INDIANA PROGRAM REVIEW

Special Education (Mild Intervention)

Indiana University – Purdue University at Fort Wayne

Document # 1

A.  UNIT SUMMARY

Program Description

The Special Education Certification Program in Mild Interventions at IPFW is a teacher preparation program for those professional wanting to educate students with Mild Disabilities. IPFW students, who complete the program,are eligible for Mild Intervention certification through the State of Indiana which includes Learning Disabilities (LD), Mild Mental Handicaps (MiMH), and Emotional Handicaps (EH).

This special education program includes coursework dealing with characteristics of students with Mental Retardation, Learning Disabilities, and Emotional Handicaps. Additionally, the coursework addresses current best practices of cognitive and behavioral methodologies in the inclusive classroom, as well as differentiated instruction in the general education classroom. The coursework is balanced by courses in consultation & collaboration, transitions, standardized assessment, behavior management, inclusion, and trends & issues in Special Education.

For teacher candidates to obtain a Mild Intervention Teaching Certification he/she needs to satisfactorily complete 26-credits of undergraduate coursework in Special Education. The teacher candidate is eligible to complete the coursework if he/she is currently enrolled in the School of Education Teacher Education Program as a general education major or if he/she has recently completed the general education program and wishes to continue for the special education license.

The required courses are available at: http://www.ipfw.edu/edst/assets/documents/pdfs/mildint2006.pdf. Additionally, a course description is under the K201-K505 course information at http://www.ipfw.edu/educ/courses. The first course is EDUC K 201 and EDUC K 206. The other prerequisites and co-requisites are listed with each course. For both courses, EDUC K 371 and EDUC K 352 there is a co-requisite course (M201 or M301), which consists of 30 hours each of field experience in a school with students with disabilities. The last course in the program of study is M470 which is a practicum in special education.

B. Teacher Education Courses

IPFW School of Education Conceptual Framework

In support of our School of Education Conceptual Framework, the Special Education Program in the Department of Educational Studies emphasizes the interrelated aspect of each of the six core components within its curriculum and program delivery. While individual courses may focus on some aspects of the framework more than others, we are confident that our courses and programs as a whole, embrace this central core of teacher training and development. Due to the current national testing and assessment movement, content Knowledge is critical for effective educators to comprehend. Educators need to understand how knowledge is constructed, how the processes of inquiry are applied, how domains of knowledge are established, how disciplines can be integrated, and how this information can effectively be communicated to students. Understanding content knowledge is critical however, it cannot be viewed in isolation from the other five components. Democracy and Community is the second key component that we encourage in the Department of Educational Studies. Educators need an understanding of the moral, cultural, social, political, and economic foundations of our community and society in order to foster democratic concepts within the school community. Effective educators understand that knowledge alone is not sufficient. Within the third component, Habits of Mind, our students practice critical reflection within the context of a compassionate, caring community with the goal of fostering these habits to engage learners in the critical aspects of the learning process. Without an understanding of Pedagogy, our students would not understand the multiple roles of the teaching such as facilitator, guide, role model, scholar, and motivator. Without an understanding of pedagogy, educators would not understand the diverse perspectives of learning and understanding and the social circumstances that they and their students bring to the educational setting. Without rich Experiences both in and out of the traditional classroom, candidate skills would lie dormant and unrefined. The last component, Leadership, provides our candidates the educational and social vision necessary to inspire others, both students and colleagues, to accept the educational challenges of the twenty-first century.

The Unit Assessment System

The Unit Assessment System (UAS) in the School of Education at Indiana University – Purdue University at Fort Wayne was created in response to a professional responsibility to ensure that our programs are of the highest quality. This dynamic assessment system is continually evaluated to insure that 1) instruction and curriculum are aligned with professional, state, and institutional standards (e.g., the Conceptual Framework and Mission Statement); 2) courses, field experiences, and programs are efficient; and 3) content knowledge and the demonstration of teaching that leads to a student teaching experience that reflects the attainment of core concepts.

A key component of the UAS within the Special Education Endorsement Program is the systematic review of the on-going teacher candidate portfolio. This portfolio is introduced in our Invitation to Teaching course (F300) and students are provided a copy of the Guidelines for Preparing a Portfolio that they continually refer to as they progress through our program. Instruction in the Mathematics Teaching Program professional course sequence is a faculty team effort. Professional Teacher Education courses are currently offered in two clusters with a culminating experience of 16 weeks of a student teaching experience. Faculty teaching in these block courses normally meet at the beginning and end of each semester to discuss levels of organization and changes that need to address emerging issues and improvement of the program. Portfolio checkpoints are located at four distinct locations within the program: F300, at the conclusion of Blocks I, II, and at the exit portfolio during the student teaching semester. At each portfolio checkpoint, candidates are provided feedback to allow them to continually build and revise their portfolios up to their student teaching experience. The Special Education Teaching Program engages in a continuous review process and the School of Education Unit Assessment Taskforce receives data from the unit assessment system on an annual basis for review.

