasis will be
placed on etiology, identification, assessment, treatment, and social issues and concerns. Class
sessions will include lecture, large and small group discussion, demonstrations, instructional
media clips, and independent written reflection on course content.
Upon completion of this course you will have a firm foundation from which to grow as
you enter the field of special education or human services. Your understanding of special
education terminology and various areas of exceptionality will afford you increased confidence
as you move forward in your coursework and field experiences; and your collaboration with
classmates will prepare you for professional collaboration in the future. Participate
wholeheartedly and be prepared for your current understanding of exceptionality to be
challenged.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. Students will identify major legal, legislative and historical events which have shaped services
for persons with disabilities and currently guide service delivery, including current Illinois
requirements for response to intervention during eligibility determination.
2. Students will discuss the roles of professionals from several fields of study working with
students with exceptionalities and their families based on course material and personal interviews
conducted with the parents or guardians, and teachers of persons with disabilities.

3. Students will describe the needs of and challenges facing individuals with disabilities from
birth through the adult years, including assistive technology, and transition points across
developmental stages, from home-based early intervention programs, to post secondary adult life.

4. Students will provide a comprehensive outline of the range and diversity of pupils educated in
the public school classroom (Pre-K to 21) including culturally diverse students with disabilities.

5. Students will describe each of the major categories of exceptionality covered under IDEA in
terms of definition, etiology, characteristics, comparison with students without disabilities, and
effective assessment and intervention strategies.

6. Students will describe learning and behavioral characteristics and issues beyond the
parameters associated with traditional categories for a more cross-categorical perspective.

7. Students will describe effective environmental, medical and instructional interventions to

meet the intellectual, social, and personal needs of persons with disabilities (birth through
adulthood).

8. Students will describe assessment procedures for screening, progress monitoring in a response
to intervention model, referral, placement and program evaluation that reflect best-practice and
legal guidelines for students in grades PreK-12th.

9. Students will articulate their understanding of the ethical principles and standards adopted by
CEC for educators of persons with exceptionalities and standards for professional practice.

NOTE: Specific CEC (Council for Exceptional Children) and IPTS (Illinois Professional
Teaching Standards) addressed in this course are included at the end of the syllabus.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY:
1. Students are expected to have read the assigned material prior to each class meeting. Class
sessions will be used to review, clarify and highlight critical information.
2. Open class discussion will be used to facilitate mastery of the material; therefore, regular
attendance and participation in class discussion is expected of all students, and is crucial
for success in the course. All class members, including the instructor, will silence cell phones
at the start of class.
3. Additional handouts and readings will be provided to supplement the text, and integrate
chapters for a cross-categorical perspective. Power Point slides will be posted on Desire to
Learn (D2L).
4. In-class activities will be designed to guide students in the application of course content, and
to check for student understanding.
5. Media clips have been scheduled to clarify, illustrate, and expand on topics covered in class.
6. The policy of this class is to provide the necessary accommodations to any enrolled student
with a documented disability. Please contact Dr. Mundschenk or Mr. Chitiyo by phone, email, or
in person to discuss any needed accommodations.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Two examinations will be given which cover all lectures, readings, media clips, and class
discussions. The exams will consist of multiple-choice and essay-type questions. Each exam
will be worth 100 points. There will be no make-up exams. The final exam is cumulative.

2. Class activities will be scheduled for each class sessions. These activities may be in
individual or small group format and will require the application of course concepts to “real life”
scenarios. Since these are in-class activities there can be no make-up activities.

3. To encourage active learning, students will take a few minutes of class to write a brief
reflection on, or summary of, a critical component of the material presented. Reflections will be
completed independently and without the use of books or notes. These “quick writes” may be
shared in class to extend the understanding of classmates. Since these reflections/summaries
are completed in class, no make-up summaries are possible.

4. Students will be required to master specific terminology used in special education and defined
and incorporated in the text for the course. Students will use the SAFMEDS flash card procedure
(based on the work of Ogden Lindsley) to acquire fluency with these terms, and will chart their
progress. Specific directions and data sheet are contained on another handout. Students will
complete timed drills of the vocabulary/terms in class with a partner, as well as independently
outside of class, in order to record performance data for at least 40 DRILLS.
Data collection sheets will be turned in during the last class session prior to the final exam.

