Project PREPNARRATIVE

III. Narrative

A. Significance of the Project

Need for Personnel Preparation (a2i)

National and State Shortage of ECSE Teachers. Currently in the state of Minnesota

there is a shortage of Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) teachers. The Minnesota

Department of Education (MDE) granted 90 variances in 2009-2010 and 89 variances in 2010-

2011. In a February 4, 2013 letter to Minnesota Department of Education Comissioner Brenda

Cassellius, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Higher Education Programs states that there is a

state shortage of ECSE teachers in Minnesota (Appendix B contains the letter). It appears there

has been a shortage of ECSE personnel for several years. For example, according to the US

Department of Education, Office of Post Secondary Education, the state of Minnesota has had a

shortage of early childhood special education teachers in 2005-2006, 2008-2009, 2009-2010,

2010-2011 and 2011-2012.

Nationally, there are approximately 300,000 infants and toddlers receiving early

intervention services. Federal requirements for the identification of children in early childhood

special education have changed and the number of infants, toddlers, and young children requiring

special education services in the state of Minnesota is increasing. According to the 2006 Annual

Report to Congress on the Implementation of IDEA there is a significant shortage of qualified

personnel to work with these children. With the shortage of qualified teachers to work with these

young children there is threat to quality of services and programs. The shortages of personnel and

the demands for more qualified ECSE teachers are projected to continue into the future

(NECTAS, 2006; McLeskey, Tyler & Flippin, 2004). In Minnesota, about 92% of people serving

Project PREP

as ECSE teachers are fully licensed in Region 9 where Mankato Public Schools – one of our

partner districts – is located. In the state, 98% of those serving in ECSE positions are fully

licensed but there remains a shortage to fill the positions. Project PREP will address the shortage

of ECSE teachers and ensure these important personnel are fully credentialed to meet Minnesota

Board of Teaching Standards (Appendix D contains all standards needed for ECSE licensure in

Minnesota) and use evidence-based practices in their work to serve infants and young children.

ECSE Program Effectiveness Data. Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Early

Childhood Special Education program began fall 2012 so effectiveness data in the form requested

in the Request for Proposal is not available at this time. Section C, Project Evaluation, provides

an overview of the type of data we collect in our College and Department to evaluate our program

effectiveness. The ECSE has recently been approved by the Minnesota Board of Teaching

(Appendix E contains a letter indicating such approval). Minnesota State University, Mankato’s

College of Education earned NCATE and BOT approval in September 2012. See letter in

Appendix E.

Importance of Early Intervention. There is a long history of research to support the

practices of providing quality services directly to infants, toddlers and young children with

defined disabilities and who are at risk of having a disability (Howlin, Magiati, & Charman, 2009;

Landry, Smith, Swank, & Guttentag, 2008; Ludwig & Phillips, 2008; Trohanis, 2008).

Additionally, working in partnership with their families and providing services to these families

has been found to enhance the outcomes of these young children (Dunst, 2007); the relationship

between the early interventionist and family is crucial (Kelly, Zuckerman, & Rosenblatt, 2008).

This need for working with families is emphasized in both Part B and Part C of IDEA (Turnbull

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et al. 2007). The earlier a child receives an intervention the more likely that the child will benefit

from the intervention (Guralnick, 2005).

Project PREP will be effective due to the focus on evidence-based practices (EBP) and the

embedded mentoring by current practitioners in the field. The preparation of scholars will follow

recommendations from Bruder (2010) in that it will (a) be learner centered; (b) focus on the

information provided (EBP), and (c) ensure understanding (formative assessment and mentoring)

with follow-up from teachers, university faculty and supervisors. Unlike other teacher education

programs, in which students have random field placements, this project will have focused field

placements with our three partner districts (Minneapolis, Mankato and Bloomington). These

focused experiences will provide increased opportunities for learning and buy in from both

scholars and current practitioners in the filed. This buy-in comes from the fact that this will not be

a one-time experience in the district, but rather a purposeful long-term placement. Practitioners

and students will build relationships and have a vested interest in success. Project PREP’s

approach will facilitate immediate feedback on practice; first learning about an EBP and then

implementing and/or seeing the practices in action by practitioners in the field. There is evidence

this model of learning and implementing with guidance is an effective training/professional

development strategy (see review by Snyder, Hemmeter, & McLaughlin, 2011).