The School of Education Assessment System

A candidate record or file is established for all applicants to the School of Education teacher education programs. This school-wide assessment system is structured around several data gathering components. All candidates are assessed at several benchmark points 1) admission to teacher education with minimum grades in specific course, minimum completion hours, minimum grade point average, and passing scores on the Praxis I exam, 2) retention in teacher education based on minimum grade point average, 3) eligibility to student teach, 4) eligibility to graduate and/or complete requirements for licensure (including passing scores on the Praxis II exam), 5) completion of a successful student teaching experience, and 6) the completion of a passing exit portfolio discussed above.

Teacher Education Courses

Below is a list of teacher education courses required of all Special Education Endorsement Teacher Education candidates. Required content specific pedagogy courses are located in Document # 2. See the following link for campus course descriptions. http://bulletin.ipfw.edu/content.php?catoid=1&navoid=5

EDUA F300 EDUC M101 EDUC P250

EDUC H340 EDUC M201 EDUC P253

EDUC K201 EDUC M448 EDUC W200

EDUC K206 EDUC M470 EDUC X401

EDUC K352 EDUC M480

EDUC K371 EDUC M501

C. Program Field Experience

Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of a beginning teacher as outlined by the INTASC Standards.

Program Field Experiences Chart

Course #/Title or Program Requirement / Purpose of Field Experience / Number of Required Hours in P-12 Classroom / Candidate Required Tasks
M201 (with K352) / To gain experience working with P-12 students with mild disabilities. This field experience focuses on planning and implementing instruction. / 30 hours per semester / Candidate plans and implements a minimum of 3 lesson plans. Candidate will work on skills in remediation and student support.
M301 (with K371) / To gain experience working with P-12 students with mild disabilities. This field experience focuses on assessment of students and using the assessment data for planning and implementing instruction. / 30 hours per semester / Candidate selects an appropriate standardized assessment for a P-12 student, conducts and scores the assessment and writes a report. Candidate will then plan and implement a lesson that will address the P-12 student’s areas of concern.
M 470 Practicum in Mild Intervention / To gain experience working with P-12 students with mild disabilities. This field experience focuses on all aspects of teaching; assessment, planning and implementing instruction. / 6 weeks FT / Candidate will assess P-12 students in an educational setting. Candidate will plan and implement multiple lessons to meet the IEP goals of P-12 students in the classroom. Candidate will work on remediation skills and student supports and assisting cooperating teacher in all appropriate tasks.
M101 (with W200) / Facilitate the use of technology hardware and software with children. / 3 / Plan, implement, and reflect on using technology (internet activities and software) with children.
M201 (with P250) / Supervised field experience during which candidates apply knowledge gained in the college classroom. / 30 / Use observational data to experience and address the candidates’ understanding of the physical, social, and intellectual environments of secondary classrooms. Demonstrate evidence of applying INTASC standards as well as all information gained in coursework.
M201 (with P253) / Supervised field experience during which candidates apply knowledge gained in the college classroom. / 30 / Use observational data to experience and address the candidates’ understanding of the physical, social, and intellectual environments of secondary classrooms. Demonstrate evidence of applying INTASC standards as well as all information gained in coursework.
M401 (with M448) / Supervised field experience during which candidates apply knowledge gained in the college classroom. / 30 / Plan and implement content experiences; perform formal and informal assessments; other tasks as assigned by Cooperating Teacher. Demonstrate evidence of applying INTASC standards as well as all information gained in coursework.
M470 (ms practicum) / Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of a beginning teacher as outlined by the INTASC Standards. / 6 weeks FT / Candidates engage fully in the planning, implementing, assessing (e.g., student learning), and evaluating of the effectiveness of their teaching. Demonstrate evidence of applying INTASC standards as well as all information gained in coursework.
M480 (student teach) / Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of a beginning teacher as outlined by the INTASC Standards. / 10 weeks FT / Candidates engage fully in the planning, implementing, assessing (e.g., student learning), and evaluating of the effectiveness of their teaching. Demonstrate evidence of applying INTASC standards as well as all information gained in coursework.