Special Education Major CSU Academic Programs
The Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree in Special Education is a professional standards-based cross-categorical undergraduate degree program, strongly oriented towards developing the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions to teach learners with mild or moderate disabilities in either the early childhood, elementary or middle grades while enriching their overall instructional, management, and diagnostic competencies. The Special Education program is a carefully designed program of integrated and specifically sequenced course work established to build upon a firm liberal arts foundation through the CSU general education program requirements.
The specialized program in Special Education is arranged in three essential phases. Each phase includes carefully coordinated practicum experiences designed to enable a field based application of the theory and skills presented in class. In Phase I students receive a thorough grounding in the basic concepts, skills and requirements involved in the provision of special educational services to learners with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Students receive their first formal, supervised opportunity to observe and participate in the provision of special educational instruction to learners with mild or moderate disabilities. The development of a beginning portfolio and the first formal evaluation of the portfolio conclude Phase I.
In Phase II students focus on the specific characteristics and strategies used for teaching students with particular disabilities and are given the opportunity to design, implement and evaluate instruction in collaboration with experiences.
In Phase III students serve as student teacher in both elementary and middle inclusive classrooms serving students with the disability. A Student Teacher Seminar runs throughout the student's final semester in which the student has the opportunity to integrate and evaluate the content of the entire program and prepare for transition to a professional position as a special educator.
Finally, completion of the program allows graduates to teach learners with disabilities from Pre-K through 6. The special education undergraduate program at Coppin State University is offered within a unit that is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and approved by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).
Overall Program Objectives
The overall objectives of the Special Education Program are to:
- Provide prospective teachers with a broad liberal arts foundation that will increase their understanding of their environment and its impact upon different people, prepare teachers who will be sensitive to the social, emotional, and educational needs of learner with disabilities.
- Acquaint prospective teachers with the philosophical and legal basis upon which special education is founded and develop understanding of the role of the special education teacher.
- Help prospective teachers understand the importance of diagnosis as the basis for effective instructional planning and classroom management.
- Assist them in acquiring competencies in curriculum planning, teaching methodology, technology usage, classroom organization, and behavioral management.
Program of Study
A generic program in teaching learners with mild and moderate disabilities in the elementary (pre-k - 6) and or middle grades (grade 6-8): initial certificating and Bachelor of Science degree in special education.
This program prepares the prospective teacher to teach learners with mild and moderate disabilities (i.e., those students identified as having mental retardation, learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or emotional disturbance) in an inclusive and resource room or a self-contained setting in the elementary/middle grades.
Special Education Major Courses for Elementary and Middle Grades Professional Education Courses
EDUC 202 | Educational Psychology | 3 |
EDUC 203 | Fundamental of Teaching with Audio-Visual Technology | 3 |
PSYC 335 | Development Psychology | 3 |
EDUC 402 | History of Education | 3 |
OR | ||
EDUC 403 | Philosophy of Education | 3 |
Required Reading Courses
The fourth reading course required by MSDE is housed under the special education teaching methodology course sequence.
EDUC 300 | Foundations of Reading | 3 |
REED 401 | Diagnosis and Remediation for Reading Difficulties | 3 |
REED 405 | Strategies and Materials for Teaching Reading | 3 |
Special Education Block II
Teacher candidates must pass Praxis I before enrolling in these courses
EDUC 202 | Educational Psychology | 3 |
EDUC 203 | Fundamentals of Teaching A-V Technology | 3 |
EDUC 300 | Foundations of Reading Instruction | 3 |
EDUC 402 | History of Education | 3 |
OR | ||
EDUC 403 | Philosophy of Education | 3 |
PSYC 335 | Developmental Psychology | 3 |
REED 401 | Diagnosis and Remediation Of Reading Difficulties | 3 |
REED 505 | Materials of Teaching Reading | 3 |
Special Education Block III
SPED 201 | Introduction to the Needs Exceptional Individuals | 3 |
SPED 203 | Characteristics of Children with Behavioral and Special Learning Dysfunctions | 3 |
SPED 401 | The Special Educator and the Interdisciplinary Team | 3 |
SPED 402 | Counseling Parents and Family Members of Learners with Mild & Moderate Disabilities | 3 |
SPED 403 | Developing Individualized Education Programs for Learners with Mild and Moderate Disabilities | 3 |
Special Education Block IV
SPED 301 | Classroom Organization & Management in the Education of Learners with Mild and Moderate Disabilities in the Elementary/Middle Grades | 3 |
SPED 304 | Curriculum Objectives, Methods, and Materials for Teaching Learners with Mild and Moderate Disabilities in the Elementary/Middle Grades: Literacy Skills | 3 |
SPED 305 | Curriculum Objectives, Methods, and Materials for Teaching Learners with Mild and Moderate Disabilities in the Elementary/Middle Grades: Math, Social Studies & Science | 3 |
SPED 306 | Curriculum Objectives, Methods, and Materials for Teaching Learners with Mild and Moderate Disabilities in the Elementary/Middle Grades: Affective, Psychomotor, & Prevocational Skills | 3 |
Special Education Block V
Teacher candidates must have taken Praxis II before completing these courses
SPED 404 | Directed Teaching of Learners With Mild and Moderate Disabilities | 12 |
SPED 405 | Seminar In Teaching |
3 |
Special Education Major
Level I (First Year)
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Level II (Sophomore)
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Level III (Junior)
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Level IV (Senior)
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* | General Education Requirement |
** | University Graduation Requirement |
¦ | Major Course |
» | or any 2 part 200 level History |
? | or any ENGL 200 level or above |
• | BIOL 101 or 107 or CHEM 101 or PHSC 101 or PHSC 103 |
× | PHIL 103 or PHIL 102 |
† | or IDIS 103 or any Foreign Language or ART 105 or MUSC 201 or DANC 226 or THEA 211 |
‡ |
or any 3 credit Health course, or SPCH 202 or SPCH 204 or GEOG 102 |
? | General Elective - any University course |
? | Program Elective - any non-required course within the discipline |
? | Support Course |
§ | Management Science Elective |
NOTE: Please consult a program advisor to discuss course options.