Graduates of Project PREP will transfer their knowledge of EBP into their work in field

experience. Practicing EBPs with immediate feedback will strengthen scholars’ understanding

and have immediate positive impact on students. Additionally Project PREP will impact the

scaling up the delivery of EBP as graduates will not only be securing jobs in partner districts but

also across the state. This scaling up is in direct alignment with recommendations from leaders in

the field of implementation science (Fixsen & Blase, 2009).

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Impact of Project PREP Graduates (a2ii). At least thirty-two early childhood special

education teachers will be prepared during the five years of Project PREP. We anticipate

accepting 8-10 new scholars during years 1, 2, 3 and 4; it will take approximately 2-2.5 years for

program completion. Scholars will enter the program with different experiences and preparation;

therefore, we will have at least 32 Project PREP graduates and maybe more. Table 1 in

Appendix A illustrates the various entry points. Scholars who successfully complete Project

PREP will secure an ECSE license from the state of Minnesota through successful completion of

Minnesota Teach Licensure Exam (MTLE), performance on the Teacher Performance

Assessment (TPA) and application for licensure. Project PREP will increase the number of

personnel who demonstrate the competencies needed to provide high-quality instruction,

evidence-based interventions, and services for infants, toddlers and young children with

disabilities. In fact, Project PREP graduates who have met Minnesota BOT ECSE

standards/competencies will be able to do the following:

Teach learners between the ages of birth to six

Make data-based decisions that may result in modifying education plans

Design and monitor progress of students receiving ECSE services

Serve as a consultant and/or provider of direct services as an ECSE teacher to

implement IFSPs for children birth to three years of age and IEPs for three through

six-year-old children with disabilities in a variety of settings

Serve as a member of a teaching team in an inclusive program

Serve as a member a district's IFSP/IEP team and assist with assessment, program

planning/ IFSP/IEP development, and placement offerings for service delivery for

infants, toddlers and young children with disabilities.

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Project PREP

Take a lead role in a district's Child Find/screening activities and coordinate these

efforts with the county Birth-3 Program

Participate in transition meetings and activities with the B-3 Program, school-

sponsored programs, and community-based programs

Act as a member of an interdisciplinary team when designing/delivering services to

young children with disabilities

Promote parent involvement in ECSE program and services

Participate in community early childhood councils and discussions regarding school-

based services for young children

At least thirty-two new early childhood special education personnel who are fully

credentialed and skilled in evidence-based practices will be ready to work with team members to

facilitate improvements in teaching and child and student outcomes. Minnesota Board of

Teaching standards as well as research and evidence-based practices and strategies will be used to

guide the continuous improvement of Project PREP courses, field experiences, on site seminars,

co-teaching during student teaching and mentoring website and support system. This will lead to

competent, effective, innovative, collaborative early childhood special education teachers.

Impact on Student Learning. With the focus on evidence-based practices (EBP),

graduates of Project PREP will leave the program with skills directly tied to making an impact on

students. Graduates of the program will have had field experiences that were tied to course

content, practiced in the field with children and families, and received guidance and support by

both mentor teachers and university staff. This type of teaching would be in alignment with

suggested effective teaching strategies (Fisher & Frey, 2008).

