Intervention Specialist: Mild/Moderate (K-12) Program Information

This course is designed for non-traditional students with a bachelor?s degree who are seeking the Resident Educator License in Ohio. This course focuses on the principles which influence teaching in the PK-12 classroom. Students will develop an understanding of the range of individual differences in the classroom and their implication on instruction and classroom environment.

This course explores the profession of education and examines the state, federal, and institutional standards that guide the profession. Students will examine the psychological, sociological, and philosophical foundations of education as they relate to learning. Topics of discussion and analysis include the development of individual differences; atmosphere of respect; understanding students' needs grouping, education of minorities; how the teacher creates instructional opportunities that are equitable and adaptable to diverse learners; exploring the components of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

This course provides students the opportunity to develop an understanding of the philosophical, historical, and legal foundations of special education as well as an understanding of the characteristics of learners who have special needs; explore and define the concepts of special education in schools and society, and acquire knowledge about the legal and procedural aspects of special education and develop an understanding and respect for individual needs and diversity. Students relate multicultural issues, beliefs, and practices to the needs of the student with mild/moderate disabilities, explore crisis intervention/prevention models and strategies and examine conflict resolution. This course presents students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of the issues relating to developing and encouraging positive social interaction skills, issues relating to the diverse emotional needs of students with mild/moderate disabilities, and issues relating to student behavior.

This course provides students the opportunity to develop an understanding of the theories of cognition, intelligence, and learning, especially as it relates to identifying children with special needs. A developmental perspective will be utilized in the examination of the biological, social, psychological, and cultural influences on growth and change during childhood and adolescence. Students begin the process of relating the theories to instruction and assessment processes.

The course examines introductory aspects of instructional planning as well as the common strategies teachers employ to conduct their lessons. Basic elements of measurement and assessment that are essential to effective teaching are addressed. It assumes students have an understanding of the content they will teach and an extensive understanding and appreciation of the students with whom they will work. The overriding purpose of the course resides in the transformation of content and behavioral objectives into sequences of instructional activities that make them accessible to students and the central role assessments play in the instructional process as teachers construct and utilize various types of assessment to provide valid measures of learning outcomes.

The course explores literature for the early and middle childhood aged student with an emphasis on standards for selection of materials with reference to the interests, needs, and abilities of children at the different levels within these ranges of ages. Attention is given to books and their uses in all subject matters. Special emphasis is placed on activities that will motivate early and middle childhood students to read. The goal of creating life-long readers is stressed.

This course is designed to emphasize the connectivity of technology to the classroom and the general curriculum. Students will explore programs that will aid them in classroom management, data collection, student-produced work, creating instructional tools, and administration of classroom responsibilities. Students will develop products that can be used to support their teaching and the learning process of their students.

This course will provide students the opportunity to examine and create a variety of valid and reliable classroom assessments. Students will also explore how to use data to influence classroom decisions, guide and improve teaching skills, and tailor instruction to individual learning needs. This course will also make the connection between constructive evaluation skills such as constructive feedback; helping students monitor their own progress; influence students? continuing motivation; and perceptions of self-efficacy as learners and their positive effect on student learning.

This course provides students the opportunity to develop skills in planning and managing the teaching and learning environment; managing student behavior and social interaction skills; communicating effectively; developing collaborative partnerships; and demonstrating professionalism and ethical practices. Students become familiar with daily management skills, safety and health issues in the classroom, creating and modifying a supportive learning environment, and behavior management skills. The course also focuses on the development and interaction of the educational team on methods and models of collaborative practices with parents, students, educational personnel, and members of the community and incorporates this into the instructional process.

This course will provide students with the opportunity to explore research and theory on the effectiveness of differentiated classrooms; examine the importance of differentiating instruction for today's diverse student population; recognize the need to increase variety in teaching, learning, and assessment to respond to individual student needs; utilize strategies including assignment tiering, graphic organizers, critical thinking skills, reflection and assessment strategies customized for a mixed-ability classroom; diagnose student needs and prescribe tasks that create better matches between learning needs and preferences and plan and implement methods appropriate for assessing individual learning needs in a performance-based curriculum.

The PK12 Reflection and Seminar is the in-class seminar portion of the student teaching experienced designed to meet the requirements for the Resident Educator License. The seminar provides teacher candidates with an opportunity to continue developing the skills needed to become a reflective practitioner based upon their practicum experience in the field component of student teaching.

This seminar course is required for prospective teachers seeking the Intervention Specialist, K-12: Mild/Moderate Licensure. This course provides students the opportunity to reflect on and process with peers the professional aspects of education, the needs of students with mild/moderate disabilities, current issues in education, and explore transition, career, and vocational options for youth with mild/moderate issues.

This course provides students the opportunity to develop skills in conducting functional behavioral assessments and creating behavior intervention plans as well as legally compliant individualized education plans. Candidates will get an introduction to special education law that specifically pertains to their future career as an intervention specialist. Focus is on gathering academic and behavioral assessment data to write individualized, measurable goals and objectives as well as selecting measures to monitor progress toward established goals. Additionally, candidates will learn how to specify specially designed instruction and select accommodations and modifications to address students? areas of need.

This course provides students the opportunity to develop skills in establishing collaborative professional partnerships to enhance instruction in multiple academic settings. Focus is on interpreting formal and informal classroom assessment data to select instructional content, materials, and resources, as well as co-teaching arrangements and instructional strategies that best meet the diverse needs of learners.

The professional growth and development practicum is the field portion of the student-teaching experience designed to meet the requirements for the Intervention Specialist, K-12: Mild/Moderate Resident Educator License. The practicum is an in-depth clinical laboratory experience that provides opportunities to observe, analyze, plan, and practice teaching methods in a school setting. The experience enables the teacher candidate to move through stages of increased responsibilities under the guidance and with the support of a cooperating teacher and a university supervisor.

This course is required for prospective teachers seeking the Resident Educator Early Childhood License, the Resident Educator Middle Childhood License, and the Resident Educator Intervention Specialist License. The focus is the explicit, systematic teaching of phonics: the history, the evidence, and the individual components of this approach. Letter-sound relationships, blending, word building, decoding multisyllable words and fluency are established as effective, evidence-based methods of teaching decoding skills. Application is addressed through explanations, models, and resources provided within the text and additional supplemental resources available through a companion website access.

This course is designed for students preparing for PK-5 Early Childhood Education. It is focused on the emergent learner, specifically in Pre-kindergarten, and the literacy knowledge and skills that are the foundation of reading and writing in grades K-5. Keeping in mind that PreK is not a universal mandate for all students before entering Kindergarten, this course will also serve as a guide for teaching literacy skills to students who may have had little literacy exposure before their first year of formal education.

This course is required for prospective teachers seeking the Provisional Early Childhood License, the Provisional Middle Childhood License, or the Provisional Intervention Specialist License. The course examines the development of communication skills in early learners, from listening and speaking to reading and writing. It presents frameworks aligned with the science-based principles of early literacy development, encompassing components of Structured Literacy, incorporating evidence-based strategies that promote effective reading and writing instruction.

This course is required for students who are seeking the Resident Educator Early Childhood License, the Middle Childhood Licensure, or the Intervention Specialist License. The course provides an overview of the reading process. It explores the strategies that are needed for reading and discusses ways of encouraging the development of these strategies in children. It explores common miscues and discusses ways of using diagnostic reading instruments. It stresses the importance of developing positive attitudes toward reading, as well as developing reading skills.