EDUC 402 - Teaching the Exceptional Learner

(3 credits)

This course addresses the Individuals with Disabilities Act which requires the coordinated efforts of many disciplines to provide a free, appropriate education for all of the nation’s children eligible for special education services. The responsibility for direct instruction of these exceptional children increasingly falls on the regular (general) education teacher. Based on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s guidelines for developing competencies in regular (general) education teachers working with students with disabilities, this course focuses on providing teacher education candidates with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for meeting the needs of exceptional learners in the regular (general) education classroom in pre k to grade 4, middle school and in high school classrooms. Included in this course is consideration of the needs of ELL students and students with disabilities as well as those children who come from diverse backgrounds. Clinical experiences will be provided in Head Start, pre k classrooms, elementary schools and in high schools. Prerequisites: EDUC 101, EDUC 210, and EDUC 212.Fall, Spring.