While scholars will impact student learning in a variety of assignments in the program

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Project PREP

(e.g., taking assessment results in SPED 621-Assessment and then making recommendations for

activities for learning), there is one hallmark assignment that can be directly tied to student

learning. In SPED 625- methods, scholars will be provided information on making data-based

decisions through collecting baseline data, graphing data (see SPED 621 for first exposure to

this), determining an EBP to use as an intervention and then making decisions based on the data

on either continuing the intervention, altering the intervention (i.e., duration or intensity) or

changing the intervention (see impact on student learning assignment, SPED 625 syllabus). This

data based decision making is in alignment with recommendations for working with young

learners (Buysse & Peisner-Feinberg, 2010; DEC/NAEYC/NHSA, 2013; Fox & Hemmeter, 2011;

Hemmeter & Fox, 2009. Scholars will be using accepted progress monitoring tools (National

Center on Response to Intervention, 2011) to collect data. This assignment not only reflects an

impact on student learning on the part of the child, but also allows the scholars in Project PREP

realize the impact by seeing growth through data and allows the partner districts and

families/guardians to have a direct benefit in the learning of their students.

Project PREP Conceptual Framework. Learning must be directed at a set of shared

expectations or professional standards. Several sets of professional standards exist and are used

in teacher preparation and evaluation to define a common language for communicating

components of effective teaching (INTASC, 2011, Danielson, 2011; NBPTS standards, 2011).

Research indicates that a common language or evaluation system improves conversations about

teacher and leader effectiveness (McGreal, 2003; NBPTS, 2012; Reeves, 2004).

These standards and assessments attempt to define the complex norms for effective

teaching. Rosenholtz (1991) argues that this complexity is essential when she states, “teachers

who view their work as more complex will try to maximize their professional repertoires to carry

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Project PREP

it out. Teachers who view their work as more routine will prefer standardized instruction that can

be applied uniformly to all students” (p. 83). The complexity of effective teaching standards

involves an equally complex process for learning and applying these standards according to

Darling-Hammond (1988). She argues that the professionalization of teaching requires the

“transmission and enforcement of these norms must be accomplished by socialization to a

professional standard that incorporates continual learning, reflection, and concern with the

multiple effects of one’s actions on others as fundamental aspects of the professional role”(p. 67).

Beyond the work on standards, approaches to adult learning and strategies for pre-service

preparation and professional development; there is increasing research on various tests and

observational instruments, each attempting to define and measure elements of effective teaching

(MET, 2010, edTPA, 2012). This work is critically important as universities prepare teachers for

the work of today’s schools and as administrator and teacher teams develop and implement

teacher evaluation systems to assess effective teaching in today’s schools. All of this leads to the

conceptual framework around which we are organizing our personnel preparation program.

The conceptual framework for this personnel preparation program rests upon research that

indicates high professional standards produce high student achievement. (Figure 1: Project

PREP Conceptual Framework and Table 2: Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice for

Teaching can be found in Appendix A). To produce effective teacher preparation and early

practice, we believe attention is needed in these four areas:

1) The socially constructed understanding of professional expectations (based on

standards/competencies and evidence-based practices) and how this understanding is

negotiated through coaching, mentoring, and professional support;

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Project PREP

2) Preparation practices that enhance ongoing, self-directed professional growth with

supervisor and peer guidance such as: co-teaching, extended field experiences and on-

school site seminars;

3) Data based reflection on changes in professional practices; and

4) The correlation of formative assessments to summative measures used for continuous

improvements in teacher effectiveness.

The conceptual framework for Project PREP provides the basis around which personnel

preparation components are developed and evaluated.

B. Quality of Project Services

The purpose of Project PREP is to address the state shortage of ECSE personnel by preparing

early intervention personnel who will provide service to infants and toddlers with disabilities age

birth to three, and early childhood personnel who will provide services to children with

disabilities ages three through five. Project PREP is associated with the existing early childhood

special education program at the Minnesota State University, Mankato. The purpose of Project

PREP will be met through the following four goals and corresponding activities described below.