5. Due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g., illness, personal or family emergency, competing

priorities) students may miss a scheduled class session. In an effort to help students compensate
for missed activity or learning reflection points a make-up activity may be completed. This
activity will be to write an article synopsis of a published journal article from a professional peer-
reviewed journal (see attached guidelines templates).
All students will have the opportunity to complete the additional 20-point activity due at the
beginning of the last class session. For students who were absent for a class, this additional
opportunity will offset missed points for an activity/learning summary that was missed. Students
who attended all class sessions may also complete the activity for additional points which will be
added to their point total.

Students can access their grades for completed class activities on D2L.

6. Graduate students should be enrolled in SPED 420 (for graduate credit). Graduate students
must also design and lead a 15 minute interactive activity during one class period that facilitates
retention of an important concept presented in the text. This activity will earn up to 25 of the
class activity points for graduate students. Complete directions are contained in another handout.
EVALUATION: Final grades will be based on total points earned in the course:
2 Exams @ 100 pts. 200 points
Class activities 130 points (155 for graduate students )
Learning reflections 65 points
SAFMEDS 15 points
Total 410 points

Undergraduates: A = 90% B = 80% C = 70% D = 60% F< 60%

*Graduate students: A =95%; B =85% C = 75%

COURSE OUTLINE

Session 1 Introduction to the course.

8/20  Chapter 1: Purpose and promise of special education
 Topics include disability vs handicap, litigation, six major components
of IDEA
 CEC Code of Ethics and Standards for Professional Practice

Session 2 Chapter 2: Planning & providing special education services

8/27  Topics include universal design for learning and exceptionality across
the lifespan, IEP development, and cascade of service delivery options.
Media clip: Educating Peter (30”)

9/3 Labor Day (No class)

Session 3 Chapter 3: Collaborating with parents & families in a culturally &
9/10 linguistically diverse society
 Topics include disproportional representation of minority students, and
assessment issues, family systems approach, changing composition of
family, changing roles, and cultural reactions to disability.
Media clip: They Don’t Come With Manuals (29”)

Session 4 Chapter 4: Intellectual disabilities (Cognitive Impairments).

9/17  Topics include definition, common characteristics, assessment,
educational considerations and instructional strategies and levels of
support.
Media clip: As I Am (20”)
Session 5 Chapter 5: Individuals with learning disabilities. (Part 1)
9/24  Topics include definition, common characteristics, assessment, and
response to intervention.

Session 6 Chapter 5: Individuals with learning disabilities. (Part 2)

10/1  Topics include educational considerations and instructional strategies
and supports.
Media clip: Getting Ready for RtI (30”)
 10/8 Fall Break

Session 7 Exam 1 (Covering all material to date)

10/15
Session 8 Chapter 6: Individuals with emotional or behavioral disorders
10/22  Topics include definition, common characteristics, functional
behavioral assessment, school-wide and class-wide positive behavioral
interventions and supports.
Media clip: The ABCs of Emotional Behavioral Disorder (35”)
Session 9 Chapter 7: Individuals with autism spectrum disorders.
10/29  Topics include definition, common characteristics, assessment,
educational considerations and instructional strategies/ supports, and
controversial treatments and interventions.
Media clips: The Invisible Wall: Autism (52”) / Asperger Syndrome:
Living Outside the Bell Curve (18”)
Session 10 Chapter 8 Communication Disorders.
11/5  Topics include definition, classification and characteristics of speech
& language impairments, assessment, developmental milestones,
educational considerations and instructional strategies and supports,
augmentative and alternative communication.
Media clip: A Child’s First Words (18”)
Session 11 Chapter 9 Individuals with deafness & hearing loss.
11/12  Topics include definition, characteristics, assessment, technological
advances, educational considerations and instructional strategies and
supports.
Media clip: Sound and Fury (45”)
Chapter 10 Individuals with blindness & low vision.
 Topics include definition, common characteristics, assessment,
educational considerations and instructional strategies and supports.

Session 12 Chapter 11 Individuals with physical disabilities, health disabilities,

11/19 and related low-incidence disabilities.
 Topics include definition, common characteristics, traumatic brain
injury, seizure disorder, computer assistive technology, assessment,
educational considerations and instructional strategies and supports.
Media clip: Just Like You and Me (22”)

Chapter 12 Individuals with low incidence disabilities

Session 13 Chapter 14 Early childhood special education.
11/26 Topics include definition, characteristics, assessment, early intervention,
IFSP development, technological advances, educational considerations
and service-delivery alternatives.
Session 14 Chapter 15 Transition to adulthood
12/3  Topics include services and models, employment, postsecondary
education, residential alternatives, recreation and leisure
 Media clip: This American Life-Escape (30”)
SAFMEDS vocabulary/terms data sheet due
Additional (make-up) Activity due (Article Synopsis)
Session 16 Exam 2 to be held in Lawson 171 from 5:50-7:50 pm
12/10 Exam will cover all material from the class.

