Learning Theories/Special Education

Doctor of Education

EDU 969

Breyer State University

Instructor: Catherine Moran, PhD.

COURSE OVERVIEW:Welcome to Special Education a doctorate level course in the curriculum for the Degree, Doctor in Education. I am pleased to instruct you in this course.

This is an upper level course that prepares you to work in the field of Special Education.  In this course you will study a comprehensive overview of the field of special education.  Specifically you will study the positive effects of 30 years of IDEA, 15 years of ADA, and many years of social activism on the lives of individuals with disabilities, their families, and the educators and professionals who work with them.

I know you will enjoy this course. Please learn as much as you can as you progress through it, as it does lay down a solid foundation for the rest of the curriculum. It is my pleasure to have you in the course.

TIME FRAME: This is a 4 semester hour course. This course is allotted ten weeks of time. You must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully by the end of the 15 week period. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course, or the day which you notify me that your textbook has arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be cognizant of the time frame. Extensions of time are permitted if needed with my and/or departmental approval. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded 4 semester hours of credit.

TEXTBOOKS: There is (1) required textbook for this course.

Book 1: “Introduction to Special Education – Making a Difference” by Deborah Deutsch Smith. Sixth Edition.  Prentice Hall Publishers.  ISBN:  0-205-47469-1.

This book may be found in your local bookstore. Your local bookstore most often will order it as a special order for you if it is not in stock. Or, you may purchase this book online from:

	» Click Here to Enter
» Additional Student Resources at StudyTactics

EXAMINATIONS: There are 14 weekly exams required for this course covering the entire textbook. The exams are programmed and is located in the classroom for this course. The examination is "open book" objective type. You will have one (1) day to complete your exam, once you access it from the classroom. To access the exam, you must send me an email and request to have access to the exam. Upon registration, you will receive my email address. I will then program your access in. You will receive an email back from me telling you that you are now authorized to go ahead and to access your exam. To access, you will come into the classroom, click on testing, and click on the exam you are taking. You will need your User ID and PASS WORD to access the exam. The exam will appear on your screen. Once you access the exam, you have twenty-four hours to submit your answers. The program provides me the exact date and time that you accessed the exam. The program also notifies me of the exact date and time that you submitted your answers. Thus, the program is timing you. When you are ready, go back into the classroom and click in your responses and then click submit. Shortly, you will receive the exam in your email box with your computed score. You will also know what questions, if any, that you missed, and what the correct answer is. I also receive a copy of your exam and your score.

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = Fail

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me. I am available as a teacher, coach, and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for this course. Primarily, communication is through email. However, I am also available for conversation by telephone if you would like. Our classroom for this course has a "chat" room. I am also very willing to meet with you one-on-one in the chat room at your request. From time to time, depending on how many students are enrolled in this course at a particular time, we will have some scheduled group chats. You will receive more detailed information at the time such chat sessions are scheduled. Please keep my email address handy so that you can contact me whenever necessary. If at any time during this course you change your email address, please be sure to notify me right away.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT: There is a paper required for this course.  You are to write a paper on teaching students with one of the disabilities discussed in the textbook from one of the chapters: CH 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14. The requirements for the paper are as follows:

1). Cover page, with your name, course number and title, and title of paper.
2). A minimum of 10 pages.
3). 1-inch margins.
4). Double-spaced.
5). APA style format.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: I, Catherine Moran, Ph.D., currently teach undergraduate and graduate courses at Breyer State University and Canyon College. I hold Ph.D. in Education and a Master’s degree in Education from Breyer State University.  A Bachelor of Science from Kent State University with a major in Chemistry and Biology and Speech. I have worked in several hospitals as a Med. Tech. I lecture at conferences on “Assessing and Teaching Children with Learning Disabilities”. 

I am the Registrar of Breyer State University.   

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will:

1. Have an understanding of the many learning disabilities.
2. Explain the concepts of disability and handicapped.
3. Explain the key features of special education.
4. Explain 5 important approaches used to help students with disabilities access the general education curriculum.
5. Explain the IEP process.
6. Have an understanding of the characteristics and prevalence of the many learning disabilities.
7. Explain what is meant by the term diverse.
8. Describe key features of multicultural education.
9. Describe speech impairments and language impairments.
10. Explain the benefits of augmentative and alternative communication.
11. List the key features of the IDEA ’04 definition of learning disabilities.
12. Discuss the different types of learning disabilities.
13. Recognize the characteristics of students with ADHD.
14. Understand the relationship of ADHD to other, coexisting disabilities.
15. Understand the medical treatment of ADHD.
16. Identify academic and social characteristics of student with emotional or behavioral disorders.
17. Describe the causes of emotional or behavioral disorders.
18. Explain the levels of severity and outcomes of people with mental retardation.
19. List three major known causes of mental retardation.
20. Explain how physical or health disabilities are organized.
21. List and explain the major causes of hearing loss.
22. Describe and justify universal hearing screening of newborns.
23. Discuss the concept of deaf culture.
24. Have an understanding of the assessments of learning disabilities.
25. Know the 2 functional subgroups of visual disabilities.
26. Discuss issues surrounding Braille and reading literacy.
27. Understand the relationship between autism and other autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
28. List the causes of ASD.
29. Explain the major characteristics of students with multiple-severe disabilities.
30. Describe the impact of deaf-blindness.
31. List the key elements of functional behavioral assessments (FBA).
32. Describe the current vision of giftedness and talent development.
33. Compare the two major approaches used in the education of gifted learners.

COURSE CONTENT: A brief abstract of content.

1. Historical context of disabilities
2. Disabilities and students.
3. Origins of special education.
4. Family education.
5. Universal design for learning.
6. Models for inclusive special education.
7. Roles of educational professionals.
8. The IEP.
9. Cultural diversity.
10. Assessment.
11. Language impairments.
12. Learning disabilities defined.
13. Teaching students with learning disabilities.
14. ADHD.
15. Characteristics of ADHD.
16. Teaching students with ADHD.
17. Emotional or behavioral disorders.
18. Mental retardation.
19. Physical or health disabilities.
20. Deafness and hard of hearing.
21. Blindness.
22. Autism spectrum disorders.
23. Multiple-severe disabilities.
24. Traumatic brain injury.
25. Giftedness and talent development.

QUESTIONS: If you have any questions about the assignments or the course in general please feel free to e-mail me at the address provided or contact Breyer State at: cm@breyerstate.com

ˆ Back To Top ˆ