Goal 1: Recruit and Retain Scholars to Participate in Project PREP

Goal 2: Deliver a High-Quality Program Based on Evidence Based Practice

Goal 3: Collaborate with Partners Maximize Effectiveness of Project PREP

Goal 4: Make Use of Technology to Mentor and Support Project PREP Graduates

Goal 1: Recruit and Retain Scholars to Participate in Project PREP (b2, b3i)

1.1 Ensure equal access for members of traditionally underrepresented groups. We

will work directly with the diversity office and the Maverick Teacher Recruitment Coordinator to

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Project PREP

actively recruit individuals from traditionally underrepresented groups. Minnesota State

University, Mankato is committed to providing equal education and employment opportunities to

all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, veteran’s status, national

origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, physical and mental disability, creed, or any

other group against which discrimination is prohibited by applicable state or federal laws or State

University Systems Policy. The MSU employment policy is in full compliance with Section

427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA). In alignment with such policies, we are

committed to recruiting individuals from groups traditionally underrepresented in the teaching

profession, including individuals with disabilities, to participate in this preparation program. We

are committed to recruiting 50% of the scholars from traditionally underrepresented groups, using

the recruitment strategies listed below.

1.2 Selection criteria to identify high-quality applicants. Candidates applying to Project

PREP will meet criteria for admission to the Department of Special Education at Minnesota State

University, Mankato. Admission decisions are based on multiple sources of information,

including students’ prior academic records, school-based experiences, and GPA. Specifically,

application to the licensure program and submission of transcripts and other materials is made

through MSU's Graduate Studies and Research Office at http://grad.mnsu.edu/applying/.

Admission Requirements include:

3.0 Overall GPA (Provisional acceptance may be granted with a 2.8 GPA)

Bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college

Completed graduate studies application

Official college transcripts

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Project PREP

Admission to Project PREP will also include: Interview, essay and signatures on the

assurances forms.

The top 8-10 rated candidates will be offered the admission to Project PREP. The following

components will be included in our process of recruiting and orienting students to the personnel

preparation program.

1.3 Certify scholars. Certify that scholars intend to graduate during the project period and

confirm scholars do not need to work as a condition of receiving a scholarship unless required for

training program. Scholars admitted to the Project PREP will confirm they intend to graduate

during the project period. Appendices F and G provide forms with specific provisions all

scholars will agree to. In addition, scholars do not need to work as a condition of receiving a

scholarship. The on-site seminars are required of all scholars in Project PREP.

1.4 Recruitment strategies to attract high-quality applicants. Several different

strategies will be used to recruit high quality applicants to participate in Project PREP. Some of

the strategies are described below:

A. We will prepare Project PREP recruitment materials as part of an integrated marketing

approach to share with:

a. Our three district partners (Minneapolis, Bloomington, Mankato) as well as our

other partners (Faribault, LeSueur-Henderson, St. Peter, Sibley-East, Owatonna,

and Waseca) to recruit from within their districts to fully credential those without

such licenses and target those interested in ECSE.

B. While recruiting students with disabilities, we will work closely with Minnesota State

University, Mankato’s Office for Students with Disabilities to provide support during

scholars’ enrollment in this program.

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Project PREP

C. Project PREP will be featured on the Department of Special Education’s websites and

connecting links. Inquiries will be followed-up by project staff.

D. We will work with Minnesota State University, Mankato recruiters whose activities

include attendance at graduate and career recruitment fairs, distribution of recruitment

materials, and identifying students through interviews.

E. We will advertise in newsletters and announcements at national and local conferences,

such as: Minnesota Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Early Childhood or the

Council of Exceptional Children, and more.

