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Counseling Psychology and Special Education 400
Winter 2010
Brigham Young University
Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education
Course Title: Exceptional Students: Principles of Collaboration
Course Credit: 2 semester hours
Instructor: Dr. Gordon Gibb 340-G MCKB
422-4915
Course Time &
Location: MW 11:00-11:50 250 MSRB
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 10:00-10:40 and other days and times by appointment. In order to give you the uninterrupted attention you deserve, please schedule an appointment.
Teaching Assistant: Rebecca Blair
Course Description: This course prepares future classroom teachers to understand how students with exceptionalities learn, and how to use basic strategies for meeting their educational needs. Teacher candidates will identify: the ways individuals differ, the exceptionalities defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, strategies to instruct students with various learning needs, curricular adaptations and accommodations for students with disabilities, and ways to collaborate with parents and professionals.
Prerequisites: None
Concurrent field experience: Work a minimum of 12 hours with a student(s) with disabilities, or a student who is at risk of school failure. Teacher candidates will submit case study assignments regarding this volunteer work.
Materials (available online at the website below):
Carter, N., Prater, M.A., & Dyches, T.T. (2009). What every teacher should know about making
accommodations and adaptations for students with mild to moderate disabilities. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Custom Textbook:
Mastropieri, M.A., & Scruggs, T.E. (2007). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Prater, M.A. (2008). Chapter 2: Laws and reform impacting special education from: Teaching strategies for student with mild to moderate disabilities. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (Available online)
Wood, J.W. (2009). Chapter 5 Adapting lesson plans from: Practical strategies for the inclusive classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. (Available online)
Web sites:
Pearson 400 web site – http://www.pearsoncustom.com/ut/byu_education [use the passwords on your purchased package].
IRIS at Vanderbilt University http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/
Course Assignments/Assessments Point Value
Ø Note: Late assignments can only receive a maximum point value of 80% and will be graded using the same criteria as all other assignments.
Ø Professional Participation [20 @ 2 points/class] 40 POINTS
You earn participation points by attending class, arriving on time, staying for the entire class session, and participating in classroom activities. Civility is a priority! [Civility is defined as politeness, a courtesy, good manners, courteousness, respect, graciousness, consideration and is the opposite of rudeness].
Ø Reading and Connections Journal Assignments Connections Journal [Choose 5 of the 8 @ 5 points each]
25 POINTS
Reading materials include the following: Mastropieri and Scruggs custom text, Prater Chapter 2, Wood Chapter 5, the
What Every Teacher Should Know About Making Accommodations book, IRIS Web site modules. For each assigned chapter, students will complete a connections journal assignment (approximately 1/2 page).
Ø Course Assignments** [4@ 10 points each] 40 POINTS
Students will complete 5 assignments before the practicum break (approximately 1-2 pages in length). [Descriptions of these assignments are listed at the end of the syllabus].
1. Disability Awareness Assignment
2. High incidence presentation
3. The IRIS Response-to-Intervention Module and Assessment
4. Behavior Assignment
Ø Field Experience: [3@ 15 points each]= 45 POINTS
For this course, teacher candidates will spend 12 hours working with a student who is experiencing difficulty academically (i.e., learning to read, write, spell, or solve mathematic problems). In conjunction with the field experience, students will complete the following assignments:
1. Learning Disabilities (LD) Checklist and Log [does not need to be typed].
2. Lesson Plan Accommodations
3. Performance Analysis
Ø Final Project 100 POINTS
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Ø Class Total Points 250 POINTS
Ø BONUS Complete the course/instructor evaluation found on BYU’s system.[5 POINTS)
Grading Scale
Your letter grade for the course will be calculated using the following percentages:
A 95 - 100 / B+ 87 - 89 / C+ 77 – 79 / D+ 67 - 69A- 90 - 94 / B 83 - 86 / C 73 – 76 / D 63 - 66
B- 80 - 82 / C- 70 – 72 / D - 60 - 62
Course Expectations
• Course Work: Written work is expected to beyour own work that is professionally appropriate; please proofread your work prior to submission. Assignments should typed and be free from spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors. Well, this isn’t new to you—is it? You want your own credit for your own great work!
• Assignments: All written work must reflect the efforts of the individual student.
• Time Commitment: University standards are (weekly) 2 to 3 hours of out-of-class work for each credit hour. For this class you may spend 4 to 6 hours a week completing course work.
• Personal Responsibility: Regularly check the online course information and/or the course syllabus for any changes or of clarification regarding assignments prior to contacting the instructor. Students are responsible for completing course work and for managing learning behavior in and out of class. If you encounter problems completing course work, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor to resolve issues.
• Classroom Behavior: Reading, texting & sending emails, completing work for other courses
or any other multi-tasking type activity is not an appropriate use of the learning opportunity available in class. Cell phones and pagers should be turned off prior to class.
• Professionalism: You are expected to behave in a professional manner. If you have concerns, you should discuss them privately with the instructor. The classroom is not an appropriate forum for airing personal frustration or stress.
• Observe BYU Honor and Dress Codes.
• Methodologies/Teaching Strategies: Course instruction includes reading the lessons, completing mastery checks, accessing internet sites, viewing electronic video presentations, and working with a child with special needs, attending class and participating in instructional activities in class.
Mission Statement of the BYU Special Education Programs:
We maximize the potential of diverse learners with individualized educational needs to elevate their quality of life. We accomplish this by supporting the mission and aims of a BYU education as we integrate teaching, research, and service. We specifically:
· Prepare competent and moral educators who select, implement, and evaluate research-based effective teaching practices and appropriate curriculum for learners with special needs.
