SPED/538 - Special Education in Early Childhood

Course Description

This course helps prepare participants to support the development and learning of young and diverse students with special needs. Participants learn the basic foundations and principles of early childhood special education, including diagnosis and monitoring, ethics, and assessment. Best practices for classroom management, behavior modification techniques, and effective ways to communicate with families are also explored.

This graduate course is 4 weeks.

PLEASE NOTE:
Attendance and participation are mandatory in all university courses, and specific requirements may differ by course. If attendance requirements are not met, a student may be removed from the course. Please review the Course Attendance Policy in the Catalog for more information.

This course is not available for enrollment to residents of Alabama, Arkansas, and Kentucky.

Course Objectives

Foundations and Trends

• Describe the history and principles of early childhood special education.
• Analyze laws and policies that affect early childhood special education.
• Identify factors that affect early childhood development and learning.
• Explain evolving trends in early childhood special education.

Transition into Early Childhood Special Education Services; Social and Emotional Concerns

• Outline the process for service coordination and transition from an individual family service plan to an individualized education program.
• Identify appropriate assessments and progress monitoring tools for students transitioning into an early childhood special education classroom.
• Develop measurable goals and objectives for an individualized education program (IEP).
• Identify developmentally appropriate instructional strategies that focus on a student’s needs and interests.
• Determine techniques for classroom management that promote social and cognitive development of students in early childhood special education.
• Describe methods to help students with emotional and behavioral challenges.
• Develop a functional behavior analysis and behavior intervention plan.

Motor, Language, and Academic Skill Development

• Sequence typical motor development.
• Analyze the stages of language development.
• Outline the development of literacy and math skills.
• Discuss the role of related services in the development of motor, language, and academic skills.

Collaboration and Consultation

• Analyze the interpersonal skills needed for effective collaboration and consultation among professionals and families.
• Describe the ethical responsibilities in teaching early childhood special education.
• Develop strategies for communicating with families.
• Generate effective approaches when working with students and families from diverse backgrounds.

Disclaimers

The University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses.

Although our continuing teacher education courses are accepted by some state agencies in the United States toward teacher certifications and endorsements, this may not be the case in all states or foreign jurisdictions. If you plan to use courses for certification or endorsement, please check with your own state agency and your school district for applicability. Continuing teacher education courses are not eligible to apply to degree programs at University of Phoenix. These courses are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether or not credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice.

While widely available, not all programs are available in all locations or in both online and on-campus formats. Please check with an Enrollment Representative.