Degrees and Requirements

Summary of Requirements

Master of Special Education courses: 18 credits

• EDSP5015

  CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN SPECIAL

  EDSP5015
  CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN SPECIAL

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  The purpose of this graduate level course is to prepare Masters Degree candidates to be well-informed special educators by investigating current trends and issues in special education, and some of their historical roots. A core set of topics will be explored in depth that could build toward leadership in the field, including developments in curriculum and instruction, legal policies, new technology, ethical principles, and standards for practice. Additional content may be added in response to new issues or student-expressed interests. Students will prepare to become informed consumers of educational research by learning to evaluate the strength of the research articles describing trends and issues. Students will learn to analyze research and trends to identify effective practices for working with individuals with exceptionalities and their families.

  PREREQUISITES:

• EDSP5025

  COLLABORATING WITH FAMILIES AND

  EDSP5025
  COLLABORATING WITH FAMILIES AND

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  The purpose of this graduate level course is to prepare Master's Degree Candidates to collaborate with all stakeholders to enhance educational opportunities for students with special needs. This course will focus on effective communication skills and culturally responsive practices that can be used to interact in a professional and ethical manner with families and community agencies.

  PREREQUISITES:

• EDSP5030

  READING INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS

  EDSP5030
  READING INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  The purpose of this graduate level course is to prepare Masters Degree candidates to understand how processing differences effect reading, and how to provide the explicit, systematic instruction needed by students with high-incidence exceptionalities. The course will provide research-based recommendations for both instruction in the five essential skill areas of reading and measures to assess and monitor students' progress. Participants will also learn how to evaluate instructional effectiveness and adapt instruction, differentiate instruction for diverse groups of students, and provide differentiated instruction through a Response to Intervention and Instruction (RTII) model. Practice opportunities will be provided for application of course concepts. The course will maintain a strong emphasis on helping participants to establish best practices for effective reading instruction for students with exceptionalities.

  PREREQUISITES:

• EDSP5035

  RESEARCH METHODS

  EDSP5035
  RESEARCH METHODS

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  PREREQUISITE: EDSP5015, GRADE OF B OR BETTER The purpose of this graduate level course is to prepare Masters Degree candidates to become critical consumers of educational research, and to conduct research projects. The course is highly interactive, designed to help participants apply many of the examined quantitative and qualitative practices by analyzing research reports and planning research projects. Emphasis will be placed on exposure to the breadth of research possible in the educational field.

  PREREQUISITES:

  EDSP5015

• EDSP6020

  ADVANCED INSTRUCTIONAL

  EDSP6020
  ADVANCED INSTRUCTIONAL

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  The purpose of this graduate level course is to prepare Master's Degree Candidates to provide evidenced-based instructional techniques to students with disabilities in inclusion settings. An emphasis is placed on results of research and proven methods of instruction including: modifications and adaptations of materials, co-teaching models, learning strategies, lesson planning, assessment, and transitioning. The purpose and use of assistive technology will also be highlighted.

  PREREQUISITES:

• EDSP6025

  RESEARCH BASED ASSESSMENT

  EDSP6025
  RESEARCH BASED ASSESSMENT

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  PREREQUISITE: EDSP5035, GRADE OF B OR BETTER The purpose of this graduate level course is to prepare Master's Degree Candidates to use valid and reliable assessment practices to improve their instruction and to minimize bias. This course will focus on designing and implementing assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of practices and programs for individuals with exceptionalities. In addition, this is the capstone course for the Master's Degree in Special Education program, so Master's Degree Candidates will present their original research projects as a culminating activity.

  PREREQUISITES:

  EDSP5035

PreK-8 Special Education courses: 29 credits

• EDSP2015

  INTRO TO HIGH INCIDENCE

  EDSP2015
  INTRO TO HIGH INCIDENCE

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  This course provides students an opportunity to explore foundations of special education in the United States including: characteristics of each disability category, legislation, over-representation of diverse students, academic and functional needs of students with disabilities, individual learning differences, least restrictive environment, implications for a Standards Aligned System, collaboration and transition. Students will develop an understanding of Accommodations and Adaptations for inclusive environments.

  PREREQUISITES:

• EDSP2025

  LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND

  EDSP2025
  LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  PREREQUISITE: EDSP2015, GRADE OF C OR BETTER This course will introduce students to behavior and misbehaviors of students in the school setting, types of misbehavior roles, establish a classroom management plan that will reflect their consideration of students with disabilities, problem solving, conflict resolution, assessing appropriate and problematic behaviors while establishing opportunities for students with diverse backgrounds to interact and share in cooperative learning groups, problem solving to achieve common goals. "Application Models" will be the framework used to demonstrate the approaches used by pioneers as well as 21st century researchers and educators.

