Praxis IIStudy Guide for Special

Education

10352 Application of Core Principles Across Disabilities, 20353 Core Content Knowledge,

20371 Teaching Students with Behavioral Disorders/Emotional Disturbances, and

10542 Mild to Moderate Disabilities

HyperlinksIn order for all hyperlinks to be active, you must choose “View Show” under Slide Show (top tool bar) and be connected to the internet.

www.ovec.org is an example of a hyperlink

Goals and Objectives…1. To review key information about

special education in order to score a passing score on the Praxis.

2. To look at test taking approaches to assist with the successful completion of the Praxis.

What Do I need to Study?• To determine the Praxis

assessments which are required for your certification go to the ETS website and find the corresponding test number.

Resources For Your Studies• Glossary of educational te

rms• Preview the strategies for

taking a test• Test-Taking Presentation[1].ppt

Step 1Choose the Praxis

assessments which you are preparing to take.

• 10352 Application of Core Principles Across Disabilities,

• 20353 Core Content Knowledge,

• 20371 Teaching Students with Behavioral Disorders/Emotional Disturbances,

• 10542 Mild to Moderate Disabilities and

Go to the ETS website and take the sample test in each test at a glance booklet to match the assessment you are taking.

Begin by taking the test and looking at the question format, the types of questions and the way the answers are explained.

Answer the questions and identify the areas that you need more study.

Send me an email and include the assessments you are taking, the date you are to take the Praxis, your concerns based on the sample tests and outline your study plan. Include an introduction of yourself.

What is included in each assessment?

The breakdown of the content in each of the assessments is included next. Any underlined information will provide additional information either located on the internet or included on the CD. Topics may overlap from one assessment to another.

Types of multiple choice questions on the test

• Complete the statement• Which of the following• Roman Numeral choices• Not, least except• Interpretation of analysis of graph,

table, reading passages

Complete the Statement

• In this type of question, you are given an incomplete statement and must select the choice that makes the completed sentence correct.

Which of the following?

• In this type of question you will be given a limited list of responses and must choose from the list. Many more answers may correctly complete the question.

Roman Numeral Choices• In this type of question, there can be more

than one correct answer in the list. You must analyze all the statements headed by a Roman Numeral, determine which will answer the question correctly and then select the answer that includes them.• I• II• III• IV

• A. I and IV• B. II and III• C. I and III• D. III and IV

NOT, LEAST, EXCEPT…• In this type of question, the words

NOT, LEAST, or EXCEPT are always capitalized, but they are easily and frequently overlooked. Read the questions carefully, you may be attracted to by answers that appear to be correct, but do not take into account the negative.

Interpretation or analysis of graph, table or reading

passage.• In this type of question, data or

information must be interpreted or analyzed. This may include tables and charts, and reading passages.

To help prepare for the Praxis• Make sure you have practiced each type of

multiple choice question and know how to respond to each.

• Many people find that reading the questions and looking at the answer choices immediately is the best approach for most types of questions. However, with the Roman Numeral choice, you may want to generate your own answer, before trying to choose the response that matches your answer.

Assignment for Credit• Write one of each type of multiple

choice questions about a topic in special education that you feel the least prepared to address on the Praxis.

• Email your questions and answers to me.

Special Education –Applications of Core Principles across Categories of Disability

(10352)• The categories include

• curriculum, • instruction, • assessment, • managing the learning environment • and professional roles/issues/literature.

• This is a 50 items multiple choice test which allows 1 hour to complete.

Understanding Exceptionalities• Understanding

of human development:• Social and

emotional• Language• Cognition• Physical• Sensory

• Definitions of specific disabilities

• Incidence and prevalence of various types of disabilities

• Causes and prevention of disabilities

• The nature of behaviors to include frequency, duration, intensity and degree of severity

Basic Concepts in Special Education• Federal laws and legal issues related to Speci

al Education• Public Law 94-142• Public Law 101-476 (IDEA)• Public Law 105-17 (IDEA ’97)• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Important legal issues• Rowley• Tatro• Honig• Oberti

Historical Movements and Trends in Special Education

• Institutions and the deinstitutionalization movement

• Mainstreaming and Inclusion• Transition• Advocacy organizations

• ARC• CEC• LDA

Curriculum

• How to modify and adapt the regular curriculum

• How to use specialized programs and materials

• Ways to address diversity in the classroom

• Ways to use technology

Sample Information• Modification and adaptation of curriculum is usually

necessary for students with special needs. Modifying instructional materials, creating study guides and helping students to find effective alternative methods of learning are just a few examples of modifying curriculum.  

