Courses
Enrollment in specific courses in the College of Education may be restricted to students who clearly demonstrate the greatest potential for success as teachers. Factors such as general studies courses completed, GPA, scores on state and program tests, interviews, etc., may be considered.
SPE 300 Survey of Special Education and Accommodation Strategies.
Three hours.
Characteristics of all exceptionalities, and educational and behavioral
adaptations for exceptional children in the general education classroom.
A practicum experience that acquaints students with exceptionalities
is included. Offered each semester.
SPE 302 Educational Diagnostic Measurement. Three hours. Introduction to group and individual assessments used for evaluating student learning and for planning instruction. Emphasis is on appropriate test selection and use of results.
SPE 304 Instructional Strategies in Special Education. Three hours. Addresses curriculum planning and selection of instructional tasks, with emphasis on making decisions that facilitate learning in students with disabilities.
SPE 326 Instructional Sign Language I. Three hours. Introduction to the culture of the deaf community and to the sign language continuum, providing a knowledge base from which students can communicate with the deaf and hard of hearing in the school setting.
SPE 374 Parenting Children. Three hours. Explores the role of families in the educational process and how professionals work with families. Offered fall semester.
SPE 382 Teaching Thinking Skills. Three hours. Prerequisite: At least one methods course. An overview of the dimensions of thinking skills with a focus on practical instructional techniques for special and regular education programs. Includes detailed training in models for teaching thinking skills that result in improved student and teacher thinking.
SPE 414 Collaboration and Consultation. Three hours. Examination of the ways in which individuals interact with educational systems, communities at large, and each other to bring about appropriate educational services for students with special educational needs. Included are fundamentals of group process, human behavior and interaction, and motivation, as well as skills and knowledge necessary for successful collaboration and consultation with others concerned with education of students who present exceptional needs.
SPE 416 Instructional Strategies for Students with Severe Disabilities. Three hours. Designed to assist students in the development of knowledge and skills to enhance their abilities to make reflective decisions and facilitate positive exchange in education settings for children with severe disabilities. Emphasis is placed on educational programming, subject matter, professional responsibilities of teachers and related service personnel, curriculum development, physical management of children with severe disabilities, adaptation of materials and equipment, and modification of programs in varied settings (clinical, homebound, hospital, public schools).
SPE 435 Behavior Management. Three hours. The course addresses the development of models for managing behavior, to help teachers prevent or deal with emotional conflict in the classroom.
SPE 471 Developmental Perspectives of Young Children with Disabilities. Three hours. A course introducing the field of early childhood special education, including its rationale and legal issues. Offered fall semester.
SPE 476 Assessment of Young Children. Three hours. Prerequisites: SPE 471 and admission to the teacher education program. Basic principles and practices involved in the assessment and evaluation of young children. Offered spring semester.
SPE 478 Methods of Teaching Young Children with Disabilities. Three hours. Prerequisites: SPE 471. Curriculum methodology materials and management technology for young children with disabilities.
SPE 479 Internship in Education of Young Children with Diverse Abilities. Nine to 12 hours. Prerequisites: Completion of all methods courses, admission to the teacher education program, a minimum GPA of 2.75 for all work attempted, and a minimum GPA of 2.5 in the major. A semester of supervised teaching experience in classrooms for young children. Offered fall and spring semesters only. Application for student teaching must be made the semester prior to student teaching (excluding summer term) through the Office of Clinical Experience. Formal application meetings are held and their times will be posted in Graves Hall and announced in the Crimson White prior to the meetings.
SPE 491 Educational Methods for Mild Learning and Behavior Disorders—Elementary. Three hours. Prerequisites: SPE 302, SPE 304, and admission to the teacher education program. Designed to develop skill in the use of curriculum, materials, and management strategies with elementary school students who have mild learning and behavior disabilities. Offered fall semester.
SPE 492 Educational Methods for Mild Learning and Behavior Disorders—Secondary. Three hours. Prerequisites: SPE 302, SPE 304, and admission to the teacher education program. Designed to develop skill in the use of curriculum, materials, and management strategies with secondary school students who have mild learning and behavior disabilities. Offered fall semester.
