CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, BAKERSFIELD
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Excellence~Integrity~Caring
Special Education Department
EDSP 636 A
Intern Seminar/Supervision in Special Education (2 units)
Spring 2009
Instructor: Dr. Yeunjoo Lee
Office Phone: 661-654-6478 FAX: 661-654-3029
E-Mail:
Office Hours: 4-6 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays
4-5 on Wednesdays
Candidate Dispositions
Candidates preparing to work in schools as teachers or other professional school personnel know and demonstrate the content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn.
Professional Collaboration: Candidates will participate in action-oriented collaboration that will enable them to learn from others and provide leadership in partnerships with all stakeholders.
Reflective Practitioner: Candidates are reflective, life long learners who apply problem solving and critical thinking strategies and the respectful appreciation of differing points of view.
Ethical Professional: Candidates’ actions are based on accepted professional standards of conduct and reflect insight and awareness with respect to diverse perspectives, opinions, obligations and ethical responsibilities of the profession.
Student/Client Centered: Candidates, throughout their programs, will prioritize the needs of the students/clients they serve by maintaining trusting relationships built upon caring, nurturing (respective) and meaningful interactions.
Professional Leader: Candidates, throughout their programs, will be strong, determined, professional leaders with a clear instructional focus using effective communication skills and a willingness to take risks to ensure the advancement, safety, and welfare of all students in our communities.
Professional Competence: Candidates will maintain high programmatic outcomes that reflect research-based practices, principles of learning differentiation, and standards based instruction.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
The instructor will make reasonable accommodations for students who have a documented problem that interferes with successfully completing this course. It is your responsibility to request accommodation before assignments are due. To request academic accommodations due to disability, please contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) as soon as possible. Their office is located in Bldg. 200, and they may be reached at 661-952-5061 (voice) or 661-952-5120 (tdd). If you have an accommodation letter from the SSD Office documenting that you have a disability, please present the letter to me during my office hours so we can discuss the specific accommodations that you might need in this class.
Prerequisites:
In order to participate in the Intern Seminar Class, the following prerequisites must be completed. Candidates who fail to complete the prerequisites before beginning the EDSP 636 coursework will be dropped from the class until the requirements are fulfilled. If the candidate has any concerns or questions regarding the prerequisites listed below, scheduling an appointment with the program director would be advised. Prerequisites are:
Bachelor's Degree
Passage of CBEST
Pass a CSET examination
Completed Application/Submission for an Intern Credential
Employed by a participating school district
Completed Application/Submission to the Special Education Program
Course Description:
This practicum is developed to provide ongoing support and guidance to on-the-job intern credentialed teachers serving mild to moderate and moderate to severe populations. The seminar focuses on developing a community of learners in special education classrooms that includes: fundamental organization, classroom management, instructional skills, lesson/unit planning, working with paraprofessionals, and professional development. A major emphasis in this practicum will be sharing experiences and expertise so teachers can learn from each other.
Recommended Readings:
Pierangelo, R. (2004). The special educator’s survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Rosenburg, M. S., O’Shea, L., & O’Shea, D. (2005). Student teacher to master teacher: A
practical guide of educating students with special needs, 4th Ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill-Prentice Hall.
Required Electronic Portfolio tool:
College LiveText Edu Solutions www.livetext.com Order from Runner Bookstore 661.654.2273 $89.00 + $6.95 shipping (shipped to student in 2-3 days) or online directly from www.livetext.com
Course Objectives and Competencies:
In order to make explicit how this course attempts to address the education of the whole person, the following objectives are coded as to which domains the objectives pertain to: C = cognitive; A = affective; S = social and P = psychomotor. Some classes may not include all four domains. Reference to CCTC Program Standards are noted and follow objectives.