• Assistive technology consists of any tool or accommodation that enables children with special learning needs to be included in educational opportunities. In essence, assistive technology is a strategy that expands a student’s access to the curriculum.

• Computer assisted instruction is a method of instruction that is effective for many children with disabilities. The graphics and sound in a computer program can help to maintain a student’s attention and increase their motivation toward learning. Many computer assisted learning programs provide immediate feedback and repetition which can enhance the learning experience for a student with disabilities.

• An applied and integrated curriculum connects academic and vocational learning.

• Applied Behavior Analysis is a practice of learning theory that involves understanding what leads to new skills. This approach is often effective for children who have autism

Instruction• How to implement the

IEP• IEP Implementation• How to select and use

the appropriate strategies and methods• Direct Instruction• Cooperative Learning• Task Analysis• Applied Behavior analys

is• Learning styles

• Ways to select and implement the format and components of instruction• Individualized instruction• Small Group Instruction• Large Group Instruction• Instructional modeling• Demonstrating• Questioning• Drill and Practice

• How to implement instruction in specific areas• Academics• Social skills• Vocational skills• Self –care and daily living skills• Study and organizational skills• Learning strategies

• Effective Instructional Practices Programs

• Instructional Practice and Student Behavior

• Instructional Practices of WRSD• Doing What Works - Proven Methods -

No Child Left Behind - ED.gov• Kansas Learning Strategies• What is Quality Teaching?

Assessment• How to modify, construct, or select and

conduct nondiscriminatory and appropriate formal and informal assessment procedures

• Teachers guide to special education assessment

• How to interpret standardized and specialized assessment results

• How to use evaluation results for various purposes, including monitoring IEP/ITP development

• How to prepare written reports and communicate findings to others

• If a fourth grade student has a grade equivalent score of 3.0 on a reading test, he correctly answered as many questions on the test as the average beginning third grader.

• Critical Issue: Integrating Assessment and Instruction in Ways That Support Learning

• The standard deviation is the variability from the mean. To calculate the standard deviation, you find the difference of each score from the mean, square each difference, average the squares and then take the square root – this produces the standard deviation.

• In testing or assessments, validity refers to the ability of the measurement to measure what it claims to measure. The term reliability is used to when referring to the repeatability and accuracy of a measurement.

 

• Aptitude is the undeveloped potential or ability.

• A discrepancy formula is used to establish a discrepancy between a student’s measured IQ and academic achievement and is used to document a SLD (Specific Learning Disability).

• Curriculum based assessment is a method of increasing the importance in special education by measuring a student’s progress in the curriculum at frequent levels.

Managing the Learning Environment

• Behavior management, including behavior analysis- identification and definition of antecedents, target behavior,

• ABC Analysis• and consequent

events; data gathering procedures

• Anecdotal data• Frequency• Interval

methods• And selecting and

using behavioral interventions

• Classroom organization/management, including providing appropriate physical-social environment for learning

• Classroom management and organization• Expectations• Rules• Consequences• Consistency• Attitudes• Lighting • Seating• Access and strategies

for positive interactions

• Transitions between lessons and activities; grouping of students; and effective and efficient documentation•Parent/teacher contacts•Legal records

• A self-contained classroom is a special class for specific types of disabled students who spend the majority of the school day away from non-disabled students.

• Structure is the consistent use of rules, limits and routines that reassures a student with learning disabilities that the environment is stable and predictable. Behavior Home Pagehttp://www.state.ky.us/agencies/behave/homepage.html

• IDEA requires school districts to provide related services that a child needs in order to benefit from the special education program, with the exception of medical care which is not for diagnostic purposes. Related services may include speech and language pathology, audiology services, psychological services, recreation, physical and occupational therapy, early identification and assessment, counseling, rehabilitation counseling, school health services, orientation and mobility services, social work services, and/or parent counseling and training.

