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Major Requirements — Special Education
The special education major seeks to prepare candidates to utilize a variety of theoretical and research based practices to enable students with disabilities to reach their full potential. Moreover, candidates will gain experience in the varied settings and roles of the special educator, including expanding consulting and collaborative roles in the inclusive classroom. The major will allow candidates to complete all coursework for an Illinois State Board of Education Type 10 Learning Behavior Specialist I certificate.
Certification requires teachers to build a knowledge base to identify and intervene with students who exhibit a wide range of disabilities, including learning disabilities, cognitive impairments (mental retardation and traumatic brain injury), autism, social/emotional disabilities, and physical disabilities/other health impaired. Moreover, although the certificate will cover grades K-12, candidates will have a working knowledge of issues and strategies appropriate for the grades P-12. Furthermore, varied clinical practice and field experiences are considered an integral part to all courses so that the candidate can apply theory to practice and practice to theoretical conceptualizations. The field experiences culminate in a semester-long student teaching experience in special education. In addition to the coursework, students will need to complete the following state tests to receive LBS I certification: Basic Skills; Assessment of Professional Teaching K-12; Learning Behavior Specialist I (content area); and Special Education Curriculum Test (content). Please note that the state now requires two content area tests due to the K-12 span of curriculum covered by the certificate.
Due to state requirements, this is a particularly challenging major, requiring significant coursework to covers all disability types and levels. While it is possible to complete the coursework in the four-year experience at Aurora University, timely completion will necessitate careful planning. During the freshman and sophomore years, candidates generally focus on completing their general education requirements and begin their major by taking the introductory special education course, accompanied by a clinical immersion experience in a special education classroom or inclusive setting (1 hour). The junior and senior years are largely devoted to required education pedagogy courses, needed to demonstrate the breadth of K-12 teaching experience and to allow the special educator to collaborate with the regular education teacher, and the special education courses that constitute the major. While there is some flexibility in when University-wide general education courses and background courses in the College of Education are taken, the order in which the special education courses must be taken is less flexible due to the fact that discipline knowledge builds over the span of the special education coursework. Again, candidates should keep in close contact with their advisors in order to complete this major on schedule.
Admission to the Major
Admission to the major requires that the student first be accepted into the College of Education. This involves an application form, a short essay, passage of the Basic Skills Test, and a grade point average of 2.75 on a scale of 4.0. If the applicant's grade point average is below that of 2.75, the applicant may be accepted on a probationary basis. If probationary status is granted, a formal review will be conducted by the program director after completion of the first three courses will be conducted, where progress toward a 3.0 average must be noted or the applicant will not be able to continue the program. Applicants should be aware that continuation in the special education major requires that students maintain a 3.0 frade point average in the major (including required College of Education courses). Candidates will not be able to proceed to upper level special education courses (those with prerequisites) if this grade point average is not sustained. Again, a probationary period may be extgended, based on the recommendation of the candidate's advisor and the program director.
Required Special Education Courses
SPED2100 Introduction to Special Education (4)
SPED3120 Characteristics and Identification of Disabilities and the Law (4)
SPED3200 Cognitive Development and Disabilities (2)
SPED3350 Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Development: Promoting Prosocial Behavior (3) Writing Intensive
SPED3500 Diversity and Disability Issues: Students, Families, Schools, and the Community (2)
SPED3650 Oral Language Development and Disorders (3)
SPED3750 Intervention Strategies for Problematic Behavior (3)
SPED3815 Strategies and Assistive Technology for Students with Low Incidence and Multiple Disabilities (3)
SPED3820 Psychoeducational Assessment of Students with Disabilities (4)
SPED4500 Mathematics and Sciences Interventions for Students with Disabilities (2)
SPED4550 Reading Disabilities Theory and Interventions (4)
SPED4610 Written Language Development and Disorders (3)
SPED4620 Trends: Collaboration, Differentiating Instruction in the Inclusive Classroom, and Transition (4)
SPED4750 Student Teaching in Special Education and Seminar (15)
Additional Required College of Education Courses (for pedagogical background or regular education)
EDU2260 Theories of Learning (4)
EDU3440 Middle School Methods and Missions (4)
EDU3360 Methods of Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School (3)*
EDU3480 Methods of Teaching Reading and Language Arts (4)
* If a student is interested primarily in special education at the high school level, alternative courses may be approved by the candidate's advisor.
Additional General Education Courses (beyond University requirements), based on Certification Requirements
MTH1210/1220 (6) or MTH1100 (3) or MTH1110 (3)
SBS1100 Introduction to the Social Sciences (4)
Additional coursework may be necessary due to changes in certification requirements.
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.