F. We will work directly with the Maverick Teacher Recruitment Coordinator, Robbie

Burnett, to actively recruit members from underrepresented groups as well as others (see

Appendix C for letter of support). Ms Burnett attended the following conferences over the

past two years with recruitment as a goal along with presenting on recruitment and support

strategies. She will include information on Project PREP in these ongoing efforts.

i. Education Minnesota

ii. Learning Forward/formerly NCSD

iii. NorthWest Suburban Integration School District, Future Educators Club Conference

iv. Legends Women in Leadership Conference

v. AVID National Conference

vi. New Teacher Center (NTC) Symposium

vii. PDK Int’l/Future Educators Association Conference (presenter)

viii. National Association of Multicultural Education Summer Institute (presenter)

ix. Noel Levitz Student Recruitment Retention Marketing Conference

x. National College Access Network (NCAN) Conference

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xi. National Association of Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) Conference

xii. American Association Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Conference

1.5. Assign faculty advisor to Project PREP scholars. Each scholar who is recruited and

admitted to Project PREP will be assigned to Dr. Deris who has expertise in ECSE. Dr. Deris

advisor will work closely with each scholar to develop a program of study, mentor them to

successfully complete the program and guide them in professional search. Vita is in Appendix H.

1.6. Meet with students to develop program of study. Each scholar will develop a

formal written plan for personal professional development during and after their participation in

Project PREP. This plan will detail long-term goals as well as short-term objectives, and will

include general requirements of the ECSE program in Special Education as well as specific

requirements of Project PREP. Course requirements for the Department Special Education

licensure and Masters ECSE program are contained in Table 2 in Appendix A. The Special

Education Program is approved by the Minnesota Department of Education State Board of

Teaching to prepare highly qualified licensed teaching staff. These requirements show the breadth

and depth of the preparation students receive at the Minnesota State University, Mankato, to

which the proposed personnel program adds further knowledge and expertise. A scholar's

professional development plan will include: (a) identification of professional organizations for

affiliation at the state and national levels; (b) participation in continuing education programs

offered by these organizations, including attendance at regular meetings or conferences; (c)

participation in the annual conference of one or more of these organizations; (d) participation in

mentoring and induction programs when hired; (e) participation in professional learning

communities (PLCs) once hired; (f) and ongoing involvement in Project PREP’s mentoring and

resource website upon graduation.

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1.7 Mentoring and support scholars to complete the personnel preparation program.

One of the most important aspects of Project PREP is the mentoring, coaching and support

scholars will receive through-out, as well as after, the program. Also, they will receive this

support from a number of people who are intentionally involved. The review of 15 empirical

studies on the effects of support, guidance and orientation programs – or induction - for beginning

teachers conducted by Ingersoll and Strong (2011) found most of the studies reported that support

had a positive impact on three sets of outcomes: teacher commitment and retention, teacher

classroom instructional practices, and student achievement. In fact, in the area student

achievement, almost all of the studies showed that the students of beginning teachers who

participated in induction programs and activities had higher scores – or gains – on achievement

tests (Ingersoll and Strong, 2011, p. 201). Teacher mentor programs vary greatly and we cannot

predict if the districts where graduates will be placed will have mentoring, induction and coaching

available but we can provide ongoing resources, support, avenue for discussion with faculty and

peers, information on evidence-based practices and more to our graduates through Project PREP

mentoring website and support system. More about this can be found under 2.5 below.

Goal 2: Deliver a High-Quality Program Based on Evidence-Based Practice (b3iii)

Teacher preparation seeks to create educators whose professional beliefs and practices lead to

student learning and success. Research by adult learning theorists and researchers suggest that this

process of professional learning needs to address five key learning needs for adults. These needs

are considered in the design of Project PREP teacher preparation program. Table 3 in Appendix

A shows the alignment of adult learning principles and Project PREP related components. Project

PREP aims to provide high quality personnel preparation through:

2.1  Evidence-based practices through-out Project PREP

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2.2  A competency-based program of study aligned with Board of Teaching Standards

2.3  School-based field experiences and co-teaching student teaching in partner schools

2.4 On-site seminars with partner school district staff, Project PREP faculty and peer scholars

2.5 Mentoring, coaching and support for graduates of Project PREP

2.6  Ongoing evaluation of scholars’ progress to ensure success and improve program

2.1  Evidence-based practice through-out Project PREP Evidence Based Practices

and Strategies (b3ii). In addition to aligning courses with Minnesota Board of Teaching (BOT)

standards and competencies, Project PREP will integrate evidence-based strategies in courses and

experiences. In the area of instruction, Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) as outlined

by the National Association for the Education of Young Children ([NAEYC], Copple &

