Special Education (SPED)
The purpose of this course is to provide a broad overview of the terminology, strategies, and issues commonly encountered when addressing the needs of exceptional individuals. This course takes a multidisciplinary approach that begins with an introduction to the history of special education and important legislation, followed by discussion of individual areas of exceptionalities. Emphasis will be placed on etiology, identification, assessment treatment and social issues and concerns.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
This course will examine best practice and policies relating to the educational consequences of low-incidence disabilities. An emphasis on deafness, blindness, deaf-blindness, severe disability and multiple disability will occur. Placement and accommodation issues in integrated educational settings will also be a focus.
Prerequisite: SPED 121D
D Requires minimum grade of D.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Foundations of Academic Discovery serves as the entry point to the Rock Integrated Studies Program. With its strong faculty-student interaction, the course promotes intellectual inquiry, critical and creative thinking, and academic excellence. Through varied content, the course introduces students to academic discourse and information literacy while exploring topics such as diversity and inclusion and global awareness. This course will set students along the path to becoming engaged with issues and scholarship important to a 21st century education while they learn about themselves and their place in the world.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
Enrollment limited to students with a semester level of Freshman 1 or Freshman 2.
Enrollment limited to students with the ROCK STUDIES 2 STUDENT or ROCK STUDIES STUDENT attributes.
A unique and specifically focused course within the general purview of a department which intends to offer it on a "one time only" basis and not as a permanent part of the department's curriculum.
Credits: 1-3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
A workshop is a program which is usually of short duration, narrow in scope, often non-traditional in content and format, and on a timely topic.
Credits: 1-6
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
A Selected Topics course is a normal, departmental offering which is directly related to the discipline, but because of its specialized nature, may not be able to be offered on a yearly basis by the department.
Credits: 1-3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
This course will focus on an understanding of the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and the implications for individual's lifespan. The course will explore the latest research on potential causes, best practices for assessment and intervention, as well as current legal and ethical issues related to autism services.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
In this course, students will discuss genesis of special education by way of litigation and resulting legislation as rooted in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's, PL 94-142, and the inception of IDEA Part A-D. An overview of PA Chapter 14 and its relation to IDEA, Chapter 15 and ADA, along with Chapter 16. Students will also explore LRE, compliance, and professional ethics and standards.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
In this course, students will identify the critical components of an educational program for early learners with disabilities and medical diagnosis including: curricular areas, early interventions and effective teaching techniques, use of appropriated materials, transition to school age regarding Part C of IDEA, related services and personnel, parental involvement, assistive technology and inclusionary practices.
Prerequisite: SPED 121D
D Requires minimum grade of D.
Credits: 3
Candidates will develop the use of technologies to assist in the teaching, remediation, assessment and enrichment of students with special needs in inclusive traditional and/or cyber classrooms. The goal is to help pre-service teachers iimplement instructional and assistive technology effectively. This course will also provide a framework for utilizing educational technology to meet the individualized needs of students.
Prerequisite: SPED 121C
C Requires minimum grade of C.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1 or Freshman 2 may not enroll.
A unique and specifically focused course within the general purview of a department which intends to offer it on a "one time only" basis and not as a permanent part of the department's curriculum.
Credits: 1-3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
A workshop is a program which is usually of short duration, narrow in scope, often non-traditional in content and format, and on a timely topic.
Credits: 1-6
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
A Selected Topics course is a normal, departmental offering which is directly related to the discipline, but because of its specialized nature, may not be able to be offered on a yearly basis by the department.
Credits: 1-3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
The learner will identify the critical components of an educational program for persons who have mental retardation classified as moderate, severe, or profound including: curricular areas, effective teaching techniques, appropriate materials, team approaches, ancillary services, parental involvement and inclusionary practices. Includes a lab of three contact hours per week with students who have severe and/or multiple disabilities.
Prerequisites: (SPED 202D or SPED 122D) and (SPED 203D or SPED 121D or SPED 100D) and (SPED 204D or SPED 230D)
D Requires minimum grade of D.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
This course is designed to familiarize secondary education majors with the various behavioral problems they may encounter in the inclusive classroom. Suggestions are given for ameliorating these problems, as well as successfully organizing the classroom and classroom routine. Three units of study will be explored. The three units are: 1) Classroom management with a focus on dealing with students with special needs, 2) Legal issues for secondary teachers, 3) Impact of exceptionalities in inclusive settings.
Corequisite(s): SPED 455
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
This course is designed to provide students with a life management perspective for educating persons with disabilities in an inclusive etting. this course prepares students to apply the foundational principles of special education for meeting the major developmental needs of persons with disabilities from early infancy to adulthood. This course is designed to provide the undergraduate student with a foundation for the understanding of the major developmental needs and community requirements for individuals with disabilities.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
This course focuses on the multi-dimensaional role of service provider to individuals with disabilities. In addition to hands-on experiences with service agencies, students enrolled in this course will interact with service providers, supervisors, related service personnel parents and caretakers. Students will learn how to take on all roles of a service provider and implement effective programming to address all the needs of a client(s). Students will become skilled in matching student needs with appropriate transtion programming as well as identifying personnel key in providing necessary services.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Comm Prgrms Amer with Disabil, Comm Prg Am Dis-Adap Phys Actv, Comm Prg Am Dis-Non-Prft Mgmt or SPED Transition Programming.
