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Course Descriptions — Special Education

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SPED2100  Introduction to Special Education (4 semester hours)
This course provides an overview of all aspects of special education and how serv­ice is provided by the public schools. Therefore, the course introduces the cate­gories of disabilities the public schools use to define students with disabilities, the process by which the schools identify those students and their needs, the range of services that are provided by the school system to meet special needs, and how information is related to students and families. The various roles and responsi­bilities, and how they might interface with other professionals in the school and community, will also be discussed. This course requires an immersion compo­nent in the public schools.
No prerequisites.

SPED3120  Characteristics and Identification of Disabilities and the Law (4 semester hours)
The focus of this course will be on the defining characteristics of disability classi­fications in common use in the schools (learning disabilities, cognitive issues such as mental retardation and traumatic brain injury, autism, emotional disorders, and physical disabilities/other health impaired), including discussion of subtypes within disability groupings that have been suggested by research, educational, or clinical practice. Definition of exceptionality and incidence rates and how they vary by state or urban/suburban/rural area will be considered. Historical per­spective will be given regarding major national education laws, including IDEA and the most recent reauthorization. Discussion will center on how these laws have been interpreted and how this impacts the service provision in the schools, both for students who receive accommodations (504 Plans) and for those who receive services from a variety of school professionals. The special education referral process will be studied, delineating how and when either a 504 Plan or an Individual Education Plan might be established. Also, state level legislation that has influenced identification and placement will also be discussed. Ethical and legal issues related to issues such as confidentiality or the reporting of suspected abuse will also be considered. Includes 15 hours of observation centering on the legal aspects of the special education process.
No prerequisites.

SPED3200 Cognitive Development and Disabilities (2 semester hours)
This course will address research and theories related to typical cognitive devel­opment and learning and disorders associated with the cognitive processes, rang­ing from constructivist research to information processing and brain imaging. An historical perspective will also be provided. Additionally, contrasts will be drawn between the impact on various types of processing strengths and weak­nesses, such as auditory or other sensory processing and memory (both working memory and long term memory), and how they might impact learning and behav­ior, as well as remedial efforts for differing disabilities, such as learning disabili­ties, mental retardation, or acquired disorders (traumatic brain injury). Task analyses focusing on receptive/expressive (input/output), visual/auditory, and verbal/nonverbal aspects of cognitive tasks will be undertaken for students rang­ing from primary to high school. The development of more metacognitive tasks, such the ability to monitor behavior, actively solve problems, and use study skills, will also be discussed, particularly for the middle and high school years. Includes a minimum of four hours of observation focusing on the differential impact of cognitive dis­orders above.
No prerequisites.

SPED3350  Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Development: Promoting Prosocial Behavior (3 semester hours)
This course will cover both the current theories of social-emotional development and the disorders for the school-aged years and adolescence, with some discussion of life-span issues. Focus will be placed on identification/assessment and inter­vention of social deficits as they impact the schools. Discussion will focus on devel­oping prosocial behavior, thereby facilitating involvement in the least restrictive environment, and how intervention may be adjusted based on needs of students with varying disabilities. Social behavior will be viewed broadly, ranging from the individuals self-perceptions such as self-esteem and self-determination, to his or her ability to engage socially not only in the school but in the family and com­munity. Particular focus will be placed on time-management and self-advocacy for the middle and high school years. Moreover, research regarding the impact on behavior of preconceptions held by teachers and others regarding the students will be studied. Finally, medical, psychological, or related service interventions will be discussed and how the schools collaborate with these professional groups. This is a writing intensive course for the university. As such, candidates will be intro­duced to basic qualitative and quantitative methodology and how primary research should be evaluated. Candidates will generate a brief survey of the lit­erature in some area related to prosocial behavior and will propose an action research project.
No prerequisites.
Writing intensive course.

SPED3500   Diversity and Disability Issues: Students, Families, Schools, and the Community (2 semester hours)
The focus of this course will be on how various social institutions, particularly the school and family, may define disability and how this may impact collaboration and communication in regard to service provision in special education. Research regarding how identification and service delivery, as well as the student's learning, may be impacted by issues of diversity, including disability, ethnicity/culture, socioeconomic level, language/linguistics/dialects, and gender, will be studied. The potential for bias during assessment and/or instruction and the potential impact on learning will be investigated. Moreover, how these issues are reflected in family systems and identity and how differences might lead to misconceptions or misunderstandings will be discussed. Finally, how strategies to support iden­tity formation and retention can be incorporated into lesson plans or classroom activities will be addressed. Includes four hours observation/discussion with teach­ers/families in the schools/community.
No prerequisites.

