Dual Certification in Early Childhood Special Education & 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 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 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.

Through active engagement with children’s literature, participants deepen their understanding of language development and oral language comprehension in young children’s learning. We will model how to plan for and support these processes in ways that translate directly into classroom practice. Participants develop criteria for selecting children’s literature that include quality of writing, illustrations, and a representative range of genres and topics taught using culturally responsive pedagogy.

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 a framework for developing curriculum that engages all children in authentic meaning making about themselves and their wider world. Participants use principles of child development and inclusive practice as a foundation for planning experiences that support deep learning. The course focuses on curriculum as the core vehicle for affirming children’s developing identities, including cultural and linguistic identity. Using social studies as the core of an integrated curriculum, participants plan using diverse materials, modalities, content, and perspectives to help children examine big questions. Participants use universal design principles to create learning experiences that are inclusive of a broadly diverse range of learners.

This course will explore autism from historical, cultural, political, and developmental lenses. It will support graduate students in thinking deeply and from multiple perspectives about the evolution of our understandings about and interventions with the broad range of characteristics of learning and development attributed autistic people. This course considers the significance of home and/or school as the primary sources of educational intervention and direct services for autistic children. Participants will consider the importance of providing young autistic children with an educational program that is responsive to each child’s unique pattern of strengths and areas of growth, and will learn ways to partner in this work with a diverse range of families. Participants will explore the use of assistive technology as a tool for supporting student learning, communication, and independence.

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 explores play as central to supporting the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children with varying developmental and learning variations. Participants will learn a variety of therapeutic play techniques that promote self-regulation, self-esteem, and emotional expression, and development across domains. This course is appropriate for general and special education teachers, parents, caregivers, child life specialists, social workers, therapists and counselors. Participants are required to have prior coursework focused on child development and on developmental variations. Prerequisite: EDUC 803 or with permission of instructor.

This course examines communication, language, and literacy as they emerge in monolingual and multilingual children from infancy through early childhood. Participants examine how language, socialization, communicative competence, and literacy develop within, and are impacted by children’s sociocultural contexts. Participants are introduced to communication disorders and other learning disabilities of the early years that affect language and literacy learning. Specific practices are identified to enhance the experience of young children who are receiving services in school as English language learners. Modifications and adaptations to support children with disabilities are explored. Prerequisite: EDUC 500; pre- or corequisite: EDUC 505.

This course introduces and explores informal and formal assessment practices for young children. Students will learn about various ways of observing, collecting, documenting, and analyzing children’s work and learning experiences in a variety of settings. Students will also become familiar with formal and informal assessment procedures and terminology, standardized testing, and strategies for test selection, to ensure results that are valid and unbiased. Students will also examine legal, ethical, culturally responsive, and professional considerations of assessment. Students will be given practical experience in the preparation and administration of different forms of assessment, including the construction of simple performance assessments. Critical attention will be given to careful interpretation and utilization of assessment data in developing meaningful curriculum and educational plans for individual children. Culturally responsive approaches to assessment and involving the family with the assessment process will also be addressed. Prerequisite: EDUC 803 or EDUC 894.

Early Childhood Practicum I and II is a year-long course that provides graduate students the opportunity to integrate theory and practice as they work with a child and family. Practicum I focuses on: 1) observation as the foundation of early childhood assessment and 2) culturally sustaining, family-based practice. Participants learn to observe and record children’s behavior in home, school, and community settings. Through regular observations, participants construct a respectful and increasingly complex understanding of the child within his/her sociocultural context. Special emphasis is placed on recognizing the strengths of the child and family. Participants develop greater awareness of their own perspectives and the ways their personal experiences affect what they notice and how they interpret their observations. Participants begin to integrate adult development, family systems theory, and cultural/ linguistic diversity as a basis for developing relationships with the child’s family. This work provides a foundation for Practicum II. Prerequisite: EDUC 803.

This course completes a year-long sequence of work with a child and the child’s family. The focus in the second semester is two-fold: 1) developing a responsive collaboration with the family and 2) developing and analyzing the use of a range of instructional strategies. Through conversations, participants learn about the family’s perspectives and goals. To gather further data, participants select, develop, and use a variety of informal assessments. Participants apply their developing knowledge of the child’s interests and developmental needs as they design and implement instructional strategies. The course engages participants in a deep understanding of the assessment, planning and instruction cycle as they collect data and reflect on their instruction and apply their learnings in their ongoing work with the child and family. Participants will work with families to jointly plan goals as they develop their understandings of the IEP/IFSP. Prerequisite: EDUC 894.

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 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.