This course will provide background for understanding how disabling conditions may handicap a person in terms of jobs, marriage, and family life, housing and transportation and citizenship. The course stresses how everyone is involved in determining the success or failure of the disabled in society. An historical overview of society's treatment of the disabled will be contrasted with recent legislation and the emerging roles of the disabled in American society. The impact of special education on the disabled person, the parents, siblings, employers, neighbors, and peers will be presented.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall, Winter, & Spring
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
This course introduces the student to the assessments utilized for evaluation of students at all levels of transition planning, spanning from school readiness assessments to transition planning for the secondeary level. Students will learn to identify appropriate assessment based on student needs as well as how to administer and score evaluation data. In addition, the course will guide students in reviewing and interpreting assessment data to determine appropriate transition planning to address student needs. The course will also indentify the major litigation and legislation that have sigificantly influenced the nature of service to exceptional populations in the area of transition planning and assessment of their needs.
Prerequisites: SPED 121C and SPED 122C and SPED 230C and SPED 341C and SPED 342C and SPED 343C
C Requires minimum grade of C.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2, Sophomore 1 or Sophomore 2 may not enroll.
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in SPED Transition Programming.
This is an advanced level course that expands students' knowledge in skills necessary to take on leadership and management roles in the secondary transition planning level. Students will be required to engage in professional organizations at the state and local level. Students will learn to identify how to develop an effective system for service delivery to clients. Additional, an emphasis will be placed on current funding sources in the nation and state as well as how to manage necessary paperwork for obtaining funding necessary to run appropriate transition programs for children and adults of transition age.
Prerequisites: SPED 121C and SPED 122C and SPED 230C and SPED 341C and SPED 342C and SPED 343C
C Requires minimum grade of C.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2, Sophomore 1 or Sophomore 2 may not enroll.
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in SPED Transition Programming.
In this course, student will identify the critical components of Tier 1 in the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) for learners with and without disabilities including: universal interventions, best practices, screening, progressing monitoring, classroom management, PBIS, collaboration, co-teaching, SDI and accommodations and inclusionary practices.
Prerequisite: SPED 121D
D Requires minimum grade of D.
Corequisite(s): ELEC 311
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Enrollment limited to students with the ACCEPTANCE - TEACHER CANDIDACY attribute.
In this course, we will discuss the problem of over representation of individuals from diverse backgrounds in special education and the racial, cultural, and economic concerns of school systems and communities (both domestically and abroad) trying to narrow the opportunity/achievement gap for students.During the semester, students will be analyzing some of the historical, socioeconomic, and political factors school systems in areas of high need confront.Specifically, students will investigate effective instructional and organizational practices, examine home-school connections, and identify possible disparities in available resources for urban and rural schools.
Credits: 3
Enrollment limited to students with a semester level of Junior 1, Junior 2, Post Baccalaureate, Sophomore 1 or Sophomore 2.
In this course, students will identify the critical components of Tier II in the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) for learners with and without disabilities including: data-based decision making, evidenced based practices, supplemental and intensive programming, differentiated instruction and assessment. These concepts will be explored within the scopes of academic and behavioral supports for exceptional learners.
Corequisite(s): ELEC 420
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Early Childhood Ed (PK-4), Early Child/Spec Ed(PK-4)PK-8), Early Child/Spec Ed(PK-4)PK-12, Special Education (PK-12) or Exceptionalities.
Enrollment limited to students with the ACCEPTANCE - TEACHER CANDIDACY attribute.
A unique and specifically focused course within the general purview of a department which intends to offer it on a "one time only" basis and not as a permanent part of the department's curriculum.
Credits: 1-3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
A workshop is a program which is usually of short duration, narrow in scope, often non-traditional in content and format, and on a timely topic.
Credits: 1-6
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
A Selected Topics course is a normal, departmental offering which is directly related to the discipline, but because of its specialized nature, may not be able to be offered on a yearly basis by the department.
Credits: 1-3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
The practicum course focuses on developing skills in collaboration, consultation and teaming to prepare pre-service Transition Specialist students for entry into a multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional role of services provider to individuals with disabilities. In addition to hands-on experience with service agencies, Transition Specialist students enrolled in this course will interact with clients, service providers, agency supervisors, related service personnel and care takers.
