EPSE
317: Development & Exceptionality in the Regular Classroom
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This
3 credit course will introduce teacher candidates to the teacher's role in
dealing with major developmental and special education issues within the
regular classroom, including working with support services, parents, and
communities. The course uses a constructivist approach which supports learning
through cases and projects. Teacher
candidates are encouraged to: a) employ higher order thinking, b) generalize learning
to actual classrooms, c) question assumptions about how students learn, and d)
engage in critical self-analysis.
Teacher
candidates take EPSE 317 Monday through Friday from July 2-July 18. They begin
with a 1 hour large lecture each day with the course coordinator (Scarfe, Room
100), and then work in smaller groups with seminar instructors for 2
hours.
CONTACT INFORMATION
|
Lecture
|
Dr. Kathleen Heikkila (please call me Kathy)
|
|
Email
|
heikkila.kathy@gmail.com
|
|
Phone
|
778-887-7786
|
|
Office Hours
|
After class each day, or by
appointment
|
|
Seminar
Section
|
Instructors
|
|
970, 921
|
|
|
973, 920
|
Brigid Gaster (gasterbrigid@hotmail.com
|
|
972, 923
|
|
|
|
|
|
922
|
Raquel Kolof (rkolof@shaw.ca)
|
EPSE
317 LEARNING OUTCOMES
This
course is designed to support teacher candidates to:
·
1. become aware of current issues
relevant to special education in Canada, and the impact recent changes will
have for regular classroom teachers
·
2. obtain knowledge regarding
stereotypes and professional classifications of students with special needs
·
3. become knowledgeable about the
categorization of students with special needs and the issues related to the
labeling process and treatment
·
4. develop strategies for program
planning for students with special needs in regular educational settings
REQUIRED
MATERIALS
1. Textbook
The textbook below is required reading for
the course, and we will be referring to it often during class. There are also
invaluable resources (websites, etc.) after each chapter, which will be useful
for completing unit projects:
Alan Edmunds and Gail Edmunds. (2014). Special
education in Canada (2nd ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
2. Laptop or Tablet
You will need access to a laptop or tablet
to work on individual and collaborative tasks in class, and to submit your work
electronically for this course.
POLICIES
& RESPONSIBILITIES
Academic Honesty
Academic
honesty is essential for participation in professional and scholarly
activities. You should be familiar with the UBC definition of academic honesty,
and follow accepted guidelines for acknowledging intellectual property in your
course work. Please read the UBC Learning Commons tips for avoiding plagiarism:
Accommodations
We
strive to include all students, including those with special learning needs in
this course. Please let us know (or have the UBC Disability Resource Center let
us know) if you have a disability documented with the UBC Disability Resource
Centre and/or if you need any special accommodations in the curriculum,
instruction, or assessment of this course to enable you to fully participate.
We will respect the confidentiality of the information you share and work with
you to meet your learning needs. We adhere to UBC Policy 73: Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities. This information is
located at http://www.students.ubc.ca/access/drc.cfm
Attendance, Participation &
Learning/Assessment Tasks
Your
attendance and active participation in all ESPE 317 lectures and seminars is
essential. Absences must be approved by the Teacher Education Office beforehand. If you are detained in an emergency
situation, please inform your instructor and the course coordinator by email as
soon as possible.
No
extensions can be granted for the learning/assessment tasks due to the
condensed schedule.
Collegiality
We
will be engaging in critical discussion about our knowledge, beliefs, and
experiences as learners and educators. We will have different perspectives, and
we may not agree on some topics or issues. Please keep in mind that respect and
trust are vital for a constructive learning environment. Be sensitive to the privacy and learning of
others, and use a collegial tone in all communications. Please see the UBC
Respectful Environment Statement:
Electronic Devices
Please
use electronic devices during class time strictly for activities related to
course work, and turn off cell phones and other distractions during
presentations and discussions.
Language
Please
incorporate and use non-sexist language [also
called gender inclusive language] in your oral and written language. This
language positions women and men equally, it does not exclude one gender or the
other, nor does it demean the status of one gender or another. It does not
stereotype genders (e.g., assuming all childcare workers are female and all
police officers are male), nor does it use false generics (e.g., using man-made
instead of hand crafted). In addition, this language requires an attention to
gender balance in personal pronouns. For example use "he and she"
rather than "he" or balance gendered examples, referring to both male
and female examples. You may also recast subjects into the plural form (e.g.,
when a student raises his hand to when students raise their hands).
