Dual Certification in Childhood Special and General Education – MSEd

In this course we will examine the interactions among the cognitive, social, emotional, linguistic, and physical development of children from infancy into adolescence. We will pay close attention to children as makers of meaning in the contexts of their development, including family, school, socioeconomic class, and culture. Through reading classic and current literature, we will attend to some of the larger questions about development, such as the relationship between nature and nurture, the role of developmental theory, and the tension between the search for developmental universals and the reality of individual differences. The goal is to make developmental theory vibrant and meaningful so that the generalized theoretical child comes to enhance and inform how one understands individual children.

Based on the belief that language is an essential foundation for learning, this course addresses the typical processes of language acquisition in mono-and multilingual learners. Participants will examine theories of language acquisition and the role that caregivers and educators play in the development of language. In addition, participants will analyze historical, political, educational, social, and emotional factors that influence the socially constructed hierarchies of language varieties. A significant part of the course will be devoted to students who learn English as an additional language. Participants will learn how to use assessment of mono- and multilingual learners to identify appropriate instructional practices for social and academic language use in a range of educational settings. Course participants will also learn about ways of collaborating with families, colleagues, specialists, administrators, and interpreters.

This course examines how technology can create opportunities for access and expression for learners, including children with disabilities in learning, sensory, communication, and physical development. Through readings, discussion, and experimenting with a variety of actual technologies, participants will strengthen their capacities to match such tools to learner needs in diverse learning environments and activities. Participants will reflect on classroom experiences to ascertain how accessibility for learners can be enhanced. They will consider broader issues of access and equity, as they deepen their understandings of how technology can assist in creating more inclusive learning environments.

This course examines the historical, philosophical, and cultural roots of contemporary education, including Bank Street’s progressive history and philosophy, the contributions of major educational leaders, and current practices and innovations in education. Participants will analyze how critical issues in the field affect their practice with children and families in schools and communities. The course will explore ways in which education as an avenue for individual advancement and social justice has been defined, advocated for, enacted, and is still being negotiated in the U.S. The course will attend to what has been achieved as well as challenges that remain in creating educational spaces that affirm children’s and families’ race, social class, immigration status, language, gender, and ability, among other identity domains. Participants will apply their understandings to think about their role in bringing about desired, warranted changes in order to create more inclusive and democratic educational environments.

Science for Teachers focuses on developing a science way of thinking and doing in PreK-6th grade classrooms. Each session deepens an understanding that doing science requires direct sensory encounters with the physical world. By experiencing first-hand investigations of physical and biological materials and related phenomena, participants create a range of representations that can uncover existing patterns and concepts. Discussions, readings, and reflective writings deepen and broaden work done with physical materials. Participants will reflect on their own learning as they work to construct meaningful science experiences that respond to the developmental levels of their students and affirm students’ cultural, linguistic, and learning diversity. The course explores evidence-based ways of making sense of the world that support the integration of science inquiry across the curriculum.

This course provides participants with an overview of mathematics learning for children grades N-6. Participants deepen their own mathematical knowledge while furthering their understanding of effective mathematics instruction. In each session, participants do math together and use these experiences to investigate the development of mathematical thinking and to reflect on their own learning. Participants explore the essential elements of a constructivist mathematics classroom in which collaboration is core to building concepts and skills. Designing a classroom where deep mathematical understanding is the primary goal requires explorations of attitudes and beliefs as well as practices and expectations. This course addresses the moral imperative that all students are capable of learning math. It focuses on creating inclusive environments for learners with disabilities. The course also focuses on creating mathematical experiences that support students for whom English is a new language. Participants discuss classroom management strategies for grouping and individualizing instruction.

This course has been designed to convey the process of clinical teaching. Through focus on an individual child, students will be concerned with the practical and theoretical aspects of learning style, language as a learning tool, perceptual abilities and disabilities, dyscalculia, and specific arithmetic disability. Students will learn to analyze children’s strengths and weaknesses and to describe and clearly communicate specific recommendations for the child’s parents and classroom teacher.

This course examines the process through which reading and writing are acquired by young children, ages 4-8. We study the ways teachers can support literacy growth for children’s diverse learning needs and styles, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and socioeconomic status. The course explores theoretical frameworks of literacy development as well as practical applications. Graduate students work directly with a child, who is an emergent reader and writer, to develop the skills of close observation, assessment, record keeping, and planning. Graduate students, individually and as a group,analyze the contexts, activities and relationships that support children’s language and literacy learning in early childhood classrooms.

This course addresses the ways in which language, cognition, and the social-emotional development of children shape and are shaped by effective reading, writing, and language arts instruction. Employing a social constructivist perspective, it prepares teachers to meet the needs of children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, across a range of learners. During the course, students will work with individual children, plan for small and large groups, and create classroom environments that support a balanced approach to literacy. Particular emphasis will be paid to the ways in which linking assessment and instruction enables teachers to meet the developing needs of individuals and groups, incorporating guidelines from the NYS Standards. Students will learn to create units of study in reading and writing that include all aspects of speaking, listening, reading and writing. Through the experiences in this course, participants will gain a deeper understanding of interrelationship between reading and writing processes and the roles of the teacher, the family, and the child in those processes.

This studio course stresses the relationship of expression in arts and crafts to aspects of teaching and learning in other areas. Students develop approaches for discovering the use and origins of materials as well as their role in the curriculum. The course helps teachers develop a basic art program in their classrooms. Studio experiences include painting, collage, clay work, printmaking, and such crafts as puppet making, dyeing, and weaving. Readings and class discussion deal with the development of art curricula using child development as a base. Students study children’s art through slides and children’s actual work.

