I. Course Title: Teaching Students with Exceptional Learning Needs in the Elementary
General Curriculum
II. Course Number: EDSP 675
III. Credit Hours: 3 credits
IV. Prerequisites: Acceptance into the Post-Professional Certificate in Special Education,
General Curriculum for Licensed General Educators or EDSP 651 or department chair
approval.
V. Course Description:
The course addresses current issues and needs in instructional programming for students
with disabilities at the elementary level including Individualized Education Program
(IEP) development and evidence-based teaching practices. The course emphasizes teaching
methods that promote student participation and academic progress in the general education
curriculum and standardized assessments. The course prepares teachers to teach and
remediate academic skills, study skills, and learning strategies, and to adapt course
content and assignments to meet individual needs of students with disabilities who
are engaged in the general education curriculum at the elementary level.
VI. Detailed Description of Content of the Course:
This course is designed to provide professional educators with the knowledge and skills
necessary to implement an optimal teaching-learning environment for students with
disabilities representing diverse backgrounds in the general education curriculum
at the elementary level. Topics in this area include:
- Principles of learning, curriculum development, and the scope and sequence of the
general education curriculum
- Development of Individualized Education Programs (IEP) that address the academic and
functional needs of the student with disabilities in the general education curriculum
and meets regulatory requirements
- Identification and application of differentiated instructional methodologies and evidence-based
practices, such as systematic instruction, multisensory approaches, cognitive strategies,
and study skills
- Lesson planning that encompasses alternative ways to teach content material including
curriculum adaptations and modifications and including the selection and use of appropriate
materials, including instructional and assistive technologies to promote student learning
- Evaluation of student performance and impact of instructional practices through a
variety of standardized and non-standardized data collection techniques such as task
analysis, observation, portfolio assessment, and other curriculum-based measures
- Classroom organization and routines that promote learning and participation
VI. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course:
Lecture, demonstration, class discussion, audio and/or visual presentations, assigned
readings, case studies, and applied projects with K-5 learners.
VII. Goals and Objectives of the Course:
Goals, objectives, and assignments address the Virginia Department of Education regulations
for preparing educators and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Initial Preparation
Standards and Specialty Set Knowledge and Skill Items. Specialty sets included in
this course cover competencies for the Individualized General Curriculum and Individualized
Independence Curriculum.
Upon completion of this course, participants will:
- Plan curriculum and implement instruction based on an understanding of theoretical
approaches, state standards, the scope and sequence of the general and special curricula,
and classroom organization principles
- Identify instructional and assistive technologies that support access to the general
education curriculum for elementary level students with disabilities
- Apply knowledge of the eligibility process, legal, and regulatory requirements to
develop and implement comprehensive Individualized Educational Programs in collaboration
with team members, including varying professionals, the individual student as a self-advocate
and the family
- Make decisions about individual student progress, instruction, program, accommodations,
placement, and teaching methodology based upon an understanding of the student鈥檚 characteristics,
(including age, ability, cultural, and language factors) individual needs and the
general education curriculum and standards
- Demonstrate the use of assessment, evaluation, and other information to develop and
implement individual educational planning and group instruction with students with
disabilities accessing the general curriculum at the elementary level
- Evaluate, select, and use research-supported methods and specialized instructional
strategies for academic instruction for students with disabilities at the elementary
level
- Plan explicit instruction, teach skills, and remediate deficits in reading skills,
math calculations and applications, and written expression
- Identify evidence-based practices to teach students with disabilities to use effective
thinking processes, problem-solving skills, study skills, test-taking strategies,
and other cognitive learning strategies to meet their needs
- Identify and teach essential concepts, vocabulary, structures, relationships, and
content across the general curriculum at the elementary level
- Plan lessons that encompass alternative ways to teach content material including curriculum
adaptations and modifications, and including the selection and use of appropriate
materials
- Evaluate student performance and impact of instructional practices through a variety
of standardized and non-standardized data collection techniques such as task analysis,
observation, portfolio assessment, and other curriculum-based measures
- Analyze classroom organization, routines, and instructional delivery skills for effective
participation and learning for students with disabilities in the general education
curriculum.
VIII. Assessment Measures:
Assessment measures may include, but are not limited to reading responses, case studies,
and instructional planning/implementation projects with K-5 students.
Other Course Information: None
Review and Approval
10/3/2008 New Course Debora Bays/Leslie Daniel
March 2019 Course Revision Debora Bays Wilbon