SPE 493 Introduction to Severe/Profound Disabilities. Three hours. Designed to assist students in the development of knowledge and skills to enhance their abilities to make reflective decisions and facilitate positive exchange in educational settings for child/youth with severe/profound disabilities. Practicum required.
SPE 499 Internship in Special Education. Twelve to 24 hours. Prerequisites: Completion of required core and major program courses, admission to the teacher education program, and a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Fourteen-week split internship providing supervised teaching experiencein elementary and secondary classrooms. Student teaching is only offered during the spring semester, unless written permission is secured from the department head. Student teaching cannot be completed during the summer term. Application for student teaching must be made the semester prior to student teaching (excluding summer term) through the Office of Clinical Experience. Formal application meetings are held and their times will be posted in Graves Hall and announced in the Crimson White prior to the meetings.
SPE 500 Introduction to Exceptional Children and Youth. Three hours. Introduction to programs and problems of children and youth who deviate from the norm in physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics.
SPE 501 Diagnosis and Assessment of Exceptional Children and Youth. Three hours. Comprehensive study of diagnosis and assessment, emphasizing concepts of tests and measurements, formal and informal assessment, test administration, and use of diagnostic results in educational intervention.
SPE 502 Advanced Behavior Management for Special Educators. Three hours. Prerequisite: SPE 435 or equivalent. Concepts and principles of behavior change and management; practical experience in developing plans to prevent and remedy behavior problems. Research project required.
SPE 503 Master's Seminar in Special Education. Three hours. Critique of research and research problems in current special education issues.
SPE 506 Family Intervention with Exceptional Children and Youth. Three hours. Examination of the effects of an exceptional child on the family, and the various approaches to intervention with the family.
SPE 511 Reading and Research in Special Education. Variable credit (registration for fewer than 3 hours requires permission of the program chairperson). To assist master's students with intensive review of new research in a particular area of exceptionality.
SPE 514 Teacher Consultant Models in Special Education. Three hours. Introduction to various direct and indirect service delivery models for students with mild disabilities; consultant techniques demonstrated.
SPE 571 Education of Young Children with Disabilities. Three hours. An introductory course to the field of early childhood special education, including rationale, legal issues, and characteristics of children from birth through kindergarten.
SPE 576 Assessment of Young Children. Three hours. Prerequisite: SPE 571 or permission of the instructor. Selection, administration, and interpretation of assessments of young children (birth through kindergarten).
SPE 578 Methods of Teaching Young Children with Disabilities. Three hours. Prerequisite: SPE 571 or permission of the instructor. Use of curricula, materials, and management techniques for young children (birth through kindergarten) with disabilities.
SPE 579 Internship in Education of Young Children with Diverse Abilities. Three to nine hours. Prerequisites: SPE 573, SPE 577, and SPE 578. Intensive supervised teaching experience with young children with and without disabilities.
SPE 581 Psychology of Gifted and Talented Children and Youth. Three hours. Examination of the nature of youth with high potential in multiple areas. Contemporary theory, research, and the relationship between definition/identification and educational planning are considered.
SPE 582 Teaching the Gifted and Talented. Three hours. Use and evaluation of teaching-learning methods for education of the gifted and talented, including consideration of roles, expectations for learning, and organizational procedures.
SPE 583 Creative Problem Solving Seminar. Three hours. A guided sequence of exercises and experiences leading to increased personal creative behavior, with emphasis on methods for nurturing creative talent in students of all ages.
SPE 584 Special Populations in Gifted Education. Three hours. Examination of a variety of administrative designs, curriculum options, instructional models, and strategies to meet the unique cognitive and affective needs/abilities of special populations of gifted students.
SPE 585 Teaching Thinking Skills: Integrating Programs. Three hours. Prerequisite: SPE 582 or permission of the instructor. Corequisite: SPE 589. Survey of existing thinking-skills programs and techniques for creating new programs for thinking. Emphasis is on integrating thinking skills into gifted education and regular education.
