SPED 125 Summer 1A: Classroom and Behavior Management (3 units). Research supports the fact that classroom management skills are perhaps the most important set of teacher skills influencing student learning. The goal of this course is to help future teachers with specific strategies for creating positive, supportive, respectful environments that encourage all students to view themselves and learning in a positive manner. During this course we will explore the relationship between behavior and environment antecedents and consequences, and examine how environmental variables may be manipulated in order to increase appropriate behavior and decrease inappropriate behavior. The course is designed to provide students with the type of instruction and activities that will allow them to: (a) engage in comprehensive and effective screening and instructional practices for students who struggle behaviorally with EBD, ASD, DCD, OHD, & SLD; (b) be critical thinkers with respect to issues of problem-solving, planning, and policy-making; and (c) demonstrate leadership within their classrooms, schools, districts, communities, and beyond.
SPED 130 Summer 1B: Understanding Functions of Behavior and Developing Proactive Plans (4 units). Special Education teachers are faced with trends in service delivery and intervention that come and go throughout their career. The focus of this course is on the critical analysis of recurrent conceptual and practical issues regarding special education service provision to students with significant behavioral concerns. This course is meant to be taken after the candidate has already had a framework for managing behavior in the classroom. The focus will be on the use of supportive, positive and preventive management strategies, determining the function of problem behavior and understanding the legal rights of students with problem behaviors. This course is intended to teach culturally relevant critical thinking skills that can be applied to new research findings and interventions as they develop over the course of your career.
SPED 135 Summer 1C: Collaboration, Culture, and Co-Teaching (3 units). The purpose of this course is to develop an understanding of the role of special education in American society and how it is impacted by diverse perspectives and the legal framework that guides it. Teacher candidates will learn about the importance of collaboration with a variety of education stakeholders. This course will also focus on the different models of co-teaching a special education teacher could encounter in the schools, as well as understanding the role of culture in the classroom. Teacher candidates will not only explore their own cultural competence but reflect on how their own culture (and comfort level) may translate to their work in special education.
SPED 145 Summer 1D: Writing Individual Education Plans (IEPs) (3 units). This course will provide students with the skills to write and carry out Individual Education Plans (IEPS) for both elementary-aged students, as well as students in middle school/junior high. Please note, IEPs for transition-aged students (grade 9-age 21) will be covered in the transition class. Students will learn who is legally required to be invited to IEP meetings, how to invite both parents and students into the planning process as active participants, all components of the IEP – based on Minnesota standards and requirements, participate in an IEP meeting role play, and hear from a variety of guest speaker panels on important information related to the IEP process in the schools.