• Positive reinforcement is a behavior management technique in which the addition of a stimulus after a response that makes that response more likely to recur. On the other hand, negative reinforcement is the removal of a stimulus after a response which also makes that response more likely to recur.

• Response cost is a behavior management technique that consists of stating the cost for a specific misbehavior before it occurs, implementing the penalty every time the misbehavior occurs and combining this with a reward or praising plan to tech or strengthen desired behaviors.

• One form of differential reinforcement is to decrease inappropriate behavior by ignoring it and providing reinforcement for positive behavior.

• Approaches to Learning and Teaching.doc

Professional Roles, Issues, and Literature

• The teachers role as a multidisciplinary team member

• Ways to consult/collaborate with others, in school and outside

• Ways to work with teaching assistants in the classroom

• Ways to participate in transition planning• How to use professional literature and

research 

• The regular education teacher’s role as a member of a multi-disciplinary team is to present subject matter and instruction in the classroom; to help develop, review and revise the student’s IEP; to determine appropriate positive behavioral interventions and strategies; to help determine supplementary aids, services and program modifications; to identify supports needed to help the student progress; and generally to maintain communication between the school and the student’s home.

• Transition planning is part of the IEP for students after they reach the age of 16 (or earlier if deemed appropriate). Both parents/guardians and the student are included in the transition planning process. The IEP team may consist of the special education teacher, the regular classroom teacher and other support personnel and/or consultants. The superintendent would not normally be party to this process.

• Section 300.506 states “Each public agency shall ensure that procedures are established and implemented to allow parties to disputes involving any matter described in Sec. 300.503 (a) (1) to resolve the disputes through a mediation process that, at a minimum, must be available whenever a hearing is requested under Secs. 300.507 or 300.520-300.528.” Specific requirements of the procedures are outlined.

• Get a Life Transition guide

• The Child Find component of IDEA requires states to identify, locate and evaluate all children with disabilities who are in need of early intervention or special education services between the ages of birth to 21.

• A licensed school nurse is an important part of a special education evaluation team. They may assist in determining if a child meets the criteria for special education by providing health assessments as needed, reviewing health history and documentation of medical diagnosis and identifying mental or physical health conditions that may impact learning. Additionally, if a child is eligible for special education services, related services such as school health or nursing services may be provided as part of the IEP.

• History of Special Education• Special Education Laws• CEC Code of Ethics

Education of Exceptional Students: Core Content

Knowledge (0353)• Content Categories:

• Understanding Exceptionalities• Legal and Societal Issues• Delivery of Services to Students with Disabilities

• This is a 60 minute assessment with 60 multiple choice questions. This assessment is designed for examinees who plan to teach students with disabilities in preschool through grade 12. Questions may address any disability from mild to profound.

Understanding Exceptionalities• Human development and behavior

related to students with disabilities, including• Social and emotional development and

behavior• Language development and behavior• Cognition• Physical development including motor

and sensory

• Characteristics of students with disabilities, including the influence of• Cognitive factors• Affective and social adaptive factors,

including cultural, linguistic, gender, and socioeconomic factors

• Genetic, medical, motor, sensory, and chronological age factors

• developmental disorders

• Basic Concepts in special education, including• Definitions of all major categories and specific

disabilities, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as the incidence and prevalence of various types of disabilities,

• The causation and prevention of disability,• The nature of behaviors, including the

frequency, duration, intensity, and degree of severity,

• The classification of students with disabilities, and

• The influence of level of severity and presence of multiple exceptionalities on students with disabilities.

• The influence of (an) exceptional condition(s) throughout an individual’s life span.

