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