SPE 589 Internship in Gifted/Talented. Three to nine hours. Prerequisites: SPE 581 and SPE 582. Corequisite: SPE 585. Intensive, supervised teaching experience in programs for gifted and talented.
SPE 590 Introduction to Mild Disabilities. Three hours. An intensive study of the background and current perspective on mild disabilities. Emphasis on developing professional knowledge base.
SPE 591 Academic Methods: Elementary. Three hours. Designed to develop skills in the use of curriculum, materials, and strategies for students with disabilities at the elementary school level.
SPE 592 Academic Methods: Secondary. Three hours. Designed to develop skills in the use of curriculum, materials, and strategies for students with disabilities at the secondary level.
SPE 593 Introduction to Severe Disabilities. Three hours. An intensive study of the background and current perspective on severe disabilities. Emphasis is on developing professional knowledge.
SPE 594 Methods for Severe Disabilities. Three hours. Emphasizes educational programming, subject matter, professional responsibilities of teachers and related service personnel, curriculum development, communication, and physical management and handling procedures of individuals with severe disabilities.
SPE 597 Transition Methods for Adolescents with Disabilities. Three hours. Focuses on the strategies, methods, curriculum, and measurement for facilitating an effective transition from school to adulthood of adolescents with disabilities.
SPE 598 Internship in Special Education. Three hours. Prerequisites: SPE 561 and SPE 562. Intensive, supervised teaching experience in a special education program.
SPE 599 Thesis Research. Variable credit. Allows master's students to initiate and develop a thesis topic into a formulated paper that describes or investigates in great depth problems and/or issues in special education.
SPE 600 Doctoral Seminar in Special Education. Three hours. Required for all first-year doctoral students; diagnostic in function. Activities include examination of career goals and assessment of skills in written and oral presentations. Offered fall semester.
SPE 601 Seminar: College Teaching in Special Education. Three hours. Prerequisite: SPE 600. Course structure, lecturing and other delivery techniques, student evaluation, and practicum supervision are included among topics that are reviewed to develop skills in college training. Offered fall semester.
SPE 602 Seminar: Research in Special Education. Three hours. Prerequisite: SPE 600. Focuses on the unique aspects of the exceptional population in relationship to typical statistical and research design procedures. Offered spring semester.
SPE 606 Topical Seminar in Special Education. Three hours. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit. Selected topics, review and critique of current literature, research problems, and methodology.
SPE 609 Practicum in Special Education. Three to six hours. Designed for advanced graduate students. Students practice effective supervision skills or college teaching skills under the direction of the course instructor.
SPE 611 Independent Study in Special Education. Three to nine hours. Intensive investigation of a specific aspect of special education, by one student under the supervision of a faculty member in the student's area of concentration.
SPE 612 Readings and Research in Special Education. Three to twelve hours. For doctoral students, an opportunity to initiate, develop, and successfully defend a dissertation topic dealing with a problem of magnitude in the field of special education.
SPE 613 Consultation Processing in Special Education Programs. Three hours. Training in human-relations techniques and administrative strategies designed to facilitate communication and interaction with individuals and groups in special education programming.
SPE 614 Assessment of Teaching and Learning in Special Education. Three hours. Strategies for curricular designs, teaching methods, and program models using informal and observational techniques to assess teaching effectiveness and learner outcomes (academic and behavioral) in special education programs.
SPE 672 Ethical and Legal Aspects of Special Education. Three hours. Study of the ethical principles supporting statutory and judicial activities in special education.
SPE 681 Issues in Gifted Education. Three hours. Discussion of current research, and investigation of major issues in the education of gifted and talented youth, focusing on definition, identification, programming, evaluation, community involvement, and guidance.
SPE 682 Advanced Curriculum Workshop in Gifted Education. Six hours. Prerequisites: SPE 581 and SPE 582, or permission of the instructor. Assists leaders in gifted education in applying studies in basic disciplines to the development and implementation of appropriate curriculum for the gifted. Emphasis is on application of diverse teaching models and the use of a variety of program alternatives and skills in designing, managing, and evaluating programs.
SPE 699 Dissertation Research. Variable credit. Three-hour minimum.