EDS 426/626 Students with Disabilities in the Regular Classroom Spring, 2005
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Credits 3 Credits Instructor Dr. Mike Warner Office: 3085 WRB (across from the main CI office. Phone: (775) 784-4383 x2039 Email: mmwarner@unr.edu Office Hours: By appointment. You can either call me on the phone or send email. I will try to get back to you within 24 hours. Catalog Description “Preparation of teachers to deal with assessment and program development for students with disabilities who are included in general education classrooms.” Class Time, Day & Location Section 1 Tuesday, 4-6:45 p.m. Rm. 2024; WRB Section 2 Wednesday, 1-3:45 p.m. Rm. 2023; WRB Purpose & Relationship to COE Conceptual Framework This course provides an overview of current issues and practices in the field of special education. Events that led to Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, (currently referred to as IDEA 97) and the impact of the law on public education will be addressed. Students will learn about individuals with special needs: how they are identified in the schools and how they are served by the school system. This course reviews strategies for instructing students with exceptionalities in general education classrooms as well as the roles and responsibilities of school personnel for providing appropriate educational experiences for all students. This course relates to the four themes guiding the teacher preparation program in the College of Education in the following ways: Possesses a love of learning: This course provides opportunities for students to guide some of their own learning and to take personal responsibility for learning, thus demonstrating their own love of learning. Further, the course highlights the need for teachers to pass on a love of learning to their students, regardless of the intellectual or academic capacity of the learner. Develops a strong fund of knowledge: Students will develop knowledge related to the historical foundations of special education, including litigation and legislation, teacher roles and responsibilities, and instructional strategies used to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities. Engages in reflective practice: Reflective practice requires the ability to think critically about classroom issues as well as oneself. This course requires students to reflect on their own biases and experiences with persons with disabilities and then integrate those experiences into ideas for appropriate instruction for students in their classrooms. Values democracy and multiculturalism: This course is designed to demonstrate to students the complexity of today’s classrooms and to emphasize the point that when we say, “all students have the right to appropriate quality instruction,” that in fact we mean ALL students, regardless of disability, ethnicity, gender, or social class. Course Objectives Upon completion of this course, students will: 1. Demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics of students with disabilities and implications for instruction and behavior management in the general education classroom. 2. Demonstrate knowledge of the various roles and responsibilities of school personnel in the education of students with disabilities. 3. Demonstrate knowledge of federal laws that govern the education of students with disabilities, particularly I.D.E.A. and Section 504. Identify their own attitudes, beliefs and perceptions related to the instruction of students with disabilities. Requirements: Exams All students will complete two in-class exams, a mid-term and a final exam. Both exams will be open-book, open notes. The exam questions will cover material presented during class including any handouts, and content from the web. Key terms, concepts and study questions will be posted on the web for each unit. Test questions will be drawn from these key terms, concepts and study questions with very few exceptions. The format of the questions will be short answer and multiple-choice. The final exam will only include material from the 2nd half of the course. Each exam will be worth 100 course points. Requirements: Personal Perspective Paper You are asked write a paper – approximately 5 pages in length -- summarizing your personal philosophy regarding the accommodations for diversity in the general education classroom, particularly with respect to students with disabilities. You may choose to include this paper in your portfolio. You may wish to keep a weekly log, in which you write a paragraph or two about your personal response to the class and readings. This log could serve as the basis for the paper. The paper will be worth 50 course points. I will grade the papers and return them by Nov. 2 / 3. Students can re-submit these papers for a possible better grade if they are not satisfied with the grade they receive Include in your paper a discussion of the various characteristics and learning needs that students with disabilities will bring into the classroom. You will have to be succinct here. You might want to think about how you could best organize this part of your paper. For example, you might want to use a small number of general categories (e.g., academic needs, social needs, etc.). The focus of the paper should be less on what specific techniques you would use and more on things like the atmosphere you would try to set up in your classroom and more general approaches to accommodation of students with disabilities, including perhaps collaboration with other professionals. Focus your paper at the elementary level or the secondary level based on the licensure you are seeking. Students who are working toward a special education or a ELL licensure may wish to modify the assignment slightly to fit with the role you expect to play. If you have not already done so to the CI Office and ask for a document on Professional Performance Assessment. There is one for elementary education, one for secondary education, and one for special education. This assign could be modified by you later to become part of your ‘Reflective Essay” which is required in all portfolios. It also could become documentation under one or more of the categories in the portfolio matrix. For example, Knowledge of Children might be relevant, along with Professionalism and Collaboration. You