SPED 582: Designated Instructional Services in Special Education

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to provide education specialist candidates and interns with in-depth knowledge of designated instructional services (DIS) and related services for students who qualify for special education services. Students will learn how to determine eligibility, assess, and collaborate with related service providers such as school psychologists, speech and language therapists, deaf and hard of hearing services, orientation and mobility, career counseling, Occupational Therapists (OT), Physical Therapists (PT), Adaptive PE (APE), health & specialized services, AT, behavior intervention services, transition, ASD specialists, etc. Additionally, students will learn best practices to develop and enforce strong family-school partnerships. Students will learn how to consider service delivery options for the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), and educational benefit.

This is a required course in the Teaching Credential Program, and requires admission into the program.

Course Modality

SPED 582 is offered face to face and online asynchronously. The face to face section often includes partner, group work activities, individual activities, and lecture.

For the online asynchronous course I use the Nearpod Platform to support student learning. Nearpod allows students to complete collaborative boards, polls, and multiple choice questions.

Course Design Components

The course is designed with weekly learning modules, which focus on one or two topics (e.g., Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, co-teaching, collaboration with school psychologists).

Each week’s module has a learning objectives based on the topics.

For the asynchronous section, students are asked to complete on a Nearpod Presentation on a weekly basis, which include watching short videos, lecture notes reading online webpages, multiple choice quizzes, and collaboration boards related to the weeks topic.

The weekly modules and topics are presented to students via the course syllabus and the class Canvas site.

STUDENT Engagement

To facilitate student engagement the course includes the following activities:

Case studies
Mock Individualized Education Program (IEP) Meetings
Group and partner activities
Jamboard
Ice breakers
Instructor feedback for assignments
Nearpod presentations

Case Study

Mock IEP Meeting

Nearpod Presentation

assessment of student learning

The inclusive course syllabus describes:

Student learning outcomes based on the Teacher Performance Expectations set by California’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Grading policy and breakdown
List of assignment and brief descriptions
All assignments are provided with a grading rubric

Syllabus

Family Community Resource Project

ELEMENTS OF EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

To promote elements of equity, diversity, and inclusion the course includes reading materials from BIPOC authors and literature regarding best practices to collaborate with culturally and linguistically diverse families. Student assignments also focus on equity and diversity, especially when collaborating with CLD students and families.

To support students I include a commitment to equality and respect statement on the course syllabus.

Commitment to Equality and Respect

I am deeply committed to ensuring that this course allows all students to feel safe, respected, and included. Students are always encouraged to to ask questions, make comments, and participate in class discussions while respecting others’ views, beliefs, and experiences. I encourage you to please reach out to me if there is anything said in class (by myself or others) that you feel uncomfortable with. I also ask that you provide feedback (HERE) on how I can improve the course. You can select to remain anonymous.

IEP Team Demo Days

TECHNOLOGY & TOOLS

Students are asked to complete weekly Nearpod presentations. Nearpod, is a web-based instructional tool to provide asynchronous instruction. One of Nearpod’s features allows students to submit their responses via writing or uploading an audio file and enables the instructor to pose questions throughout a video. To support group work and class discussions, Google slides, Kahoot, Jamboard, and Poll Everywhere. Course material is organized via Canvas. Each weekly module, includes a weekly overview and to-do list for the week.

ACCESSIBILITY & UDL

To support students, course assignments are described via Google docs and instructor developed videos with captioning (Checkpoint 1.3). Instructor also posts frequently asked questions on class announcements. The course includes multiple technology that facilitates access to student learning (Checkpoint 5.1). For example, students have access to class slide decks, opportunities to demonstrate their learning via different technology formats (e.g., Jamboard, Google Slides, Poll Everywhere, Nearpod). Class assignments also allow students to express themselves in different formats (i.e., writing, drawing or visuals; Checkpoint 5.1). Students are also given the opportunity to resubmit assignments to enhance their learning (Checkpoint 7.1). Assignments are relevant to the students teaching placement for the semester. See Case Study assignment (Checkpoint 7.2).

OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER)

To support students, the course provides Open Educational Resources (OERs). For example, students are asked to read the High Leverage Practices in Special Education.

Opportunities for Active Learning & Civic & Community Engagement

To provide students with the opportunity for active learning and community engagement, guest speakers are invited to the class. Guest speakers include school psychologist, nurse, speech and language pathologist, adaptive physical education specialist, and family member of an individual with disabilities. Students are able to ask questions to the guest speakers about teaching profession and collaboration between teacher and school professionals.

Page updated

Report abuse