This course meets Florida state standards for teaching students with disabilities. For more information about this requirement, please click here.
This course was designed to focus on classroom inclusion as it relates to children with disabilities. The best way to include these students in public education has long been debated. What is not up for debate is the importance of creating spaces where all students can benefit equally from public education, which unfortunately is not always the case for many students with disabilities.
This course aims to help teachers create or improve inclusive classrooms. Current issues and trends, parent/professional relationships, legislation and legal rights, and other related topics will be covered in this course. Upon completion of this course, participants will be equipped with the necessary tools to create and maintain inclusive, productive classrooms. In addition, web-based resources that teachers can refer parents or colleagues to will be explored.
Carlow University ED 691 • Madonna University EDU 5840.04
The required text for this course is Your Students, My Students, Our Students, Rethinking Equitable and Inclusive Classrooms by Lee Ann Jung, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, Julie Kroener. ASCD. 978-1-4166-2809-5
Graduate participants earn 3 semester hours of graduate credit and will receive a transcript from one of our partner institutions below. Professional development participants receive a certificate of completion for 45 hours of professional developments credit for face-to-face classes and 60 hours of professional development credit for online classes.
Introduction
Objective: Students will become familiar with the purpose of the course
Contents:
Culminating Assignment:
Session 1: The Need for Inclusion
Objective: Students will develop a historical perspective of Inclusion, analyze a classroom system, begin identifying barriers to Inclusion, review important research related to instruction, learn definitions of disabilities, and construct a their vision of an ideal classroom.
Contents:
Culminating Assignment: Students will detail their personal vision of the ideal classroom climate.
Session 2: It's the Law
Objective: Students will demonstrate knowledge of legislation dealing with inclusion and gain a more functional understanding of why this legislation was enacted. Students will demonstrate knowledge of terms related to special education law. Students will understand the concept of a continuum of educational placements. Students will consider the issue of prejudice.
Contents:
Culminating Assignment: Students will discuss placement options for their individual school districts. Students will develop a plan for tackling one current challenge that will bring about the desired solution.
Session 3: A Continuum for Effective Inclusion
Objective: The learner will identify learning needs of students with disabilities based on research. Students will determine specific curriculum accommodations by reflecting on their own classroom situations. Students will incorporate new specific accommodations into their classroom setting based on what is learned in this module. Students will report on the impact of the accommodation to the instructor.
Contents:
Culminating Assignment: The students will develop an Infused Skills Grid for a student who receives special services with whom they work. The student will incorporate the new accommodation in planning for this student. The impact of the accommodation will be reported to the instructor.
Session 4: Continuum/Barriers
Objective: Students will reflect on their own classrooms and identify barriers to effective accommodations. Students will prepare a barrier analysis sheet.
Contents:
Culminating Assignment: Students will implement at least one strategy to remove a classroom barrier and report on results. The students will revise their continuums using information derived from the development of their Barriers Analysis Sheet and reflection on the implementation of the instructional accommodations and removal of a barrier as practiced in their classroom.
Session 5: Parents
Objective: Students will understand the difference between inclusion and mainstreaming. Students will develop sensitivity for parents' feelings about having a child with a disability. Students will develop a philosophy for how to interact with parents who have children with disabilities.
Contents:
Culminating Assignment: Students will implement at least one strategy for active listening with a parent. Students will reflect on the experience.
Session 6: Staff Roles
Objective: Students will recall changes in education due to the inclusion movement. Students analyze how schools must change in order to foster inclusive education.
Contents:
Culminating Assignment: The students will compare and contrast their role in their current setting to the role they would play in an inclusive school. The comparison will be detailed for instruction, assessment, communication,leadership and record keeping.
Session 7: Student Awareness
Objective: Students will identify Internet and other resources to increase awareness of disabilities for k-12 students. Students will create activities to teach disability awareness to k-12 students.
Contents:
Culminating Assignment: Students will identify Internet activities/Web sites that can be used for their students, parents, and school. Students will implement one sensitivity awareness lesson in their classrooms and write a reflection.
Session 8: Adult Transition
Objective:
Students will describe how schools need to better prepare students with disabilities for post school life.
Contents:
Culminating Assignment:
Students will discuss why transition planning is so important.
Session 9: Accommodations/Technology
Objective: Students will identify technology that assists students with disabilities. Students will understand what types of accommodations need to be made for students with disabilities. Students will begin creating their Action Plan.
Contents:
Culminating Assignment: Students will reflect on their current classroom situation and on how they can use technology as an accommodation. Students will begin developing their Action Plans.
Session 10: Action Plan
Objective: Students will complete their action plan for their final project for this course and include web based resources in their plan.
Contents:
Culminating Assignments: Students will develop an action plan based on their current school district's status in terms of inclusion and how they could support inclusion in their own classroom. The action plan will include strategies for implementation and reflection on how the plan will fit in with the school and school district's current inclusion plans.
Our Partners are well-established regionally and nationally accredited colleges and universities, recognized for academic excellence and their commitment to teachers.
Online 3-graduate credit courses are 13 weeks in length.
On-site weekend courses are held Friday evening from 6:00pm-9:00pm and Saturday/Sunday, 8:30am-5:30pm.
Weekday courses are Monday-Friday from 8:00am- 6:00pm.
It is the responsibility of the student to check with their state, county, district, or school to ensure that all requirements are being met by the course you're taking.
Check the Partner Universities page for specific university information as well as course numbers which are specific to the university partner.
Students are required to purchase their own textbook, the information for which can be found here. If no book is required it will be specified on the list. We have copies of many of the textbooks should you wish to purchase directly from TEI.
Professional development (PD) participants receive a certificate of completion from TEI for 45 hours of PD credit for face to face classes and 60 hours of PD credit for online classes. These certificates are mailed within one week of the end of the class and reflect the course title, dates of attendance, and credit hour information.
Teacher Education Institute
114 W. First Street, Suite 208
Sanford, FL 32771
Phone: 1.800.331.2208
Fax: 1.407.536.6000
