Special Education Developmental Disabilities GC
Program Overview
The Special Education: Developmental Disabilities program prepares individuals to work with students with developmental cognitive disabilities. The program includes core competency courses in characteristics and assessments, methods and behavior strategies, and graduate student teaching. Students may also need to complete licensure requirement courses to meet Minnesota Board of Teaching standards.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
The Special Education: Developmental Disabilities (GC) program is offered to individuals seeking an initial teaching license, an add-on teaching license, or additional knowledge in developmental cognitive disabilities. Students collaborate with an advisor to determine a plan of study for all required courses.
Outline:
The program's curriculum focuses on developing competencies in working with students with developmental cognitive disabilities. Core Competency Courses comprise the primary component of the program, with students selecting 7-11 credits from the following:
- SPED 652: Characteristics and Assessments: Students w/DCD (4 credits): Explores the background of developmental disabilities and examines the characteristics and assessments associated with students with developmental disabilities. Topics include characteristics, historical perspectives, identification and assessment, family perspectives, learning characteristics, and educational models.
- SPED 653: Methods and Behavior Strategies: Students w/DCD (4 credits): Addresses curricular approaches, instructional strategies, inclusion techniques, adaptive techniques, assistive technology, behavior techniques, and other specialized interventions necessary for effectively serving students with moderate to severe developmental and multiple disabilities.
- SPED 655: Graduate Student Teaching: DCD (3 credits): Provides graduate students an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in coursework. Students demonstrate their ability to effectively teach students with developmental cognitive disabilities in a classroom setting. In addition to the core courses, students may also need to complete Licensure Requirement courses to meet Minnesota Board of Teaching (BOT) Licensure Standards. Students without an existing special education license are required to take SPED 656: Initial Graduate Seminar: Special Education (3 credits). Students pursuing advanced licensure may take SPED 659: Advanced Graduate Seminar: Special Education (4 credits).