Special Education (Dual Certification)

Special Education Course Descriptions

SPE 100 Overview of Human Exceptionalities (3 cr)
Designed for prospective classroom teachers, this course surveys the process and provision of special education services for students with special needs. The causes and characteristics of individuals with mental retardation, learning disabilities, emotional and behavior disorders, autism, and sensory impairment, and the impact of disabilities on families are addressed. This course fulfills the Human Diversity graduation requirement.

SPE 211 Teaching Reading/Language Arts to Students with Disabilities (3 cr)
This course addresses the diagnostic and learning needs of exceptional and at-risk students, kindergarten through high school, and instructional strategies for teaching reading and literacy to these students in inclusive and/or special education classrooms settings.

SPE 335 High Incidence Disabilities (3 cr)
An overview of the historical and educational basis for development of programs for those students who have been identified as needing Learning Support is provided. Introduction to definitions, etiologies, classroom diagnostic procedures, and remediation techniques will be addressed. Prerequisite: SPE 100.

SPE 345 Low Incidence Disabilities (3 cr)
The education of persons with mental retardation, autism and multiple disabilities is addressed as a collaborative effort of various individuals whose shared goal is meeting these children’s unique learning needs across the life span. The use of adaptive equipment, assistive technology and issues of inclusion with these populations are explored in this course.

SPE 350 Autism Spectrum Disorders (3 cr)
This course presents an understanding of autism through a review of current research as well as through the words and behaviors of those who live it. The impact of this human condition on families and various professionals will be addressed, along with how various treatment approaches and collaboration support the education of these individuals. Prerequisite: SPE 100 or permission of the instructor.

SPE 370 Positive Behavior Support (3 cr)
This course will focus upon the identification process for students who might be labeled as having emotional/behavioral disorders, and will address interventions which promote academic learning and appropriate social behavior, measures of students’ progress toward behavioral goals and management objectives, effective classroom management systems, and general systems of care, as well as those assisting agencies and interventions that may be available for this population and their families.
Co-requisite: ED 306.

SPE 410 Evaluation and Progress Monitoring with Special Needs Students (3 cr)
An overview of the historical foundation and major contributions to the field of progress monitoring will be presented. Introduction to definitions, etiologies and theoretical approaches to curriculum-based management systems and forms of progress monitoring are given. Students will learn about various systems for data collection, charting, and reporting classroom performance as they drive planning and implementation of remediation and intervention programs.

SPE 425 Legal and Professional Practices in Special Education (3 cr)
This course will focus on understanding the legal statutes and regulations regarding students with disabilities and the resulting impact on the delivery of services and educational programs. Skills in development and delivery of the Individualized Education Plan, from age 3-21, including effective communication and collaboration, will be addressed. Discussion of professional dispositions and ethical behaviors of effective special educators will be reviewed. Teacher candidates will become thoroughly familiar with the evaluation instrument used to assess teacher competence and professionalism in Pennsylvania public schools.