· Prepare master special educators who provide collaborative leadership to foster the moral development and improve learning and social competence of exceptional children with challenging behaviors.
· Add to the knowledge base of special education and related disciplines through research.
· Serve and advocate for learners with individualized educational needs and others who support them.
Other Critical Information:
I will communicate with you via e-mail. As a BYU student, each of you has access to an account. Use Blackboard to access information for this course. And please make certain your email account information is accurate on the Blackboard system. Also, if you have recently married and changed your name, please make sure the correct name is on your registration and on Blackboard. Otherwise, use the same name on your paperwork as the name on Blackboard and the University directory.
· Honor Code
In keeping with the principles of the BYU Honor Code, students are expected to be honest in all of their academic work. Academic honesty means, most fundamentally, that any work you present as your own must in fact be your own work and not that of another. Violations of this principle may result in a failing grade in the course and additional disciplinary action by the university. Students also must adhere to the Dress and Grooming Standards. Please call the Honor Code Office at 422-2847 if you have questions about those standards.
· Plagiarism
Writing submitted for credit at BYU must consist of the student's own ideas presented in sentences and paragraphs of his or her own construction. The work of other writers or speakers may be included when appropriate (as in a research paper or book review), but such material must support the student's own work (not substitute for it) and must be clearly identified by appropriate introduction and punctuation and by footnoting or other standard referencing.
The substitution of another person's work for the student's own or the inclusion of another person's work without adequate acknowledgment (whether done intentionally or not) is known as plagiarism. It is a violation of academic, ethical, and legal standards and can result in a failing grade not only for the paper but also for the course in which the paper is written. In extreme cases, it can justify expulsion from the University. Because of the seriousness of the possible consequences, students who wonder if their papers are within these guidelines should visit the Writing Lab or consult a faculty member who specializes in the teaching of writing or who specializes in the subject discussed in the paper.
· Preventing Sexual Harassment
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination against any participant in an educational program or activity that receives federal funds. The act is intended to eliminate sex discrimination in education and pertains to admissions, academic and athletic programs, and university-sponsored activities. Title IX also prohibits sexual harassment of students by university employees, other students, and visitors to campus. If you encounter sexual harassment or gender-based discrimination, please talk to your professor; contact the Equal Employment Office at 801-422-5895 or 1-888-238-1062 (24-hours), or http://www.ethicspoint.com; or contact the Honor Code Office at 801-422-2847.
· Students with Disabilities
Brigham Young University is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability, which may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the Services for Students with Disabilities Office (422-2767). Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified, documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the SSD Office. If you need assistance or if you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through established grievance policy and procedures by contacting the Equal Employment Office at 422-5895, D-285.
Guiding Framework: As a department, we embrace the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and
Support Consortium (INTASC) Standards as our guiding framework for preparing teacher candidates.
The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Standards: The
INTASC standards center on five major propositions: (1) Teachers are committed to students and their
learning. (2) Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to diverse learners.
(3) Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. (4) Teachers think
systematically about their practice and learn from experience. (5) Teachers are members of learning communities.
Learning Outcomes (CPSE 400 – http://learningoutcomes.byu.edu) Collaboration, Interpersonal relations, & Professional practice.
DESCRIPTIONS OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
COURSE ASSIGNMENT 1: Disability Awareness Assignment (Mastropieri Chapter 1)
Complete ONE of the following:
a. Personal history assignment. OR b. Personal interaction analysis.
a. Analysis of Personal History
Summary of your inquiry
Most families have members who were born with obvious challenges, who were identified by the schools with a disability or disorder, or who became disabled in childhood or adulthood through physical or mental illness, accident, injury or aging. The purpose of this task is for you to learn more about those individuals and the history of your family’s response to those persons. Interview your parents, grandparents and other older relatives to find out as much as you can about these family members.
If you have a good relationship with a family member who has a disability or has a child with a disability, you might choose to interview them about the impact of that disability on their lives, their hopes, their dreams, their nightmares, their challenges. Or you might choose to spend some time with them and reflect on what you learned that ties in with this class.
If you were identified as a student with a disability or were born with a significant physical difference or medical problem, you might choose to have a conversation with your parents about what it was like for them at the time you were identified and how they advocated for you and for themselves.
Provide a concise, clear summary of how you went about your inquiry including dates, times, persons interviewed or interacted with, methods for inquiry, questions asked, and what you learned.
Reflection
Provide a well-developed reflection on your inquiry and analysis of your findings.
1. Describe your emotional, intellectual and behavioral responses to the exercise. How did the interview make you feel? What did it make you think? What did you want to do after conducting this interview?
2. What has been discussed in class that ties into what you learned in the interview? Make direct reference to how you have integrated new understandings and made connections with class lectures, discussions, readings, and in-class activities.
3. What did you learn about individuals with exceptionalities or cultural/personal response from completing this exercise?
4. How do others in your family view this person with a disability? What is your perception of disabilities?
5. Your writing should have only minor errors in writing mechanics, including spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Good sentence and paragraph construction should be present. People first language is always used.
b. Analysis of Personal Interaction with an Individual with Disabilities
Summary of Interaction
Provide a summary of an interaction with an individual with disabilities that you engaged in or observed. This interaction should have occurred within the last year. Provide information about when and where the interaction took place, who was involved in the interaction, and what happened. Describe the person with a disability that the interaction revolved around. Please use first names only or pseudonyms to protect the confidentiality of those involved.
Reflection/analysis of personal interaction
Describe your initial response to the interaction, and then dig deeper. Reflect on your own personal response to the interaction. What assumptions were challenged? What did you learn from the interaction? Consider how this interaction compares and contrasts with what you are learning about individuals with disabilities.