  PREREQUISITES:

  EDSP2015

• EDSP3015

  INTRO TO LOW INCIDENCE

  EDSP3015
  INTRO TO LOW INCIDENCE

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  This course is designed to prepare students with the skills necessary to effectively teach individuals with severe disabilities, identify the relationships of organizations to school systems, laws and policies that are related to the implementation of specialized health care in the educational setting, and demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of individuals so as to develop effective instructional plans that will contribute to effective programs.

  PREREQUISITES:

• EDSP3025

  EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL

  EDSP3025
  EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  PREREQUISITE: EDSP2015, GRADE OF C OR BETTER The Instructional Strategies Course identifies and implements instructional strategies for all individuals with disabilities by evidenced-based methods, specialized resources, multiple instructional approaches, appropriate adaptations and technology, integrating student initiated learning opportunities and experiences into ongoing instruction. Teach learning strategies and modify the pace of instruction within and across curricula, demonstrate efficient differentiated instruction, efficient planning, coordination, and delivery for effective instruction required for inclusive settings.

  PREREQUISITES:

  EDSP2015

• EDSP3035

  SPECIAL EDUCATION PRACTICUM

  EDSP3035
  SPECIAL EDUCATION PRACTICUM

  Credits (Min/Max): 2/2

  PREREQUISITE: EDSP2015, GRADE OF C OR BETTER This course provides a special education field experience placement and seminar based on the Effective Instructional Strategies course. The student will be assigned a class or a small group of students where he/she will create and implement lessons weekly according to the students’ IEP, learning needs, and PA learning standards. The student will demonstrate and promote effective strategies for teaching children of all ability ranges in his/her lessons plans and teaching. The student will spend one period a week teaching in a classroom. This will be accompanied with a seminar focusing on the plans and teaching that is implemented weekly.

  PREREQUISITES:

  EDSP2015

• EDSP3040

  EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT

  EDSP3040
  EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  PREREQUISITE: EDUC1010, GRADE OF C OR BETTER This required course for all education majors will explore the instructional purposes for a variety of assessment strategies, such as: authentic, screening, diagnostic, formative, benchmark, and summative assessments. Future teachers will learn how to interpret assessment data, such as standardized test scores and norms, and will practice how to communicate assessment results to educational stakeholders, while considering legal and ethical issues related to assessment data, such as maintaining confidentiality. Future teachers will also create sample assessments that target academic standards and assessment anchors within subject areas, in order to measure mastery of the curriculum in more than one way.

  PREREQUISITES:

  EDUC1010

• EDSP4015

  DEVELOPMENT OF THE IEP AND

  EDSP4015
  DEVELOPMENT OF THE IEP AND

  Credits (Min/Max): 3/3

  PREREQUISITE: EDSP2015, GRADE OF C OR BETTER The focus of this culminating course is to prepare the student teacher with a realistic overview of teaching special education in Pennsylvania. The student will create an IEP, become familiar with Inclusion and collaboration, write reflections based on current issues/trends in special education, participate in discussions, create useful artifacts, discuss significant court cases, and understand Transition. The student will also comprehend the special education continuum of services available to the identified student.

  PREREQUISITES:

  EDSP2015

• EDSP4065

  SPECIAL ED STUDENT TEACHING

  EDSP4065
  SPECIAL ED STUDENT TEACHING

  Credits (Min/Max): 6/6

  PREREQUISITE: EDSP4015, GRADE OF C OR BETTER The Special Education Student Teaching Course is designed to allow teacher candidates an opportunity to apply skills learned in professional practice, human development, learning environments, instructional strategies, instructional planning, diversity, adaptations and accommodations, collaboration, behavior management, and assessment in a PreK-6th grade special education placement. Under the supervision of a school district cooperating teacher(s) and a La Roche University supervisor, the teacher candidate will design, implement and evaluate lessons that appropriately address the IEP goals and meet the PA Academic Standards and Assessment Anchors. Student teachers will demonstrate skills that include, but are not be limited to: differentiated instruction, universal design, collaborative teaching, transition planning and research based data driven instruction to meet the needs of all students.

  PREREQUISITES:

  EDSP4015

• MLED2000

  MLED2000
  

  Credits (Min/Max): /

  PREREQUISITES: