| Getting a degree or license in Special Education | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General Information About the Edgewood College Graduate Special Education Program Our program centers on these preparing teachers in these 7 areas: 1. Reflective practitioners 2. Active members of a lifetime learning community 3. Committed to being leaders/change agents in their schools and communities 4. Action researchers who use investigative principles and research based best practices to teach 5. Effective collaborators who see themselves as part of the solution 6. Committed to eliminating segregation of opportunity for all children 7. Continual self evaluators through mentorship and portfolio development Edgewood College’s program in special education is offered to individuals who already possess a bachelor’s degree that wish to be certified with a license to teach youth with special educational needs. We also offer a masters degree in conjunction with an advanced special education license. The present Special Education program offers these programs:
There is certainly no more exciting field right now than the field of Special Education. Although a relatively new field-going back many years now to the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Act, PL 94-142. It is also a field with opportunities since there is a shortage of certified special education teachers, nationwide. While
there is high demand for well trained teachers in all areas of
disabilities, presently there is an increasing shortage of good training
programs. Since the 1980's there has been a steady decline of bachelor's
and masters degrees offered in special education nationwide. It is
certainly no secret that the state of Wisconsin and the United States in
general find it difficult to staff their special education programs, particularly in
the categories of emotional disturbance, learning disabilities, and
multiple/severe handicaps.
Unfortunately, many teachers presently teaching in programs for children
and youth with disabilities are not
well trained, having only provisional licenses. Further, of those who
are licensed some entered the field of Special Education when regular education jobs were extremely limited, because
they found the only employment available to be in special education. Some
special education teachers chose to teach in special education mainly
because that is where the jobs were available. (This is probably one reason
that special education teacher attrition rate is very high). However, the
field of special education is not for everyone. But for those of you who
seek a challenge and are talented enough and energetic enough to work with
a very special group of youth, the rewards are innumerable. Edgewood College's Present Program We continually endeavor to develop our program to fit the needs of our students, now and in the future. We have also developed our program in conjunction with the goals and objectives of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the National Council for Exceptional Children. We as educators embrace the concept of the reflective practitioner as the base for continued research into the effectiveness of our teaching strategies in our own personal classrooms and in Special Education classrooms throughout the United States. All members of the Exceptional Education faculty are involved with the Wisconsin Association for Human Relations and the Council for Exceptional Children. As
reflective practitioners we are committed to continually evaluating and
using best practices from Effective Schools Research (News Digest, 1993,
Briggs, 1999) and
so that our students will become teachers who are trained to evaluate
effective strategies for themselves. Students
studying in the field of Special Education will be required to develop two
specialized content portfolios and a general education
portfolio built upon 10 standards. The professional
development portfolio will begin to be developed in the introductory
classes: Behavioral and Emotional
Disturbance (ED 673) and Specific Learning Disabilities (ED 671) and
Cognitive Disabilities (ED 663). The
portfolio system will focus on developing, integrating, and assessing
teaching competencies; competencies which have been developed from both the
Council for Exceptional Children common core of knowledge and skills
essential for all beginning Special Education teachers and the content
knowledge skills and dispositions from the Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction. Before completion of
our program, students will prove competencies in the following general
categories:
Student
success will be evaluated according to specified rubrics on an ongoing basis in the college classroom and
in the field. All materials related to the proof of competencies will be
gathered as evidence in students' portfolios including practicum and student
teacher evaluations. These portfolio documents will be evaluated continually
by Edgewood College Exceptional Education professors and the student's
advisor. Final attainment of certification requirements in any areas of
Special Education will be evaluated at the time of program completion before
certification is recommended. Student Responsibilities If
you are interested in a Masters Degree or a teaching license from Edgewood
College in cross categorical special education, emotional disturbance,
cognitive disabilities or
learning disabilities you must
apply to the graduate program. As part of the acceptance
process, your transcript will be evaluated to determine if any of your prior
coursework meets prerequisites or courses in the Education Department. For
further guidance please call the admissions office at 608-663-2294 or
come to their offices in Room 208 DeRicci Hall. There is also the option of completing a special Masters Degree in Special Education without student teaching and without a license, if you are interested in working with the special education population but in a non-school environment. Next, it is important for you to choose which of these program sequences you wish to follow. Please choose the program that fits your immediate needs best and follow the sequence listed. If you have no previous teaching license you will enter our program at the Preliminary Entry Transition stage. At this point you will need to have a background check, GPA check, degree licensing plan, obtain a teacher education handbook from the education department office and begin filling out your general and special education cross categorical teacher portfolios. And most importantly begin preparing for the PRAXIS I. Pre-Professional Skills Test, PPST, and PRAXIS II! You are required to pass both tests. Information and registration packets for the PPST and PRAXIS II are available in Room 233 DeRicci, or call Christine at 663-8336. PPST, and PRAXIS II preparation books are on reserve in the library. At
this point you will need to take a number of prerequisite courses to make you
eligible for teacher certification. These prerequisites are identified on
your prior course evaluation form completed when you were admitted to Edgewood. If you
have a present 5 year teaching license in the state of Wisconsin, ( not
provisional or substitute) you need not
take or retake the PPST, however you will need to take the PRAXIS II. Please call 609-771-7395 or email praxis@ets.org
for information about where the test is given. Once you have successfully completed your preliminary entry sequence you can apply for your next level, Aspiring Professional, see Chris Fletcher in De Ricci 224 or call 663-8336.
Student Teaching After completing the necessary prerequisites, you must apply for admission to student teaching by September 1 in order to be eligible to student teach in the Spring and by February 1 in order to be eligible to student teach in the Fall. PLEASE DO NOT MISS THESE DEADLINES OR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO DO YOUR STUDENT TEACHING DURING THESE SEMESTERS. Please
see your advisors, either Dr. Tom Holub if your last name begins with
A-L or Dr. Courtney Moffatt if your last name begins with M-Z, before choosing a student teaching site.
Our program is a k-12 program so there needs to be a placement in the
grade school and one in the high school or middle school. The only
exception is when a student needs to do their student teaching on the job. Student
Teaching Protocol for Students in Special Education
a. Clarify with cooperating teacher the expectations you have and the
ones s/he b. Create a time to conference regularly with your cooperating teacher. c. Keeping and sharing a journal is one way to communicate. d. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
a. Dress appropriately. You are representing yourself as well as Edgewood College. b. You are a guest in the school: act accordingly.
c. Volunteer to do things. You should not be just sitting in the
classroom. You should be up
helping students and backing up the teacher even when it is not your turn
to lead the group. d. Get to know all school personnel (cooks, janitors, secretaries,
aides, etc.)
a. Set appropriate times for arrival and departure, these should
follow the contract hours of the teachers in your school. b. Complete lesson plans just as your teacher would.
Begin by taking over one group, lesson plans and teaching, then add
another and another. Eventually
leading to taking over all groups. c. Plan for a minimum of two lead weeks as planned with your
cooperating teacher. d. Develop your style of discipline; ask for guidance if necessary.
You should have a plan for handling all class behavior and some individual
behavior plans for students in need of extra behavioral support. e. Participate in faculty meetings, assemblies, department meetings. f. Evaluate a student and participate in their IEP. g. Use style of printing/writing/communication appropriate to the
school. h.
Put theories into practice, e.g. cooperative groups, critical
thinking, whole
a. Participate in on-going assessment of your teaching. Set a specific
conference time for mid-term evaluation of your student teaching
experience. Keep a record of mid-term evaluation, no need to send it to
the college. b. Student Teachers cannot take the place of a substitute teacher. c. Visit other classrooms and teachers. Ask the principal to come and
observe; ask d.
Send in lesson plans when absent. e.
Keep your portfolio up to date.
By the end of the semester you must turn in a completed Edgewood
College Special Education Portfolio. f.
Attend student teacher seminars including the Orientation Dinner
and throughout the semester. If you have any problems, contact your
college supervisor immediately!
a. Cooperatively plan with your college supervisor for the four required b. Have prepared a short written evaluation of your lesson for your supervisor when he or she is coming to evaluate you.
c. Plan goal for the
next observation visit. d. Conference with
college supervisor and cooperation teacher. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Education Student Teacher Checklist
a. You should have a basic classroom behavior management plan you can
show your supervisor when he/she visits. b. Develop a Behavior Change plan for one of your students. c. Participate in and attend an IEP Conference d. Develop and IEP for one of the students in your classroom. e. Keep a Parent Communication Log. f. Be sure you have experiences in inclusion. g. Your Lead Teaching should last at least 2 weeks. h. Video tape your teaching and critique it with your cooperating
teacher.
I. Attend the Student Teacher Seminars, you may miss one.
Any others misses need to be made up. j. Have your portfolio at each college supervisor evaluation visit so
that your progress can be evaluated and suggestions can be made.
k. Your completed portfolio is due on the last day of class for
Edgewood students. l. Complete your Initial Educator's Statement and Professional Development Plan with your Professional Growth Objectives and turn a copy in to your advisor. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have any questions about your course work or anything else related to this program don't hesitate to ask.
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