Prerequisites: SPED 121D and SPED 122D and SPED 230D and SPED 341D and SPED 342D and SPED 343D
D Requires minimum grade of D.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
In this course, students will identify the critical components of Tier III Emotional and Behavioral Interventions within the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) for learners with and without disabilities including: overview of severe behavior. Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA), use of evidenced based interventions to support challenging behavior, develop more age appropriate social and emotional skills, application of effective preventative and environmental planning to limit problem behaviors as well as understanding the acting out cycle, trauma informed care and legal implications surrounding challenging behaviors in today's schools.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Enrollment limited to students with the ACCEPTANCE - TEACHER CANDIDACY attribute.
This course in Special Education is designed for the teacher candidate seeking certification in K-12 Special Education. This course will focus on reading and writing interventions. Students will gain experience with a variety of strategies and interventions to use with various levels of special education needs in the regular education classroom & in pull-out placements. This course will examine effective instructional practices and delivery methods for intensive levels of special education support (K-12) in both the inclusionary and resource settings.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Enrollment limited to students with the ACCEPTANCE - TEACHER CANDIDACY attribute.
This course is designed to provide undergraduate students with the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct educational assessment of diverse students and interpret assessment results in order to plan an educational program (i.e., determine elegibility and develop an individualized education program).
Prerequisites: SPED 121D and SPED 122D and SPED 230D and (SPED 325D or SPED 350D)
D Requires minimum grade of D.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Enrollment limited to students with the ACCEPTANCE - TEACHER CANDIDACY attribute.
This course focuses on skills in consultation, collaboration and learning to prepare the pre-service teacher for the multidimensional role of today's special educator. In addition to hands-on experience in classrooms, students enrolled in this course will interact with special educators, parents, general educators, and resource personnel among others. Application of teaching techniques with children with disabilities under faculty and host teacher supervision will provide the pre-service teacher with an opportunity for experience in the special education classroom as well as inclusive settings prior to the student teaching experience.
Prerequisites: SPED 121D and SPED 122D and SPED 230D and (SPED 325D or SPED 350D)
D Requires minimum grade of D.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Enrollment limited to students with the ACCEPTANCE - TEACHER CANDIDACY attribute.
In this course, we will discuss special education legal documentation, including referral forms relating to Tier 1-3 interventions, the evaluation process, ER, IEP, procedural safegaurds, NOREPs, and Transition. Emphasis will be placed on legally defensible IEP writing, mediation, due process, objective tone, and data collection.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Enrollment limited to students with the ACCEPTANCE - TEACHER CANDIDACY attribute.
In this course, we will discuss instructional interventions and strategies that can be utilized in an intensive, Tier 3 type, setting to assist neuro-diverse learners in understanding mathematics concepts/topics. Particular emphasis will be placed on topics and remediation strategies frequently encountered within the Grade 4 to Algebra/Grade 9 levels.
Credits: 3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Enrollment limited to students with the ACCEPTANCE - TEACHER CANDIDACY attribute.
The purpose of this seminar is to help pre-service special education teachers understand some of the challenges encountered during the first year of teaching, and provide strategies to help prepare them to overcome these challenges as they begin their first year of teaching.
Corequisite(s): SPED 455
Credits: 1
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
This 12 credit internship course focuses on advancing skills in collaboration, consultation and teaming to prepare pre-service students for entry into a multi-disciplinary and multi-dimenstional role of services provider to individuals with disabilities. Students set up their own internship sites with guidance and approval from their advisor. This hadns-on experience with service agencies makes up 480 hours of time in the field. Transition Specialist students enrolled in this course will interact with clients, service providers, agency supervisors, related service personnel and care takers.
Prerequisites: SPED 121D and SPED 202D and SPED 203D and SPED 204D and SPED 212D and (SPED 311D or SPED 313D) and SPED 400D
D Requires minimum grade of D.
Credits: 3-12
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Under the guidance of a cooperating teacher and university supervisor, students engage in two eight- week assignments on a full-time basis in specified school districts and attend scheduled seminars. Supervisors assign additional requirements.
Prerequisites: SPED 202D and SPED 203D and SPED 204D and SPED 212D and SPED 314D and SPED 302D and SPED 306D and SPED 311D and SPED 312D and SPED 400D
D Requires minimum grade of D.
Credits: 3-12
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered Fall & Spring Terms
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
Enrollment limited to students with the ACCEPTANCE - TEACHER CANDIDACY attribute.
Independent Study courses give students the opportunity to pursue research and/or studies that are not part of the university's traditional course offerings. Students work one on one or in small groups with faculty guidance and are typically required to submit a final paper or project as determined by the supervising professor.
Credits: 1-3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
A workshop is a program which is usually of short duration, narrow in scope, often non-traditional in content and format, and on a timely topic.
Credits: 1-6
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.
A Selected Topics course is a normal, departmental offering which is directly related to the discipline, but because of its specialized nature, may not be able to be offered on a yearly basis by the department.
Credits: 1-3
Term(s) Typically Offered: Offered as Needed
Students with a semester level of Freshman 1, Freshman 2 or Sophomore 1 may not enroll.