Specialized Methods of Instruction & Teaching: Comprehensive
TEAS 4010/5010/6010
4 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

This course is designed to give students skills necessary to teach students with physical, health, and multiple disabilities as well as those with emotional and behavioral disorders. The focus will be on the systematic instruction for these students, life skills, transitioning these students, managing behaviors, and medical issues. Students are to complete a 1-hour practicum, spending 30 hours in a Life Skills or Behavioral classroom for those students who are not teaching or a special classroom project for those currently teaching in a special education setting. Course material will be presented via Modules which must be completed in numerical order. Discussion boards will be utilized as part of the Modules.

Course Objectives:

The students will be able to:
 
1. state the impact and implications of physical and multiple disabilities and emotional disturbance.
2. conduct assessments to determine instructional needs
3. use teaching strategies to aid in the adaptation and instruction in content areas for students with severe disabilities.
4. use specialized curricula to make accommodations for students to increase personal independence, integration into the community and self-determination
5. state the purpose and steps in functional assessments, as well as the methods for making a functional analysis
6. determine and implement behavioral interventions for various types of behavior.
Prerequisites and Corequisites:
  • TEAS 4001/5001
  • TEAS 4003/5003
  • TEAS 4004/5004
  • TEAS 4005/5005
  • TEAS 4006/5006
  • TEAS 4007/5007
  • TEAS 4008/5008
 
These courses are considered to be foundation for the successful completion of this course.
Course Topics:
  • Definitions, support, issues and services in schools and communities
  • Physical Disabilities
  • Health impairments, Infectious diseases and Cerebral palsy
  • Assessment of Severe disabilities for instructional purposes
  • Curriculum options
  • Teaching life skills
  • Teaching in the content areas
  • Transition and self-determination
  • Defining behavior disorders
  • High and low incidence behaviors
  • Assessment and identification
  • Functional assessments
  • Managing specific behaviors in the classroom
  • Effective teaching of students with ED School wide management programs
  • Transitions and issues educating students with behavior disorders
Specific Course Requirements:
  • Students will complete 16 modules. Each module will have required reading, discussion board activities as well as written assignments. Each module is worth 100 points. These will be averaged for a final course grade.
  • Graduate students are required to submit an 8-10 page research paper, double-spaced, and APA style using resources from referred journals no older than 1998. Topic should focus on some pertinent aspect or issue relative to the disability(ies) presented during this course. All topics must be approved by the instructor. Paper is worth 100 points. This will be added to the module average for a final course grade.
Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
Required Textbooks:
 
Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:
http://rodp.bkstr.com
Supplementary Materials:
None.
Hardware Requirements:
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific hardware requirements for this course include...
Software Requirements:
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific hardware requirements for this course include...(A list of software the student is required to purchase or download for the course, Real Player, Media Player, Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office, etc).
Instructor Information
Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.
Assessment and Grading
Testing Procedures:
No tests will be given since activities within the modules will be reflective of the various course objectives and competencies.
Grading Procedure:
For each Module, the grading procedure consists of: Discussion Board Assignments (a minimum of 5 postings per topic) = 50% Written assignments = 50%
 
High achievement in this course will be demonstrated by posting more than the minimum of postings per week that are thought provoking and demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the reading material as well as raising additional questions about the information presented. All assignments should be submitted on time, complete, and are examples of exemplary work.
Grading Scale:
Undergraduates 100-90---A                                                Graduates  200-180---A

                         89-80---B                                                                  179-160---B

                         79-70---C                                                                  159-140---C

                         69-60---D                                                                  139-120---D

              59 and below---F                                                          119 and below---F

 

Assignments and Participation
Assignments and Projects:
Modules 1 - 16 will be completed over the course of the Summer 2005 term. Dates for the submission of each module will be listed with each module. Dates for Module availability and submission can also be found in the course calendar.
Class Participation:
Students must check the course bulletin board frequently for announcements, and students must actively participate in threaded discussion events. It is each student's responsibility to submit assignments for each module on time. Modules must be completed in numeric order.
Punctuality:
Students should check the announcement board each day for any updates or revisions or additional information related to the course.
Course Ground Rules
Participation is required, Expected to communicate with other students in discussion threads. Learn how to navigate in WebCT. Keep abreast of course announcements. Use the assigned college or university e-mail address as opposed to a personal e-mail address. Address technical problems immediately. Observe course netiquette at all times.
Guidelines for Communications
Email:
  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members
Discussion Groups:
  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant. 
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other's ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
Chat:
  • Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
  • Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
  • Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
  • Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
  • Be constructive in your comments and suggestion
Web Resources:

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the left to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

Telephone Support:
If you are having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the AskRODP Help Desk by calling

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to the AskRODP website at:

http://help.rodp.org