Bredekamp, 2009) and Recommended Practices ([RP], Sandall, Hemmeter, Smith, & McLean,

2005) as outlined by the Division for Early Childhood will be followed. Both DAP and RP

compile lists of practices that have a research base and have been found to be effective in working

with young children with disabilities and their families. One such practice found in both

documents, which will be taught in Project PREP is Embedded Instruction (Macy & Bricker,

2006; Snell, 2007). The importance of and the practice of embedded instruction will be infused

throughout the program, while also exposing scholars to when and how to use a Direct Instruction

(Wolery & Hemmeter, 2011). The importance of providing instruction in the natural environment

(Swanson, Raab, & Dunst, 2011), which includes inclusive settings (DEC/NAEYC, 2009) will be

emphasized throughout the coursework. Several researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness

of inclusive settings for young children with disabilities (Brown, Odom, Li, & Zecher, 1999;

Campbell, Sawyer, & Muhlenhaupt, 2009; Odom, Zercher, Li, Marquart, & Sandall, 2006). In

the area of early literacy, students will be exposed to Interactive/Dialogic Book Reading (Flynn,

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2011) as well as taught how to administer the Early Language and Literacy and Classroom

Observation ([ELLCO]; Smith, Brady, & Anastasopoulos, 2008). Interactive/Dialogic book

reading has been found to be an effective early reading strategy (Trivette & Dunst, 2007;

Ziolkowski & Goldstein, 2008).

In the area of making data based decisions, students will be taught how to collect and

analyze data. Students will learn about Recognition and Response (Buysse & Peisner-Feinberg,

2010; DEC/NAEYC/NHSA, 2013) for academics and the strategies recommended by Technical

Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children ([TACSEI], Fox &

Hemmeter, 2011; Hemmeter & Fox, 2009) for social emotional and behavior. Students will learn

how to administer, score, and measure progress using Individual Growth and Development

Indicators (IGDIs). IGDIs are a curriculum-based measure, which has been recognized as an

evidence-based practice (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011).

Working with families and guardians are an integral part of the work of an early childhood

special education practitioner. Family centered practices have been found to be effective for both

young children and their families (Kelly, Zuckerman, & Rosenblatt, 2008; Tomasello, Manning,

& Dulums, 2010). Students will be taught current recommended practices for home visiting

(McWilliam, 2012). Additionally, students will learn about Family Guided Routines Based

Interviews (McWilliam, Casey, & Sims, 2009) and Interventions (Jennings, Hanline, & Woods,

2012). Table 4 in Appendix A shows alignment of Project PREP ECSE courses in which key

evidence based practices will be taught.

2.2  A competency-based program of study aligned with Minnesota Board of

Teaching Standards. Project PREP includes courses aligned with Minnesota Board of Teaching

(BOT) Standards (competencies) as well as the evidence-based strategies and practices in early

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childhood special education. Board of Teaching approval (achieved in the fall of 2012) includes

three sets of standards: Standards of Effective Practice, Core Special Education and Early

Childhood Special Education specific standards. While there is some overlap, in general, Table 5

shows the courses that align with the three sets of standards. The complete list of standards is

included in Appendix I with the letter from the BOT in Appendix E, and the syllabi for ECSE

specific courses are included in Appendix J. Minnesota Board of Teaching ECSE standards

(competencies) are listed below. These standards have been integrated into Project PREP and

have been approved by the BOT teaching (See letter in Appendix E).

Subp. 3. Subject matter standard. A candidate for licensure as a teacher of special education:

early childhood must complete a preparation program under subpart 2, item D, that must include

the candidate's demonstration of the knowledge and skills in items A to E.