may wish to look at recent (2003-2004) issues of the following two journals to learn more about inclusion: Exceptional Children Educational Leadership (focus on articles that have something to do with special education) Or do a quick ERIC search on the topic of inclusion. You can read to get additional ideas about what to write about. If you use something from an article be sure to cite it (in any format); however, I am mostly interested in your own thinking and therefore, outside references are not required to do well on this assignment. Try to write this paper from a first person perspective. This assignment is worth 50 course points. Up to 10 points will be awarded for mechanics (spelling, grammar, punctuation) and up to 30 points will be awarded for clarity of presentation, organization, and evidence of clear thinking about this topic. Requirements: Class Attendance and Participation A. Attendance at ‘Lecture’ Classes (All Classes Except weeks 4 and 12). A class break will be scheduled at the end of 1 hr. and 15 minutes. Attendance will be taken before and after class break. Students my miss up to two 1/2 classes without penalty. Each additional 1/2 lecture class missed will result in a loss of 3 course points. B. Two of the class sessions are labeled ‘Discussion’ classes. These are scheduled for weeks 4 and 12. Undergraduate students only will start at the beginning of class (4 p.m or 1 p.m.) Grad. Students only will start at 5:30 or 2:30. All students should come prepared with 3 discussion questions. Students will turn in their discussion questions, and these three questions will be graded and worth 10 course points (as a set). Students may be called upon to present their questions in class. What is a ‘Good’ question for the purposes of this assignment? First, any question that you have that you are sincerely curious about is a good question for the purposes of this assignment. If you have a question about a simple statement of fact, include it. But more often that not, I want you to ask questions that engage higher-order thinking skills. The list below is not exhaustive. 1. Questions that ask about comparisons. “How are [two things] the same or different?” 2. Questions that ask for clarification. [e.g., asking me to be more specific, where you think I might be over-generalizing. “When you say… do you mean X or Y or something else?] 3. Questions that ask about or raise doubts about classifications. 4. Questions that imply some type of criticism or challenge. “Why do the authors assert that …, when in fact, or in my opinion, …. 5. Questions that exam assumptions. “When you, Dr. Warner, say that… aren’t you assuming that…. 6. Hypothesizing – “What would happen if schools…?” 7. Locating contradictory statements, points of view, etc. C. For Graduate Student Only: During Week 15 (Nov. 30 / Dec. 1) an additional ‘Discussion’ class will be held during the 2nd 1/2 of class. This discussion will cover the Deshler and Lenz text. Requirements: Graduate Students Only All student enrolled for graduate credit (CI 609) will obtain the book: Lenz, B.K. , Deshler, D.D., & Kissam, B.R. (2004). Teaching content to all: Evidence-based inclusive practices in middle and secondary school. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (Required during the second half of the course). (about $40+ tax at amazon.com or barnesand noble.com OR order it in person from your favorite Reno bookstore.) Provide a two-page (double-spaced, type-written), or so, reaction paper for each of 6 chapters from this book. You can choose any 6 chapters from those assigned. The first 1 and 1/2 pages should focus on the main point or points that you got out of the chapter. Be succinct. The other 1/2 page should contain either critical issues that you want to raise in response to the chapter content, OR, one or two questions that you have after reading the chapter. These questions can either 'go beyond' what is presented in the chapter (e.g., ask about an application of chapter content that is not covered by the authors, or they can ask for clarification of some part of the chapter that is not clear to you.) As a third alternative for the 1/2 page part of each reaction paper, you can discuss exactly how you could or are applying the information from the chapter in a classroom setting. This assignment is worth up to 72 course points ( 6 x 12 points). I will grade the six reaction papers according to the extent to which you indicate good comprehension of one or more key points from each of the six chapters you choose to include. I will also look for clear writing and good thinking about the chapters as evidenced by your critical comments, or the types of questions you ask, or your descriptions of how you would apply or are applying what you have learned. Grading Policy 90-100% A 80-89 % B 70-79% C 60-69% D 59% or less F No plus or minus grades will be awarded. I will not post course grades. You can receive your grade and your final exam score if you leave a self-addressed stamped envelop with me during the final exam. Any project work that is left with me at the end of the semester will be available in my office only for you to pick up. Just call ahead of time if you are going to drop by. Also, I will hold your course work for two months after the semester is complete. After that, I reserve the right to lose it. Students in this University Class With Disabilities Each student who qualifies with a disability may provide me with a letter from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) stating the appropriate accommodations for this course. If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss how these academic accommodations will be implemented, please contact me as soon as possible. Teaching Methods This course will be taught using a variety of methods, including: class discussion, small group discussion, and lectures. Relevant Journals Exceptional Children Teaching Exceptional Children Remedial and Special Education Exceptionality Learning and Individual Differences Journal of Learning Disabilities Teacher Education and Special Education Journal of Special Education Focus on Exceptional Children Learning Disabilities Research to Practice Learning Disability Quarterly Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis The Elementary School Journal |