*Media clips may not be shown in their totality and selections may change or be cancelled.

Article Synopsis Guidelines

1. Select an article that is related to a topic covered in this course. The article should be not more
than 4 years old and must come from professional peer-reviewed journals. You may access these
journals electronically through Morris Library.

2. Photocopy the article. The photocopy of the article should be attached to your synopsis. After
carefully reading the article, begin your 2-page typed synopsis with the APA reference for the
article.

3. The format to be followed in the writing of your synopsis should be as follows. Please label each
part as A, B, C or D and put them in the order given.

A. The reference for the article should be written in APA format.

Example:
McNaughton, D., & Vostal, B.R. (2010). Using active listening to improve collaboration with
parents. Intervention in School and Clinic, 45(4), 251-256.

(Additional examples of APA citation can be found online and at Morris Library.)

B. State the purpose of the article. Ask yourself this question. What is the author reporting or
telling you? In most articles, the author has included a purpose statement.

Example:
The purpose of the article is to explore the importance of effective parent-teacher
communication and the significant role it plays in establishing and maintaining authentic,
collaborative partnerships. The authors discuss characteristics associated with successful home-
school partnerships such as trust and openness, flexibility, patience and active listening. They also
present some of the barriers to good collaboration, such as when either participant comes from a
different cultural background or has different expectations, or when an adversarial relationship
develops. The article then outlines a specific strategy to support effective communication between
teachers and parents.

C. State the major findings of the article. Ask yourself this question. What new information did
the author share with you?

Example:
The authors present a strategy for using active listening skills while seeking a full
understanding of parents’ concerns and perspectives when teachers are talking with parents. This
strategy, “LAFF Don’t CRY”, is an acronym for active listening behaviors that incorporate ways to
communicate respect and empathy. The mnemonic stands for Listen, empathize and
communicate respect, Ask questions and ask permission to take notes, Focus on the issues, Find
a first step, and DON’T Criticize people who aren’t present, React hastily and promise something
you can’t deliver, Yakity- yak-yak.

The components of the strategy may seem obvious, however the mnemonic may help
teachers actually remember them and use them during times when they may feel pressure, or
when parents are new to the school, don’t understand the curriculum or have been frustrated with
prior interactions. The effectiveness of the strategy was investigated by McNaughton and
colleagues (2008) who reported that parents from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds rated
teachers who had received training on the strategy as more effective communicators than those
teachers who had not received training. Parents recognized and valued the skills key to this
strategy.

The article provides specific examples of each step of the strategy and explains how
inadvertent behaviors that teachers may demonstrate during their interactions with parents may
actually hinder effective communication and trust. For example, they provide this scenario for the
Listen, empathize and communicate respect.

Parent: “My son, Ethan, is having trouble in his math class. He’s gotten a D or F on the last three
quizzes.”
Teacher: “That must be frustrating. I appreciate you coming in to talk with me.”

In the above example, the teacher showed that he/she really heard what the Parent was saying,
and the first response the Teacher provided was one of respect for the parent’s concern and
appreciation for the initiative in coming to talk about it.

A non-example, Criticize people who aren’t present, for this same scenario would be if the teacher
replied instead, “Ethan has Mr. McDonald, a first-year teacher. He may not be familiar with Ethan’s
accommodations”

In this case the Teacher may be attempting to convey to Parent that he/she is on their side, but
criticizing other people rather than finding out more information may actually shake parents’
confidence in their child’s teacher.

D. The fourth and final component of the synopsis is to state at least two implications of
practice. Ask yourself these questions. What does this mean for me as a classroom teacher,
developmental therapist, social worker or other human services provider? How can I use this
information in my professional work?

Example:
The findings of this article have several implications for the classroom teacher. First, face-
to-face conferences with parents offer teachers an excellent way to reach out to parents from
culturally diverse backgrounds. The “LAFF Don’t CRY” strategy is one method to facilitate those
interactions because it helps teachers remember and coordinate active listening skills during any
interaction.

The strategy can also be implemented during interactions with colleagues and other
professionals with whom they work. Any strategy that can support effective listening and
communications skills will likely improve the collaboration between adults, and that should result in
improved outcomes for students. In addition, the strategy is simple yet robust enough to work in
formal meetings such as IEP or child study team meetings, as well as during informal and
unplanned interactions in the hallway or during.