SPED3650  Oral Language Development and Disorders (3 semester hours)
The normal course of oral and nonverbal language development will be con­trasted with atypical development, with a focus on the P-12 period. Aspects of language development and techniques for treatment will cover issues related to phonological awareness, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics; addi­tionally, consideration will be given to how the impact of these aspects of lan­guage changes through the middle and high school years, both in the school and the community. Further study of the utility and practice of standardized tests spe­cific to oral language development will be undertaken. Additionally, candidates will learn to conduct informal language analyses of school-aged (P-12) students in order to identify oral language weaknesses. Remedial techniques and poten­tial accommodations, based on identified difficulties, will be an additional focus. Specific focus will be given to communication intervention for some cognitive disorders, such as autism, including alternative and augmentative communication. The use of sign language and second language acquisition, and how diag­nosis and service provision can overlap, will also be discussed. Finally, software technology in common use will be learned, with requirements to integrate the use of software and other interventions into lesson plans. Includes a minimum of 10 hours of informal assessment and observation.
No prerequisites.

SPED3750  Intervention Strategies for Problematic Behavior (3 semester hours)
This course focuses on behavioral interventions for more challenging behaviors and how issues may change from the elementary to high school years. Environ­mental modifications, techniques of non-aversive behavioral control and methods to maintain attention, and effective reinforcement techniques will be taught. Techniques such as problem solving, crisis prevention, and conflict resolution, also potentially used to develop prosocial behavior, will be extending in this class to deal with more significant behavior problems, including issues such as self- stimulation and self-abuse. Issues related to the law and the range of service pro­vision outside the school, such as residential placements, will be discussed in relation to challenging behaviors and how the schools collaborate with external professional groups. Includes a minimum of 10 hours of observation, comparing inter­ventions that develop prosocial behaviors and those designed to intervene with problematic behaviors.
No prerequisites.

SPED3815  Strategies and Assistive Technology for Students with Low Incidence and Multiple Disabilities (3 semester hours)
This course will focus on intervention techniques, adaptations, and assistive tech­nology for students with more significant disabilities, including mental retarda­tion, traumatic brain injury, orthopedic impairments, more significant autism, and other health impaired. Typical and atypical motor development will be addressed. Functional adaptation of curriculum will be stressed, as well as resources available in the community. Study will span the needs of students in relation to life skills, recreation/leisure, community, and career/vocational issues and the development of goals and interventions to meet those needs. Specific life skills addressed will include toileting, eating, dressing, grooming, mobility, posi­tioning, and transfers. Includes a minimum of 10 hours of school observation.
No prerequisites.

SPED3820  Psychoeducational Assessment of Students with Disabilities (4 semester hours)
The procedures for formal assessment of the issues underlying learning, academic performance, psychosocial behavior, and vocational skills for the P-12 grades will be examined. Issues related to cognitive development, in regards to intelligence or processing (e.g., memory, speed of processing), and testing will be discussed. Nonbiased assessment practices and modification or adaptations for mode of response will be addressed. Candidates will practice administration, scoring, and interpretation of the results of standardized tests in common use in the schools. Case studies will be used to understand the process of differential diagnosis, including interviews, functional assessment of behavior, and assessment of the learning environment; and oral and written dissemination of results that include planning for instruction based on interpreted results. Moreover, curriculum-based assessment and portfolio assessment will be investigated. Readings will focus on research of the possible limitations of formal and informal testing-that is, the relative efficacy of the differing diagnostic approaches, including response to intervention, and how they might facilitate service provision. A lab fee will be charged. Includes a minimum of 15 hours of assessment.
Prerequisite: Admission to the College of Education and Special Education Major.

SPED4500  Mathematics and Science Intervention for Students with Disabilities (2 semester hours)
The development of mathematical and science knowledge and reasoning will be studied in conjunction with disorders of these domains. Candidates will learn to assess and remediate weaknesses in both physical, biological, and social sciences and math, including the use of manipulatives and software technology. Strategy instruction as applied to the sciences will be a focus for middle and high school levels, as well as common accommodations. The development of lesson plans to deal with difficulties that may be encountered in topics such as estimation, men­tal mathematics, measurement, algebra, geometry, patterns, and problem solving in mathematics; the inquiry process, experimentation, and safety in science; and integration and interrelatedness of areas within the social sciences will be cov­ered. For all domains, the importance of utilizing authentic activities that take into account issues of diversity and facilitate the student integrating academic skills to the spheres of family, community, vocation, and recreation will be stressed. Includes a minimum of four hours working with students.
Prerequisite: Admission to the College of Education and Special Education Major. EDU3360 (or upper level mathematics methods course); may be taken concurrently.

