Special Education Minor

Special Education Minor

Introductory Courses focus on subjects that teachers need to succeed in their field. They typically include:

• Foundations of Education: An introduction for teacher candidates to the profession of education.
• School-Age Growth and Development: An examination of the prevailing philosophies and theories of child development.
• Educational Pedagogy I: Introduces teacher candidates to theories and research concerning teaching and learning.
• Diversity in the Classroom: An examination of students from diverse cultural, racial, economic and language groups – as well as students with physical, psycho-social and intellectual exceptionalities.

Higher-Level Courses continue to prepare you for the tasks and challenges of the classroom. You will be studying:

• Child/Adolescent Development, Motivation and Learning: An exploration of the social, physical, emotional and intellectual growth of children as related to learning and the motivation to learn.
• Effective Practices: Planning, Instruction and Assessment: An examination of the effective practices and the challenges of the modern classroom – including the ability to modify instruction for learners with needs outside of mainstream instructional practices.
• Community-Building for Effective Classroom Management: An exploration of the strategies for fostering a sense of community in the classroom and developing positive relationships with and among students.
• Exploring Dimensions of Literacy through an in-depth study of literacy development and the strategies for helping students learn to read and develop vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, writing skills, content-area literacy and media literacy.
• Instruction and Assessment: An in-depth study of teaching strategies designed to ensure mastery of content and help students become effective citizens of a democratic and culturally diverse society.