Candidates will:
1. Discuss factors that contribute to developing a community of learners. (C, A, S) (12, 13, 16, 25)
2. Discuss issues in classroom organization and management that affect the performance of students with special needs. (A, S, P) (15, 24)
3. Demonstrate competency in basic classroom management and teaching practices with students exhibiting special needs. (C, A, S, P) (12, 13, 15, 17, 23, 26, 27)
4. Plan, demonstrate, and evaluate direct instruction lessons. (C, A) (23, 26)
5. Develop portfolios that describe and illustrate classroom practices (17, 23).
6. Describe critical incidents and discuss possible resolutions through a collaborative problem solving approach. (A, S) (10, 11, 16, 25)
7. Assess the academic and environmental factors that influence student development utilizing authentic and formal assessment instruments, records, observations and interviews. (C, S) (10, 11, 16, 25)
8. Discuss and implement methods of instruction that simultaneously address academic and social goals in a thematic unit. (C, A, S) (12, 15, 24, 25)
9. Implement and critically examine reading programs. (C ) (12, 15, 24, 25)
10. Describe the role, activities, and characteristics of the effective advocate for special needs students. (A, S, P) (12, 15, 24, 25)
11. Discuss methods of assisting families in developing support strategies for at-risk children and youth. (A, S) (10, 11, 16. 25)
In addition, the intern will develop an induction plan for a Level I or Level II Professional Credential.
1. Identify individual performance goals, outline specific strategies for achieving those goals, establish timelines and document progress in meeting the established goals in collaboration with an experienced colleague or support provider holding a specialization credential in the program of the candidate and a university advisor. (C, S) (10, 11, 16. 25)
2. Select a specific area(s) of interest to be addressed in their university and non-university activities to include, but not limited to, transition, inclusive education, early childhood, multicultural studies, sex education, behavioral intervention, deaf-blind, serious emotional disturbance, technology, augmentative communication. (C, A, S, P) (9, 10, 11, 12, MM/MS-17)
3. Include in their individualized plan a balance of university (specialized coursework) and non-university (professional development opportunities, site level functions, district level functions) components to address the established performance goals, experience with diverse populations, advanced levels of knowledge and skills appropriate to the credential, the full range of teaching responsibilities, and an extension of studies began at the preliminary level and will be developed collaboratively by the employing agency and the university. (C, A, S, P) (9, 10, 11, 12)
4. Include in their induction plan curricular content and support activities characterized by a depth of learning that challenges the candidate, fosters critical reflection, extends understanding, facilitates professional growth and development, and allows for meaningful integration of theory into practice. (C, S) (9, 10)
5. To document their progress in meeting their performance goals and their ability to apply theoretical knowledge obtained in university and non-university activities to their own special education classrooms or settings. (C, A, S, P) (12)
6. Reflect, assess and monitor their own progress toward meeting their performance goals on a regular basis and modify their induction plan according to their own changing professional development needs and feedback from their university and school district assessors. (C, A, S) (9, 10, 11, 12)
7. Collaborate with their university advisory will identify an experienced colleague or support provider from their employing school district whose credential authorization is specific to the area that the candidate is pursuing in their professional level program). (C, S) (9, 10, 11, 12)
Intern Program Progression:
Interns progress through the program as a cohort; however, some participants may enter the seminar during different quarters. Therefore, the seminar commonly consists of interns in their first through sixth quarters of participation in the program. To ensure interns have appropriate access to program content, participants will complete all quarter and portfolio assignments by the quarter the participant entered the program. Following is a brief description of general course requirements.
Course Assignments:
1. On-site Intern Coach Assignment Form: For beginning interns, an On-site Intern Coach must be identified within three weeks of the start of the quarter. Participating districts will assign the Intern Teacher with an On-site Intern Coach. A Peer Coach Assignment Form indicating the qualification of their intern coach is submitted to the University Supervisor on or before the Three-Way Conference.
2. Supervision Log: Once the On-site Intern Coach is identified, the coach is requested to complete a Supervision Log including the date of contact, type of contact, length of contact made to support and assist the intern. The completed log is to be updated each quarter and will be reviewed by the University Supervisor at the last seminar class. While there is a recommended form located in the intern handbook, please be aware that some districts have created their own logs which are perfectly acceptable for this purpose.
