School of Education
DEPARTMENTSLicensure and Master of Arts in Special Education - early childhood Courses
Prerequisites
Hold a valid teaching license in Minnesota or take courses to fulfill standards
Core Courses
Survey of Exceptionality
Behavior Management
Collaboration Skills for School Professionals
Licensure Courses
Fundamentals: Preschoolers
Working with Infants, Toddlers and Families
Assessment Strategies: Early Childhood Special Education
Methods: Early Childhood Special Education
Positioning and Handling and Augmentative Communication Strategies
Acquisition of Speech and Language
PRAXIS II
Practicum: Early Childhood Special Education (Ages 3 to 6)
Practicum: Early Intervention (Ages: Birth to 3)
Additional Requirements for earning a Master’s Degree
Principles of Educational Research
Special Education Final Project
Refer to our catalog for course descriptions with greater detail.
Prerequisites
Hold a valid Minnesota teaching license or document the Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice for Beginning Teachers.
- Education's Place in Society (TEGR 510, EDUC 210, or equivalent)
- Human Relations and Multicultural Education (TEGR 512, EDUC 212 or equivalent)
- Psychology of Teaching and Learning (TEGR 530, EDUC 330, or equivalent)
- PRAXIS I (pre-professional skills test or CBT)
Core Courses (9 Credits)
Survey of Exceptionality (SPED 750 – 3 Credits)
- Examine the theories, legal mandates, definitions and terminology related to special education.
- Explore characteristics of individuals with exceptionalities including gifted and talented; emotional behavioral, and speech and language disorders; learning, developmental and sensory disabilities; early childhood special education.
Behavior Management (SPED 785 – 3 Credits)
- Explores the idea of positive behavior support for promoting acceptable behavior in school and other settings where individuals learn.
- Develop skills to teach and support acceptable behavior that is demonstrated in home, school, and community settings.
Collaboration Skills for School Professionals (SPED 714 – 3 Credits)
- Develop the knowledge and skills needed to effectively collaborate with faculty, administrators, students, para-educators, families and community members.
- Explore applications of collaboration related to consultation, team membership, co-teaching, partnership with families, developing interagency agreements and supervision of paraprofessionals.
- Identify current practices in collaboration used in program planning and implementation for students receiving special education services.
Licensure Courses (24 Credits)
Fundamentals: Preschoolers (SPED 778 – 3 Credits)
- Provide a foundation for working with preschoolers and their families in early childhood and early childhood special education programs.
- Develop appropriate practice and curriculum based on typical and atypical early-childhood development.
- Explore ways to enhance child development for children with a variety of disabilities.
Working with Infants, Toddlers and Families (SPED 744 – 3 Credits)
- Provide a foundation for working with infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families in natural environments in early intervention programs (birth to age 3).
- Identify early childhood atypical and typical development, family-centered care, activity-based intervention in natural environments.
- Develop curriculum for birth to age 3 programs, planning and conducting family-centered home visits, community services, and transition to Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) (ages 3-6) programs.
Assessment Strategies: Early Childhood Special Education (SPED 787 – 3 Credits)
- Examine and provide practice in the use of formal and informal assessment and evaluation procedures for young children with disabilities.
- Understand norm-referenced and criterion-referenced measures, observation formats, parent interviews and family assessment, ongoing evaluation, report writing, and developing IEPs and IFSPs.
- Develop a comprehensive assessment portfolio of a young child.
Methods: Early Childhood Special Education (SPED 740 – 3 Credits)
- Facilitate development of effective teaching skills for professionals in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), birth to 6.
- Explore evaluation and assessment information to plan developmentally appropriate individualized programs in the least restrictive environment for children with a variety of disabling conditions.
- Identify activity and play-based intervention and special methods for use with children with motor, sensory, health, communication, social-emotional and/or cognitive disabilities.
Positioning and Handling and Augmentative Communication Strategies (SPED 751 – 3 Credits)
- Discuss normal gross motor, fine motor, oral motor and sensory development.
- Examine the implications of the development of abnormal movement and sensory dysfunction.
- Address current positioning and handling techniques and feeding interventions.
- Understand sensory defensiveness and optimal arousal states.
- Gain real-world experience with classmate partners and children with physical or sensory impairment.
- Find out about Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).
- Examine the principles and procedures involved in assessment as well as practical guidance on designing and implementing intervention strategies.
Acquisition of Speech and Language (SPED 770 – 3 Credits)
- Explore the normal developmental sequence of speech and language from birth to five years of age.
- Examine cognitive development is in terms of its impact upon the acquisition of language skills.
- Learn strategies for facilitating the development of language and communication skills.
Praxis II: Test of professional knowledge and subject matter an content test
Practicum: Early Childhood Special Education (Ages 3 to 6) (SPED 741 - 3 credits)
- Gain practical knowledge in an educational or community-based setting with pre-schoolers, including children with disabilities.
- Identify planning and implementing instructions skills for an early childhood class with adaptations for children with disabilities
- Selecting appropriate individual objectives and embedding them in routines and curricular activities
- Develop skills in assessment and evaluation, including documentation of practical experiences gleaned from the student’s licensure program.
Practicum: Early Intervention (Ages: Birth to 3) (SPED 735 – 3 credits)
- Gain practical knowledge in a family, hospital, educational and/or community-based setting with infants and toddlers who have disabilities and their families.
- Identify planning, assessing and providing early intervention services.
- Demonstrate competence in partnering with families in home and/or educational settings, including documentation of practical experiences gleaned from the student’s licensure program.
Additional Requirements for earning a Master’s Degree (4 Credits)
Principles of Educational Research (CIED 500 – 3 Credits)
- Learn methods of descriptive and experimental research.
- Understand basic statistical theory and application.
- Build skills in research methodology.
Special Education Final Project (SPED 799 – 1 Credit)
- Apply your knowledge in useful and creative ways.
- Display your knowledge in teaching.
- Demonstrate the ability to influence professionals in your field of choice.
- Design and implement innovative curricula, adapted instruction, in-service programs or complete a formal research project.
Refer to our catalog for course descriptions with greater detail.