Legal and Societal Issues• Federal laws and legal issues related to

special education including• Public Law 94-142• Public Law 105-17• Section 504• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)• Important legal issues such as those raised by

the following cases:• Rowley re: program appropriateness• Tatro re: related services• Honing re: discipline• Oberti re: inclusion

• The school’s connections with the families, prospective and actual employers, and communities of students with disabilities, for example• Teacher advocacy for students and families,

developing student self advocacy• Parent partnerships and roles• Public attitudes toward individuals with

disabilities• Cultural and community influences toward

individuals with disabilities• Interagency agreements• Cooperative nature of the transition planning

process

• Historical movements/trends affecting the connections between special education and the larger society, for example• Deinstitutionalization and community

based placements• Inclusion• Application of technology• Transition• Advocacy• Accountability and meeting educational

standards

Delivery of Services to Students with Disabilities

• Background knowledge including• Conceptual approaches underlying

service delivery to students with disabilities, including • Cognitive• Constructivist• Psychodynamic• Behavioral• Sociological• Ecological• Therapeutic (speech/language, physical and

occupational)• Medical approaches

• Placement and program issues such as • early intervention; • least restrictive environment; • inclusion; • role of individualized education programs (IEP)

team; • due process guidelines; • categorical, non-categorical and cross- categorical

programs;• continuum of educational and related services;• related services and their integration into the

classroom, including roles of other professionals;• accommodations, including access to assistive

technology;• transition of students into and within special

education placements;• community-based training;• post-school transitions

• Integrating best practices from multidisciplinary research and professional literature into the educational setting

• Curriculum and instruction and their implication across the continuum of educational placements, including• The individualized family service plan (IFSP)/

individualized education program (IEP) progress• Instructional development and implementation,

for example:• Instructional activities• Curricular materials and resources• Working with classroom and support personnel• Tutoring options

• Teaching strategies and methods, for example:• Modification of materials and equipment• Learning centers• Facilitated groups• Study skills• Groups• Self-management• Cooperative learning• Diagnostic-prescriptive method• Modeling• Skill drill• Guided practice• Concept generalization• Learning strategy instruction• Direct instruction

• Instructional format and components, for example:• Small and large group instruction• Facilitated group strategies• Functional academic with focus on special

education• ESL and limited English proficiency• Language and literacy acquisition• Self-care and daily living skills• Prevocational and vocational skills

• Career development and transition issues as related to curriculum design and implementation for students with disabilities according to the criteria of ultimate functioning

• Technology for teaching and learning in special education setting, for example:• Integrating assistive technology into the

classroom• Computer-assisted instruction• Augmentative and alternative communication• Adaptive access for microcomputers• Positioning and power mobility for students

with physical disabilities• Accessing and using information technology• Use of productivity tools• Technology for sensory disabilities• Voice activated, speech-recognition and word

prediction software

• Assessment, including• Use of assessment for screening, diagnosis, placement, and t

he making of instructional decisions, for example:• How to select and conduct nondiscriminatory and appropriate

assessments• How to interpret standardized and specialized assessment

results• How to effectively use evaluation results in individualized family

service plan (IFSP)/individualized education program (IEP) development

• How to prepare written reports and communicate findings• Procedures and test materials, both formal and informal

typically used for pre-referral, screening, referral, classification, placement, and ongoing program monitoring

• How to select, construct, conduct and modify nondiscriminatory, developmentally and chronologically age-appropriate informal assessment and alternatives to norm-referenced testing (including observations, anecdotal records, error analysis, miscue analysis, self-evaluation questionnaires and interviews, journal and learning logs, portfolio assessment)

• Structuring and managing the learning environment, including• Structuring the learning environment, for

example: • the physical social environment for learning

(expectations, rules, consequences, consistency, attitudes, lighting, acoustics characteristics, seating, access, safety provisions and strategies for positive interactions);

• transitions between lessons and activities; • grouping of students; integration of related

services (occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language therapy)

• Classroom management techniques, for example:• Behavioral analysis (identification and

definition of antecedents, target behaviors and consequences)

• Behavioral interventions• Functional analysis• Data gathering procedures(such as

anecdotal data, frequency methods, and interval methods)

• Self management strategies and reinforcement

• Cognitive behavioral interventions• Social skills training

• Ethical considerations inherent in behavior management

• Professional roles, including• Specific roles and responsibilities of teachers, for

example: teacher as a collaborator with other teachers, teacher educators, parents, community groups, and outside agencies

• Teacher as a multidisciplinary team member• Maintaining effective and efficient

documentation• Selecting appropriate environments and services

for students• Critical evaluation and use of professional

literature and organizations• Reflecting on ones own teaching• Teachers role in a variety of settings (self-

contained classroom, resource room, itinerant, co-teacher in inclusion setting, etc.)