Please
incorporate and use person first language
in your oral and written language. Disabilities and differences are not
persons and they do not define persons, so do not replace person-nouns with
disability-nouns. Avoid using: the aphasic, the schizophrenic, stutterers, the
hearing impaired. Also avoid using: cleft palate children, the hearing impaired
client, the dyslexic lawyer, the developmentally disabled adult. Instead,
emphasize the person, not the disability, by putting the person-noun first: the
lawyer who has dyslexia, person who stutters, the children described as
language impaired, the teacher with a hearing impairment.
Grading
Decisions about whether you have mastered the
learning outcomes will be criterion-referenced.
The final grading scheme for the course will be dichotomous, meaning
that your standing will be submitted as either Pass or Fail. In accordance with the UBC Academic
Calendar and the Bachelor of Education Policies and Guidelines (2013-2014,
p.10), you will be expected to demonstrate a high-level of achievement, and
revise any work that is not considered acceptable by the instructor and/or
course coordinator.
LEARNING/ASSESSMENT
TASKS
You
will engage in a variety of learning/assessment tasks which are modelled on
Differentiated Instruction (DI) during seminars for this course. For each of the three units of study, you
will be given the opportunity to select a project to work on which fits your interests
and learning style. You may work independently or in small groups, with
feedback from peers and your instructor. You will complete one project each
week, and share your work with your instructor and peers. Further information, as well as project descriptions,
can be found on the course website:
Unit One: Understanding the Special Education
Process
Choices for projects include:
-
interview
the public -debate
on special education categories
-
survey
services across Canada -develop
a philosophy statement
-
develop a
letter to parents -explore
school-based teams
-
discuss
the effect of language -design
a pamphlet for parents
-
respond
to parent complaints
Unit Two: High Incidence Disabilities
Choices
for projects include:
-
review a student file - review behavioral
approaches to ADHD
-
interview those with LD - explain ADHD strategies to parents
-
analyze 2 case study students - design
strategies for students with behavior
-
explore LD across Canada problems -
-
debate the role of assistive technology - explain giftedness
-
explain LD to your class - adapt lesson
plans for students
-
design a self-advocacy plan - review grade
acceleration
-
create a pamphlet on ADHD - design
activities for students with problems
Unit Three: Low Incidence Disabilities
For the last unit, select any topic on
exceptionalities which interests you, and prepare a summary presentation for
your peers.
EPSE 317 - Course Timeline
Unit One: Understanding the Special Education Process
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Day Lecture Topic
Read
Seminar
1 The language we use Chapters
1 & 2
Introduction/syllabus review
Select Unit 1 project, pick due dates
2 Assessment process
Chapter 3 Discuss
chapter case study
Work on unit
project
3 Working with others
Finish work on unit project 1
Unit Two: High Incidence Disabilities
4 Learning Disabilities
Chapter 5 Share Unit
1 projects; select unit 2 task
5 Guest speaker: LD & social
skills
Discuss chapter case study
Continue work on unit project
6 Finding the positive in LD Work
on unit project
7 ADHD
Chapter 4 Discuss
chapter topics; finish project
8 Emotional & Behavior Disorders Chapter 6 Share
Unit 2 projects
Unit Three: Low Incidence Exceptionalities
9 Guest speaker
Chapter 11 Discuss
chapter topics
(El: blindness; Sec: deafness)
Select unit 3 topic to investigate
10 Talented & Gifted Chapter
7
Work on final unit project
11 Autism Spectrum Disorder Chapter
9 NO
SEMINAR for elementary
(Elementary 3-hour
presentation)
Secondary: continue work on project
12 Intellectual Disabilities
Chapter 8 Finish work on final project
One of my favourite, most useful courses of my bachelor of education degree taught me about human development and specifically learning difficulties in Canadian society and schools.
ReplyDeleteI covered the following learning outcomes from HDEC 101:
Identify and define basic issues and forces of human development.
Reflect on and connect the basic concepts of human development to life experiences.
Apply basic human development theory and concepts to practice in early childhood and education environments.
The last learning outcome that was covered in this course was:
Recognize and respect cultural and family diversity in human development.
However, I truly believe this learning outcome was a part of each of my courses, and has been something I have worked on throughout my career working with children and families. It is something I will continue to learn about.