SEDN 695

SEDN 695 - Practicum in Special Education, Grades 1 - 6

Students complete one 20-day practicum experience or its equivalent (at least 100 hours) teaching students with disabilities at the grade 1-3 level and one 20-day experience or its equivalent (at least 100 hours) teaching students with disabilities at the grade 4-6 level. (Inclusion classes with strong special education components are acceptable.) All student teaching is done in accredited schools with the involvement of appropriately certified supervising or cooperating teachers who submit student evaluation forms at the conclusion of the semester.

Over the course of the field experience and practicum courses, some work is done in a high need school or a school serving a high need community. Students keep time sheets of their hours, complete a written assignment on their understanding and use of evidence-based methods of instruction and intervention, respond to questions about elementary school education, analyze lesson presentations of cooperating teachers observed, and complete a comprehensive culminating project in which they analyze and discuss ways in which various aspects of the program have affected their understanding of, and interventions with, children. Students also write a reflection paper on what they learned from carrying out the work of the case study. The course includes scheduled group meetings. An assigned Touro College faculty member observes practicum students presenting formal lessons in the classroom or other educational facility. (Please note: This course must be taken in the last semester of studies.)