SPED4550  Reading Disabilities Theory and Interventions (4 semester hours)
The focus of this course will be on the theoretical models of reading develop­ment and disorders and how these theories have impacted the definition of the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of reading disorders. Normal development of pre-reading and reading skills will be contrasted with atypical development. Research regarding how reading achievement relates to decoding and phono­logical awareness; word recognition; vocabulary; comprehension; fluency; self- monitoring; and instruction/service provision (individual, small group, and whole-class programs) will be studied, with practice of intervention techniques. For the middle and high school years, techniques effective for various domain areas will be stressed, as well as how accommodations in relation to reading can be integrated into the student's curriculum. In addition, the course will include further training on the standardized tests and software technology interventions specific to reading, as well as the performance of informal measures such as run­ning records and informal reading inventories, with a focus on error analysis, interpretation, and communication of results to students, families, and colleagues. Includes a minimum of 15 hours of work with students.
Prerequisites: Admission to the College of Education and special education major; EDU 3480.

SPED4610 Written Language Development and Disorders (3 semester hours)
This course will study theories and research regarding the development and dis­orders of written language, including handwriting, spelling, and written discourse, from emergent literacy to strategies for research and essay forms used more exten­sively in middle/high school. The range of impact, dependent on disability, will be investigated, both in regard to academic, social, and vocational pursuits. For­mal and informal assessments to elicit and analyze written language samples will be learned and practiced, as well as lesson plans using remedial techniques and software technology commonly in use for varying disabilities, ranging from learn­ing disabilities to physical disorders impacting the physical act of writing. Includes a minimum of eight hours working with students.
Prerequisite: Admission to the College of Education and Special Education Major.

SPED4620: Trends: Collaboration, Differentiating Instruction in the Inclusive Classroom, and Transition (4 semester hours)
Remedial theories and modes of intervention for the preschool to postsecondary years will be investigated, ranging from individual to small group to inclusion classroom settings. An overview of how remedial efforts in oral language, read­ing, writing, mathematics, nonverbal, and social issues might interrelate will be delineated. Current trends in service provision will be explored, such as response to intervention models. The role of the special educator as a facilitator for dif­ferentiating curriculum and providing accommodations in the regular education classroom will be highlighted, as well as co-planning and co-teaching models. Moreover, transition services and how they might be impacted by differing needs dependent upon disability will be an additional focus. Local and state resources that pertain to issues of employment, sexuality, independent living and learning, and social participation in leisure activities will be explored, particularly for the middle and high school student. Special educators' varying roles, from address­ing family concerns and advocacy to supervision of para-educators, will be dis­cussed. Candidates will be exposed to professional organizations in the field and will develop a professional development plan and a personal philosophy of spe­cial education. The necessity for consultation, collaboration and flexibility of services will permeate all discussion of theory and models. Includes a minimum of 15 hours of observation and work with students in the schools related to course topics.
No prerequisites.

SPED4750: Student Teaching and Seminar in Special Education (15 semester hours)
The student teaching experience involves placement in a special education setting under the supervision of a certified teacher. Placements will encompass the K-21 age range, affording candidates with experience in a range of ages. Candidates will capitalize on skills learned in earlier courses to conduct formal, informal, and functional assessments. Based on this information, they will generate and imple­ment lesson plans, establishing an effective learning climate for their students. Additionally, candidates must demonstrate the ability to collaborate with col­leagues, para-educators (candidates should expect a supervisory role as well), other professionals within the school and community, and families to meet students' academic, social and life skill needs. In short, the candidate will learn to fill all roles and major functions expected of the special educator, with the bene­fit of supervision. Seminars will provide candidates with support in completing their comparative case study projects. They will also provide a forum for support, in addition to that provided by supervisors, during the internship process. Addi­tionally, this will assure maximum exposure during the candidates' field experi­ences to the range/severity/age levels of all disabilities covered by the LBS I certification.
Prerequisites: Admission to the College of Education, a 3.0 or better GPA in spe­cial education courses, officially reported passing score on the pertinent Illinois certification tests (Basic Skills; Assessment of Professional Teaching K-12; Learn­ing Behavior Specialist I (content area); and Special Education Curriculum Test), all special education coursework for the major.

Academic information on departmental Web sites reflects the university's most current curriculum. The print version of the catalog, which is also posted online, may differ from this information.