Finally, the article presents important information that can help teachers working in any
classroom to be more aware of their communication with parents. Do the words and strategies I
use with parents really send the message that I am interested in what parents have to say and
want to collaborate with them to address student issues? The “LAFF Don’t CRY” strategy can help
me demonstrate the empathy and interest that I do have and can be a good first step in working
collaboratively with parents.
Your synopsis can earn up to 20 points.

Council for Exceptional Children Initial Common Core (2009)

Standard 1 Foundations
CC1K1 Models, theories, philosophies, and research methods that form the basis for special education
practice.
CC1K2 Laws, policies, and ethical principles regarding behavior management planning and
implementation.
CC1K3 Relationship of special education to the organization and function of educational agencies.
CC1K4 Rights and responsibilities of students, parents, teachers, and other professionals, and schools
related to exceptional learning needs.
CC1K5 Issues in definition and identification of individuals with exceptional learning needs, including
those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
CC1K6 Issues, assurances and due process rights related to assessment, eligibility, and placement within a
continuum of services.
CC1K7 Family systems and the role of families in the educational process.
CC1K8 Historical points of view and contribution of culturally diverse groups.

Standard 3 Individual Learning Differences

CCK1 Effects an exceptional condition(s) can have on an individual’s life.
CC3K3 Variations in belief, traditions, and values across and within cultures and their effects on
relationships among individuals with exceptional learning needs, family, and schooling.
CC3K4 Cultural perspectives influence the relationship among families, schools, and communities as
related to instruction.

Standard 6 Language
CC6K4 Augmentative and assistive technology.

Standard 7 Instructional Planning

CC7K1 Theories and research that form the basis of curriculum development and instructional practice.

Standard 8 Assessment
CC8K1 Basic terminology used in assessment.
CC8K2 Legal provisions and ethical principles regarding assessment of individuals.

Standard 9 Professional and Ethical Practice

CC9K2 Importance of the teacher serving as a model for individuals with exceptional learning needs.
CC9K3 Continuum of lifelong professional development.
Standard 10 Collaboration
CC10K2 Roles of individuals with exceptional learning needs, families, and school and community
personnel in planning of an individualized program.

Illinois Professional Teaching Standards (2010)

IPTS 1A: Understand the spectrum of student diversity and the assets that each student brings to learning
across the curriculum.
IPTS 1C: Understand how teaching and student learning are influenced by development, past
experiences, talents, prior knowledge, economic circumstances and diversity within the community
IPTS 1D: Understand the impact of cognitive, emotional, physical, and sensory disabilities on learning
and communication pursuant to IDEA, its implementing regulations, Article 14 of the School Code, and IL
Administrative Code.
IPTS 2F: Knows how to access the tools and knowledge related to latest findings and technologies
in the discipline.
IPTS 3C: Understand cultural, linguistic, cognitive, physical, and social emotional differences, and
considers the needs of each student when planning instruction.
IPTS 4A: Understands principles of and strategies for effective classroom and behavior
Management.
IPTS 4D: Understands factors (e.g., self-efficacy, positive social interaction) that influence motivation
and engagement.
IPTS 6C: Understands communication theory, language development, and the role of language in
Learning.
IPTS 7A: Understands the purposes, characteristics, and limitations of different types of assessments,
including standardized assessments, universal screening, curriculum-based assessment, and progress
monitoring tools.
IPTS 8D: Understands the benefits, barriers, and techniques involved in parent and family collaborations.
IPTS 8E: Understands school- and work-based learning environments and the need for collaboration with
all organizations (e.g., businesses, community agencies, nonprofit organizations) to enhance student
learning.
IPTS 8F: Understands the importance of participating on collaborative and problem-solving teams to
create effective academic and behavioral interventions for all students.
IPTS 8G: Understands the various models of co-teaching and the procedures for implementing them
across the curriculum.
IPTS 8H: Understands concerns of families of students with disabilities and knows appropriate strategies
to collaborate with students and their families in addressing these concerns.
IPTS 8I: Understands the roles and the importance of including students with disabilities, as appropriate,
and all team members in planning individualized education programs (i.e, IEP, IFSP, Section 504 plan) for
students with disabilities.
IPTS 9E: Is cognizant of his or her emerging and developed leadership skills and the applicability of
those skills within a variety of learning communities.
IPTS 9F: Understands the roles of an advocate, the process of advocacy, and its place in combating or
promoting certain school district practices affecting students.