TCNJ

Graduate Course Descriptions 73 SPED 621/ Assessment and Identification of Young Children with Disabilities 3 cr. This course focuses on a range of formal and informal assessment tools and strategies for young children with disabilities. Methods of assessment will be explored as students are guided through a series of lectures, readings and activities designed to facilitate an understanding of an array of assessment approaches, such as observation-based, formal and standardized assessments, parent interviews and checklists, and trans-disciplinary play-based assessment. This course is designed to provide experiences and skill development in a wide variety of assessments employed in settings such as Early Intervention, Preschool Special Education, Preschool Deaf Education, and Elementary Special Education and Deaf Education (through grade 3). It is expected that the students will demonstrate these skills within their professional environment. SPED 622/ Intervention Strategies for Young Children with Disabilities 3 cr. This course focuses on evidence-based practices for supporting the development and learning of children with disabilities, ages birth through age 8. Methods of intervention will be explored as students are guided through a series of lectures, readings and activities in the following areas: 1) Language-based intervention strategies for young children; 2) Strategies for strengthening social relationships in the ecological context of young children with disabilities; 3) Supports for positive behavior, including responsive classrooms and social narratives; 4) Adult-mediated learning strategies; 5) Modifying the classroom environment to meet the needs of young children with disabilities; 6) Implementation of interventions with children and families across culturally diverse settings. This course is designed to provide experiences in skill development in a wide variety of approaches to intervention employed in settings such as Early Intervention, Preschool Special Education, Preschool Deaf Education, and Elementary Special Education and Deaf Education (through grade 3). It is expected that the students will demonstrate these skills within their professional environment. SPED 624/ Advanced Study of Learning Disabilities 3 cr. An intensive overview of the field of learning disabilities, including definitions, characteristics, medical aspects of attention deficit disorder (ADD), social and emotional behavior, assessment techniques, and major educational approaches to teaching. Instructional approaches will focus on cognitive learning theories and the learning strategies approach to instruction. SPED 626/ Curriculum Design for Individuals with Severe Disabilities 3 cr. The purpose of this course is to provide our students with the knowl- edge and skills that will enable them to address the needs of children and youth with significant disabilities. These disabilities include neuro- logical, developmental, intellectual, sensory, movement, and significant medical or health related disabilities. The neurological and physiological bases of the disabilities and their etiologies, along with the implications for instruction, will be discussed in depth, as will current best practices for education. SPED 631/ Transition and Community-Based Instruction 3 cr. This course introduces students to the historical, philosophical and legal foundations of transition and vocational education in public schools. Based upon a review of the current literature in this area, this course identifies research-validated practices and issues in the transition of youth with disabilities from high school to adult living. Contemporary issues including the legal responsibilities of schools and educators; person centered planning; functional vocational assessment; and collaboration with families and community agencies are addressed. It is expected that by the end of this course, students will have an understanding of the development of transition services as well as the methods of assessment and instruction for learners with diverse abilities in a variety of community settings. SPED 647/ Communication Development of Students with Significant Disorders 3 cr. This course focuses on preparing teachers to understand the early communication development of children with severe disabilities and its educational program implications. Students will develop skills in the analysis of communication development in children who have social, cognitive, motor, and sensory impairments, as well as the application of appropriate augmentative communication systems. There will be an emphasis on assessment of expressive/receptive communication skills (nonsymbolic– symbolic); teaching communication as an access skill across the curriculum; using augmentative communication to access the New Jersey core curriculum content standards; natural and assistive technology supports for communication (augmentative/alternative communication); and measuring skills of interaction/communication in students. SPED 648/ Positive Behavior Supports for Students with Extreme Behaviors 3 cr. This course specifically focuses on addressing the needs of students who demonstrate extremely challenging behaviors and are at a high risk of being excluded from inclusive school and community settings. What are the varied challenges faced by these students and their families? How should the positive behavior supports inquiry process be guided for such students? What can we learn from the perspectives of consumers who are navigating these challenges? What strategies should we use to mobilize school and community support for such students? What are the pros and cons of medication? What kinds of quality-of-life issues need to be addressed in order to bring about a long-term impact on behavior? These are some of the questions that will be addressed throughout this course. The intent of this course is to provide students with the necessary skills that will enable them to support such students and advocate for them within the system. The emphasis of the course is on collaboration, inclusion, and non-aversive techniques. SPED 664/ Research Trends in Special Education 3 cr. Research Trends in Special Education presents research methodologies used in special education, with a particular emphasis on qualitative methods and single-subject research design. Students will acquire the skills and knowledge required of a competent research consumer by examining the literature on disability and conducting a mini-research project on a topic related to teaching children with disabilities in their own classrooms and schools. SPED 671/ Nemeth and Strategies for Developing Mathematical Skills in Students Who Use Braille 3 cr. The purpose of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for teachers of learners who are Braille readers/ tactile learners to access math instruction and develop math skills. Students of this course will study and master the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Scientific Notation and plan and implement instruc - tion in the Nemeth Code for learners who are blind and unable to access math and science materials through the print medium. The course includes extensive practice of the Nemeth Code, including the tran- scription of print material into Nemeth Code and Nemeth Code material into print, use of the Cranmer abacus for mathematical calculations, strategies for fostering successful numeracy for all tactile learners, plan- ning and delivering instruction in the Nemeth Code, and utilizing spe- cialized materials for teaching math and science to Braille readers/tactile learners and supporting them in general math and science classes. This course will also provide students with an introduction to other tactile codes used by Braille readers, such as the Music Braille Code, which allows Braille readers to access music notation. SPED 672/ Strategies for Teaching Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired 3 cr. This course will provide entry-level skill development for planning interventions based on individual assessment of learning needs. The course will examine educational needs of both tactual and visual learners at various levels of development: infancy and early childhood; school years; transition to college/work. The expanded core curriculum (ECC) for B/VI learners will be examined, and determination of how it can best be woven into the core curriculum for all learners will be discussed. Included in the ECC is the reinforcement of supporting students' orientation and mobility, and basic skills of negotiating indoor and outdoor environments. 244328_001-091_r1.indd 73 9/1/17 1:40 PM

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