• Maintaining student confidentiality

• Influences of teacher attitudes, values and behaviors on the learning of exceptional students

• Communicating with parents, guardians and appropriate community collaboration, for example• Directing parents and guardians to parent-

educators or to other groups and resources• Writing reports directly to parents• Meeting with parents to discuss student

concerns, progress and IEP’s encouraging parent participation

• Reciprocal communication and training with other service providers

Special Education: Teaching Students with Behavioral/Emotional Disturbance (20371)• Six content areas are covered in the

examination including • general knowledge of exceptionalities; • characteristics of students with emotional

disturbances; • assessment, evaluation and placement; • instructional procedures and methods; • classroom management and • legal/ethical considerations.

• This is a 50 question multiple choice assessment that allows 60 minutes for completion.

General Knowledge of Exceptionalities• Basic concepts, including characteristics of

students with behavioral disorders/emotional disturbance, such as psychological characteristics (for example, neuroses, psychoses, anxiety, depression);

• ADHD PowerPoint• Neuroses, Psychoses, anxiety and depressi

on• Teaching Approaches• affective characteristics (for example,

social-emotional development, interpersonal skills);

• Blooms Taxonomy Affective domain

• adaptive/ maladaptive behavioral characteristics (for example, self-injurious behavior, eating disorders, substance abuse, aggression, social maladjustment, conduct disorders, delinquency);

• the relationship between behavior disorders/emotional disturbance and distractibility, hyperactivity, and impulsivity; and

• causation and prevention (for example, environmental factors, cultural factors, genetic factors, neurological factors)

• Definitions/terminology related to behavioral disorders/ emotional disturbance (for example, federal definition [IDEA]; professional organizations’ definitions [DSM CEC])

● Professional roles/issues/

• literature, such as public attitudes toward individuals with behavioral disorders/emotional disturbance;

• the teacher’s role as promoter of advocacy (for example, helping parents become advocates for their children, developing student self-advocacy, advocating for students’ families and for educational change);

• the teacher’s responsibility in cases of suspected abuse or neglect;

• the use of professional literature/ organizations and formal published research for improving classroom practice and reflecting on one’s own teaching;

• influences of teacher attitudes and expectations on student achievement and behavior; and ways to work with health-related service and social service providers

Assessment, including how to• modify, construct, or select and conduct

nondiscriminatory and appropriate informal and formal assessment procedures,

• how to interpret standardized and specialized assessment results,

• how to use evaluation results in IEP/ITP development, and how to prepare written reports and communicate findings to others

Placement and program issues,• including ways to apply a continuum of

alternative placements and related services (for example, early intervention, support systems, least restrictive environment, REI, mainstreaming, integration, and inclusion);

• how to participate in the IEP/ITP processes in a manner that is responsive to cultural and community influences;

• how to identify, develop, or adapt and use appropriate instructional materials;

• Lesson Planning

• how to work with classroom personnel and external resources;

• how to display awareness of students’ abilities and aptitudes and use appropriate alternative methods for instruction, evaluation, and grading (for example, through peer-group tutoring and instructional techniques)

Curriculum and instruction,

• including determining current levels of performance, determining instructional needs, identifying appropriate related services and modifications of standard educational practice, establishing effective data collection;

• preparing legally correct IEP/ITP instructional goals and objectives; selecting chronologically and developmentally age-appropriate instructional activities and materials; using appropriate planning and sequencing of instructional strategies;

• using data-based decision-making to select from varied teaching strategies and methods, including direct instruction, cooperative learning, task analysis, diagnostic-prescriptive methods, and applied behavior analysis; and

• using varied instructional formats and components, including motivation, modeling, drill and practice, demonstration, corrective feedback, and reinforcement with individuals and with small and large groups, as appropriate