This course explores the importance of children’s expression through music and movement. Everyone has the capacity to produce music and engage in creative movement. Participants at all levels of experience and skill will learn about and share songs, rhythms, and games from a range of cultural and linguistic traditions. In order to develop strategies for integrating music and movement across the curriculum, participants will engage with topics such as instrument-making from recyclable materials, drumming, sound improvisation, and movement as vehicles for expression and learning. As they engage with creating and reflecting on music and movement experiences, participants will explore the role music and movement play in children’s development in classroom environments.

This course provides the opportunity for participants to analyze and develop integrated curricula in social studies using a sociopolitical lens. Participants integrate knowledge from the six disciplines of social studies: history, anthropology, sociology, political science, geography and economics into the design of a constructivist, inquiry-based social studies curriculum. The course explores ways children come to learn and care about themselves and others through social studies. There is an emphasis on differentiating curriculum, including attention to diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and supporting students with disabilities.

This course is designed to help participants create classroom environments that will meet the needs of all children, including those with disabilities. Addressing the concerns of both general and special education teachers, it incorporates presentations, role-playing, discussions, analyses of multimedia content, and informal diagnostic procedures. Participants examine the complexities of teachers’ day-to-day responsibilities and concerns, including classroom design, varied approaches to behavioral intervention, and the interplay among curricula, rules, expectations, routines, procedures, and children’s behavior.

This course is designed to increase participants’ awareness and understanding of the educational, social, cultural, linguistic and developmental implications of disability from historical, legal, and socio-political perspectives. The course will critically examine state and federal special education and disability laws and regulations and their implementation across a range of settings including their intersection with issues of race, class, language and gender. There is an emphasis on understanding how disability is socially constructed at the levels of family, community, school, and the larger society. Participants apply an understanding of disabilities to analyze and create accessible learning experiences for children. Prerequisite: EDUC 500 or permission of instructor.

This course focuses on understanding, teaching, and meeting the needs of children in emotional, social and behavioral development. Participants will critically examine the construct of children’s emotional and behavioral disabilities and approaches to intervention from historical, socio-political, mental health, and legal perspectives. There is an emphasis on understanding the intersection of these issues with the race, class, language, and gender of teachers and children. Participants will develop an in-depth case study of a child applying an inquiry orientation to the Functional Behavior Assessment-Behavior Intervention Plan. Participants will collect and analyze data from observations, interviews and other sources, and make recommendations to support ongoing social and behavioral development. Prerequisites: EDUC 803.

Building on theories of language development and learning, this course is designed to deepen graduate students’ understanding of language and communication disabilities in monolingual and bilingual children. There is an exploration of the reciprocal relationship between children’s diverse communication abilities and styles and academic, social and emotional development. The importance of teacher collaboration with other service providers is highlighted. Graduate students will reflect on their own communication styles as a means of more effectively meeting the communication needs of their students. The concept of social construction of disability will help to frame issues of equity that can guide teachers in their roles as advocates for all children. Prerequisite: EDUC 505 or EDUC 561.

This course integrates research, theory, and practice as participants learn about supporting literacy development for children with reading, writing, and language disabilities within a developmental framework. The course explores the iterative relationship between assessment and intervention and critically examines a range of evidence-based methods and materials in use in the field. Participants apply their learning as they work over multiple sessions with a child. Prerequisite: EDUC 563 or EDUC 568.

This course is designed to explore a variety of approaches used for the diagnosis, planning, and evaluation of students with disabilities. Participants will develop a critical understanding of the historical, legal and ethical considerations, appropriate use, mis-use, value, and limitations of standardized assessments including their intersection with issues of race, class, language, and gender. Participants will administer and interpret various psycho-educational tests and develop instructional plans to meet the unique needs of children with oral language, reading, writing, and math challenges. Participants will broaden their abilities to incorporate information from diagnostic reports into their teaching.

This course combines theory and practice through work with children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds who have learning disabilities. Using assessment data gathered through formal and informal measures, students will devise educational plans for children. Participants will be exposed to a repertoire of evidence-based practices and instructional strategies in oral language, reading, written language, and math in order to promote positive learning outcomes. The course will also provide opportunities to develop and apply strategies for working with families and collaborating with other educators. Utilizing their knowledge of individual learning differences, participants will become skilled at differentiating instruction for a class of students with diverse learning needs. Prerequisite: EDUC 803.

Fieldwork in appropriate settings with supervision and advisement. Candidates in advisement participate in weekly small-group conferences with their advisor. These seminars include the exchange and analysis of ongoing professional experiences and provide a forum for integrating theory with practice. Participants will develop their capacity to construct learning environments and communities that support the development of infants, children, and/or adolescents, depending on the focus of their program. Opportunities to collaborate and co-teach with cooperating teachers and other setting personnel are an integral part of the course. This is part one of two semesters of supervised fieldwork. The second part is EDUC931.

Fieldwork in appropriate settings with supervision and advisement. Candidates in advisement participate in weekly small-group conferences with their advisor. These seminars include the exchange and analysis of ongoing professional experiences and provide a forum for integrating theory with practice. Participants will develop their capacity to construct learning environments and communities that support the development of infants, children, and/or adolescents, depending on the focus of their program. Opportunities to collaborate and co-teach with cooperating teachers and other setting personnel are an integral part of the course. This course is the second half of EDUC930.

This one-credit course provides working teachers, interns, and assistant teachers the opportunity to meet the mandated New York State regulations for certification. The State regulations require teacher candidates to work in an additional grade band level in a high needs public setting, according to the age band of their certification. In addition, there may be an expectation of direct work with English language learners (ELLs) and/or students with IEPs. Graduate students will be placed in appropriate educational programs for at least 50 hours. In addition, graduate students will participate in a series of seminars focused on these classroom experiences.