I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Introduction to Special Education

2. Course Prefix & Number:
CDEV 2202

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

4. Course Description:

Students will examine strategies that support inclusive programs for children and families along with legal and ethical requirements, eligibility and qualification for services, including but not limited to American Disabilities Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, typical and atypical development. Strategies to adapt curriculum to meet the needs of children with developmental differences and cultivate partnerships with families will also be explored.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

No placement tests required

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

7. Other Prerequisites

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

2. Transfer - regional institutions with which this course has a written articulation agreement:

Early Childhood Education Transfer Pathway A.S.

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):

Early Childhood Education Transfer Pathway A.S.
Early Childhood Education A.A.S.

 

 

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate interpersonal communication skills	Evaluate and reflect on effective and non-effective ways to communicate and interact with parents or guardians, families, school colleagues, and the community to support children’s learning and well-being.
Apply ethical principles in decision-making	Discuss and describe children’s rights and teacher responsibilities to equal, appropriate education for students with disabilities, confidentiality, privacy, appropriate treatment of children, and reporting situations of known or suspected abuse or neglect.
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	Participate in and document group discussions pertaining to working with families and children with exceptionalities.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Examine and evaluate teacher strategies and learning opportunities that utilize and promote a child’s strengths as a basis for growth, learning, and intellectual, social, and personal development and children’s errors as opportunities for learning (SEP 2.D);
• Research and examine how children differ in their approaches to learning and create instructional opportunities that are adapted to children with diverse backgrounds and exceptionalities;
• Examine and discuss areas of exceptionality in learning, including disabilities, perceptual difficulties, and special physical or mental challenges, gifts, and talents (SEP 3.B);
• Describe why all children can and should learn at the highest possible levels and research and explain teacher strategies that promote persistence in helping all children achieve success (SEP 3.I);
• Identify when and how to access appropriate services or resources to meet exceptional learning needs.  Locate such services and resources in local communities (SEP 3.N);
• Examine, evaluate, and reflect on effective and non-effective ways to communicate and interact with parents or guardians, families, school colleagues, and the community to support children’s learning and well-being;
• Examine and describe children’s rights and teacher responsibilities to equal, appropriate education for students with disabilities, confidentiality, privacy, appropriate treatment of children, and reporting situations of known or suspected abuse or neglect (SEP 10.C);
• Describe how to support and advocate for children and families as they move through the assessment and identification process;
• Examine and describe the concept of addressing the needs of the whole child/learner (SEP 10.D); and
• Examine teaching, communication, and environmental strategies that integrate and promote children’s learning, development, and family involvement to support learning styles, promote cultural, family perspectives within program, school, and home based environments.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Early intervention and public policy
• An inclusive approach to early education
• Inclusion defined
• Historical perspective of inclusion
• Rationale for inclusion
• Implications for teachers
• Concerns and challenges
• Federal legislation: early intervention and prevention
• Early intervention movement
• Landmark legislation and people with disabilities
• Public policy and gifted
• Prevention 
• Inclusive programs for young children
• Types of inclusive programs
• System of supports and services
• Recommended practices for programs
2.  Likenesses and differences among children
• Normal and exceptional development
• What is normal, or typical development
• What is atypical or exceptional development
• Children at developmental risk
• Developmental disabilities: causes and classifications
• Causes of developmental differences
• Classifications of developmental differences
• Sensory impairments
• Deafness and hearing loss
• Blindness and vision impairments
• Physical disabilities and health problems
• Physical disabilities
• Program implications
• Health problems
• Health problems and program practices
• Learning and Behavior Disorders      
• Attention deficient hyperactivity disorder
• Learning disabilities
• Behavior disorders
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Eating and elimination disorders
3. Planning for inclusion
• Partnerships with families
• Historical perspectives
• Family centered practice
• Parent participation
• Communicating with parents
• Assessment and the Individual Family Service Plan/Individual Education Plan process
• Assessment of young children
• The process of early identification
• The family’s role in assessment
• Teachers’ role in early identification
• Individualized family service plan
• Individualized education plan
• Characteristics of effective teachers in inclusive programs
• Teachers as members of a team
• The applied developmental approach
• Characteristics of effective teachers
4. Implementing inclusive early childhood programs
• Development-behavioral approach
• Developmental and behavioral principles: a blend
• Behavior principles and practices
• Punishment
• Step-by-step learning
• Learning by imitation
• Arranging the learning environment
• The inclusive classroom environment
• Preventative discipline
• Arrangements for learning
• Planning early learning environments
• Scheduling
• Transitions
• Facilitating self-care, adaptive, and independence skills
• Self-care skills and the curriculum
• When and how to teach self-care skills
• A systematic approach to teaching self-care
• Snack time: an opportunity to teach so many skills
• Maturation and learning: toilet training as an example
• Facilitating social development
• Social skills and overall development
• Defining appropriate social skills
• Acquiring social skills
• The role of early learning programs
• Teacher-structured peer interactions
• When more intervention is needed
• Facilitating speech, language, and communication skills
• Language acquisition
• Sequences in language acquisition
• Alternative language systems
• The naturalistic language-learning environment
• Speech irregularities
• English language learners
• Facilitating pre-academic and cognitive learning
• Cognitive development and emerging literacy
• What brain research tells us
• Developmentally appropriate pre-academic experiences
• Planning and presenting pre-academics
• Managing challenging behaviors
• When is a behavior a problem?
• A tiered framework for intervention
• A functional approach to managing problem behaviors
• Data collection and monitoring
• Common behavior problems
• Planning transitions to support inclusion
• Transitions during early childhood services
• Steps in the transition process
• Transition from early intervention services to preschool services
• Transition to Kindergarten