3. General Education Contact Log: Every attempt is made to ensure that the intern is given a variety of field experiences. Interns are required to document a minimum of 100 hours in general education classrooms working with general education teachers and mainstreaming their students. If the Intern Teacher already possesses a Multiple Subject/Single Subject Credential, he/she is not required to complete this log. The contact log is to be updated each quarter and made available to the course instructor/University Supervisor at the last seminar class until 100 hours of general education contact has been logged.
4. Intern Coach Observations: The On-site Intern Coach will make two observations of the intern engaged in teaching (one at midterm and one final for each quarter) each quarter. The Student Teaching Visitation Form or comparable district form will be completed during each observation and maintained by the intern. The copies should be made available for review by the course instructor/University Supervisor at the last seminar class.
5. Site Visitation/Three-way Conference: The University Supervisor will visit/observe the intern at their school site at least once during the quarter. The visits/observations may be unannounced. A lesson plan, using the university’s lesson plan format, needs to be developed for the University Supervisor for each visitation/observation. In the event of an unannounced visit/observation, a lesson plan must be created and provided to the University Supervisor within one week of the visit. During the first, third/fourth, and sixth quarter, the Intern Teacher, On-site Intern Coach, and University Supervisor will conduct a Three-way conference. The Three-way Conference Form will be completed during the meeting and will serve as an evaluation of the Intern Teacher’s teaching performance and progress toward their induction plan goals. It is the intern’s responsibility to schedule the Three-way conference.
6. Option I Special Education Competency Portfolio:
· Throughout the Option I/Level I program, candidates are required to collect the signature assignment required in each course as well as course syllabi. A signature assignment and all observation documentation should be included in the Special Education Competency Portfolio. Beginning with the Fall 2006 Quarter, the Competency Portfolio will be hardcopy and/or electronic format. “Your competency portfolio is intended to be an on-going record of your professional achievements and examples of your best work. You will add and remove items as you continue your career, allowing you to reflect periodically on your professional growth. The portfolio provides potential employers and special education Level II program admissions committee with evidence of your skills.” (Special Education Intern Credential Handbook, p. 27). See pages 27-32 of the Intern Handbook for more detail about the Level I Competency Portfolio. The University Supervisor will check portfolios at the school site during the observation time where applicable as well as during individual meetings.
7. Option II Special Education Competency Portfolio
· Option II/Level II candidates must follow guidelines for the Level II Professional Development Portfolio upon completion of their Level I portfolio as indicated in the Intern Handbook found on pages 32-34. “The professional portfolio is a collection of the candidate's best work and documents the candidate's ability to perform the duties of a special education teacher at the professional level. The portfolio is also used as an assessment procedure to evaluate the candidate's competence in meeting all requirements for the Professional Level II Specialist Credential in Special Education. The portfolio is development throughout the candidate's State Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for Specialist Credential Programs through university and non-university activities” (Special Education Intern Credential Handbook, p. 32). The Level II Professional Portfolio will be separated from the Level I Competency Portfolio.
The portfolio materials will be used to establish and monitor teacher development over time and document the accomplishment of program competencies. An ongoing evaluation of the portfolio will take place during each seminar class each quarter to determine competency of courses taken. Upon completion of Level I and/or Level II, the portfolio will be used to document whether a Special Education Candidate has completed all the requirements for the Preliminary or Professional Clear Credential and provide evidence that the standards of quality have been met.
8. Induction Plan: The candidate, in collaboration with their University Supervisor and the On-site Intern Coach will develop an induction plan. The plan will include the following information:
· Performance Goals: The student will identify at least one specific focus areas (i.e., inclusive education, technology, writing IEPs, classroom management, multicultural studies, transition, behavioral intervention, serious emotional disturbance, sex education, deaf-blind, and/or augmentative communication, etc.) to address in their performance goals. The performance goals must include the learning behaviors that the candidate expects to acquire by participating in the university and non-university activities. At least one performance goal will be identified each seminar.
· Goal Activities: University and non-university activities to meet the performance goals will be selected from university coursework, school district in-services, independent studies, professional conferences, extended readings, and other professional development opportunities. Goal activities for each performance goal will be identified each seminar.