Special Education 450
EDSP 450: Student Teaching Early Childhood Special Education
Prerequisites: IDEC major, accepted into Teacher Education Program, minimum 2.5 GPA.
Credit Hours: (9)
This course provides students with a supervised experience at the early childhood level in a school-based setting. It is a one-semester, full-time placement in which the student teacher works in an early childhood special education setting under the direction of a qualified teacher.
Note(s): Applied Learning designated course. This is a graded A-F course.
This course is a required professional education course for the early childhood special education teaching licensure option.
Detailed Description of Course
Students will engage in a school-based, full-time placement in an early childhood special education classroom.
Course content includes:
- Writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes
- Use of technology and multimedia to effectively assist with instruction
- Incorporation of knowledge and techniques from multiple disciplines into instruction
- Integration of goals from Individualized Education Programs (IEP) into daily learning activities and routines
- Assessment of children's behavior using formal and informal assessment strategies and utilization of data to enhance instructional planning for children
- Application of knowledge of diversity of socio-cultural and family contexts to work effectively with children from diverse social, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds and diverse family systems
- Establishment and maintenance of positive, collaborative relationships with students, colleagues, other professionals and families to work effectively as a member of a professional team to ensure learner growth and to advance the profession
- Reflection on practices, articulation of philosophy and rationale for decisions, demonstration of professional-level writing and research skills, and continual engagement in self-assessment and professional improvement and development
- Assessment of children's skills and use of research-based instructional strategies to embed intervention in daily routines and activities, tracking progress with data collection methods appropriate to the instruction
- Information needed to facilitate learning goals in content areas of the Virginia's Foundation Blocks for Early Learning: Comprehensive Standards for Four-Year-Olds
- Opportunities to acquire concepts and skills that are precursors to academic content taught in elementary school
- Adaption of tasks and interactions to maximize language development, conceptual understanding, and skill competences within each child's zone of proximal development
- Nurturance of children's development through firsthand experiences and opportunities to explore, examine, and investigate real materials in authentic context and engage in social interactions with peers and adults
- Selection of materials and equipment, arrange physical space, and plan schedules and routines to stimulate and facilitate development
- Collaboration with families, colleagues, and members of the broader community to construct learning environments that promote a spirit of unity, respect, and service in the interest of the common good
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
This course is a full-time internship placement in which the student works with children ages two through five with developmental delays and disabilities who are enrolled in public school services. Radford University faculty will supervise the internship and students will work under the direction of an appropriately licensed cooperating teacher in the field.
Teacher candidates participate in the full range of duties of public school teachers for the duration of the semester and abide by school site calendars and policies. Teacher candidates take part in all professional and community activities expected of cooperating teachers (CT) and demonstrate commitment to the profession's codes of ethical conduct.
Weekly seminars are designed to facilitate the development of knowledgeable, skilled, thoughtful and committed professionals. Seminars focus on:
- Experiences in the field
- Effective teaching practices
- Current issues and concerns of educators of young children.
Student Goals and Objectives of the Course
Goals, objectives, and assignments address the Virginia Department of Education regulations for preparing educators and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Initial Preparation Standards and Specialty Set Knowledge and Skill Items. Specialty set included in this course cover competencies for Early Childhood Special Education.
In order to engage in a supervised experience in an early childhood special education classroom, this course will prepare each student to:
- Advocate on behalf of infants, young children and their families
- Develop an individualized plan that supports the child’s intendent functioning in the child’s natural environment
- Link development, learning experiences, and instruction to promote educational transitions
- Develop and match learning experiences and strategies to characteristics of infants and young children
- Facilitate child-initiated development and learning
- Implement developmentally and functionally appropriate activities, using a variety of formations, based on systematic instructions
- Implement processes and strategies that support transitions among settings for infants and young children
- Use teacher-scaffolded and –initiated instruction to complement child-initiated learning
- Align assessment with curriculum; content standards; and local, state, and federal regulations
- Create and maintain records
- Use informal and formal assessment to make decisions about infants and young children’s development and learning
- Participate as a team member to integrate assessment results in the development and implementation of individualized plans
- Work with paraeducators
Assessment Measures
Assessment Measures may include, but are not limited to:
- Participating in feedback, observations and evaluations from cooperating professionals and university supervisors.
- Engaging in self-analysis of teaching.
- Completing a log of student teaching placement activities.
- Writing assignments applying best practices to instruction with children and families.
- Completing other assignments as deemed appropriate.
Other Course Information
This course is a required professional education course for the early childhood special education teaching licensure option.
Review and Approval
March 9, 2017
August 2020
March 01, 2021