Instructional Procedures and Methods

• How to manage the learning environment, including using behavior management, behavior analysis (such as identification and definition of antecedents, target behavior, consequent events); data-gathering procedures; selecting and using behavioral interventions (for example, approaches to changing behaviors, such as behavioral, cognitive behavioral, and affective, degrees of intrusiveness);

• Classroom Management Strategies for Effective Instruction.ppt

Classroom Management • using classroom organization/management;

providing the appropriate physical-social environment for learning (such as expectations, rules, consequences, consistency, attitudes, lighting, seating, access, strategies for positive interactions);

• Classroom management and organization• planning transitions between lessons and

activities; grouping students; and maintaining effective and

Legal and Ethical Considerations

• efficient documentation (such as parent/teacher contacts and legal records)

• CEC link on IDEA

Education of Exceptional Students: Mild to Moderate Disabilities

(0542)• Content Categories:

• Assessment• Curriculum and Instruction• Structure and Managing the Learning Environment

• This is a one hour test made up of 5 constructed response questions. The questions access the ability to apply the principles of special education to situations that a teacher is likely to encounter in working with students with mild to moderate disabilities in Preschool through 12th grade.

Six Types of Constructed Response Questions

• The six kinds of stimulus material for the questions are:• Charts graphs and tables• Illustrations, cartoons, maps and other visuals• Passages taken from relevant content area

primary source materials• Statements of theory and research findings• Mathematical or scientific problems• Examples of students work

Strategies for Success• Answer all parts of the question. Use

your pencil to mark all requirements in the test booklet.

• Answer the question only to the degree requested.

• Look first at the question and then at the stimulus materials.

Power Verbs for Testing• Make sure you are familiar with

questions which include the following verbs:• List

• Define• Identify• Compare• Contrast• Cite• Explain• Defend

• Describe• Discuss• Analyze• Evaluate• Use examples• Give reasons• Be specific

Assessment• Demonstrate knowledge of

specialized policies regarding• Screening • Pre-referral strategies• Referral• Placement procedures for individuals

with mild to moderate disabilities

• Demonstrate knowledge of assessment for eligibility:• Instruments and methods both formal

and informal (e.g. ecological inventories, portfolio, functional, and assistive technology assessments) used to determine eligibility for special education services, with consideration given to• Modality preferences• Level of support and/or independence• Accommodations for test taking situations• Cultural and linguistic diversity

• Demonstrates knowledge of assessment for instruction:• How to design and adapt assessments,

both formal and informal, to use in developing instruction for individuals with mild to moderate disabilities, with consideration given to:• Modality preferences• Level of support and/or independence• Accommodations for test taking situations• Cultural and linguistic diversity

• How to utilize assessment information in developing instruction for mild to moderate disabilities in both specialized and general education settings in both• Academic domains (e.g. mathematics,

reading, writing, social studies, science, art, music, vocational and

• Behavioral domains (e.g. social skills, listening skills, communication skills, self-management skills, prevocational skills)

Curriculum and Instruction• Demonstrate knowledge of how to

evaluate, select, and develop curriculum materials appropriate for individuals with mild to moderate disabilities, with sensitivity to cultural and linguistic diversity and adaptations and accommodations for individuals with mild to moderate disabilities

• Demonstrate knowledge of how to use local, community, and state resources to assist in developing programs for individuals who are likely to make progress in the general curriculum.

• Demonstrate knowledge of how to write appropriate IEP goals and objectives for students with mild to moderate disabilities in • Academic domains (including vocational)• Behavioral domains

Structuring and Managing the Learning Environment

• Demonstrate knowledge of behavior management• How to implement

systematic behavior management plans using• Observation• Recording• Charting• Establishment of timelines• Hierarchies of interventions• Schedules of reinforcement

• How to select target behaviors to be changed and identify the critical variables affecting the target behavior.

• Demonstrates knowledge of problem solving and conflict resolution

• Demonstrates knowledge of how to integrate related services into the instructional setting of students with mild to moderate disabilities

• Demonstrates knowledge of how to collaborate with others (including both personnel and families) in planning and providing instruction for students with mild to moderate disabilities