A. Foundational knowledge. A teacher of special education: early childhood

understands the foundations of special education services for students with a broad range of

developmental delays or disabilities on which to base practice. The teacher must

demonstrate knowledge of the: (1) historical and philosophical foundations, legal bases, and

contemporary issues pertaining to the education of young children with a broad range of

developmental delays or disabilities and their families; (2) etiology and characteristics of specific

disabilities, disorders, and developmental delays, and the developmental and educational

implications on infants, toddlers, and young children; (3) educational definitions, issues related to

identification, and eligibility criteria pertaining to young children with a broad range of

developmental delays or disabilities; (4) definitions and distinctions between and among

screening, evaluation, assessment, and progress monitoring related to the legal standards and

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Project PREPNARRATIVE

Table 5: Minnesota Board of Teaching Standards Included in Project PREP Courses

MN BOT Standards Courses – Project PREP

Standards of Effective Practice SPED 509: Learning and Human Development for Diverse Learners

SPED 511: Differentiation and Accommodation in an Inclusive Classroom

SPED 513: Professional Growth and Development

SPED 514: Literacy Methods in an Inclusive Classroom: Diverse Learners

Minnesota Core Special

Education Standards

SPED 661 Special Education Law

SPED 645 Formal and Informal Clinical Procedures

SPED 619 Introduction to IEPs, Professional Practice and Educational Technology

Early Childhood Special

Education

SPED 520 Education of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs

SPED 621 Assessment of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs

SPED 622 Collaboration with Families and Professionals

SPED 625 Methods of Working with Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs

SPED 627 Graduate Student Teaching: Early Childhood Special Education

SPED 656 Initial Graduate Seminar or SPED 659 Advanced Graduate Seminar

Project PREPNARRATIVE

practice; (5) rationale and application of due process and procedural safeguards for young

children with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities and their families; (6) ethical,

policy, and practice issues related to educational, social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and

medical factors unique to young children with a broad range of developmental delays or

disabilities and their families; (7) early childhood developmental theory and the impact of

coexisting developmental delays or multiple disabilities across domains, including cognitive,

physical, vision, hearing, adaptive, behavioral, social or emotional, and communication; and (8)

responsibilities of the Interagency Early Intervention Committee (IEIC).

B. Referral, evaluation, planning, and programming. A teacher of special education:

early childhood understands and applies principles of screening, prevention and intervening early

and procedures for referral, assessment, evaluation, individualized planning, programming, and

placement specific to teaching students with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities.

The teacher must be able to: (1) apply screening, prevention, referral, assessment, and evaluation

for eligibility determination including consideration of criteria for vision loss, hearing loss, deaf-

blind, speech and language delays, developmental cognitive delays, physical or health disabilities,

autism spectrum disorders, other health disorders, and traumatic brain injury; (2) select,

administer, and interpret formal and informal evaluation and assessment measures for young

children with developmental delays or disabilities, accounting for limitations, ethical concerns,

and the need for assistive technologies, and communicate the results to children, families,

teachers, and other professionals; (3) adapt and modify existing evaluation and assessment

measures and methods to accommodate the abilities and specific needs of young children with

developmental delays or disabilities including those with a diagnosed physical or mental

condition or disorder that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay; (4) integrate

Project PREP

and interpret multiple sources of information from families, educators, and others for the purpose

of evaluating, planning, implementing, and monitoring the individualized family service plan,

individualized education program plan, or individualized interagency intervention plan; (5) design

individual plans that integrate evaluation and assessment results and family concerns and

priorities to determine goals, including the use of assistive technologies; (6) collaborate in

determining services and placement within a range of delivery models, natural environments, and

educational settings based on the needs and required levels of support for the child and the family;

and (7) address factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, familial background, and cultural

and linguistic diversity that may influence the identification of young children with

developmental delays or disabilities.

C. Instructional design, teaching, and ongoing evaluation. A teacher of special

education: early childhood understands how to use individualized education program plans,

individualized family service plans, and individualized interagency intervention plans to design,

implement, monitor, and adjust instruction for students with a broad range of developmental

delays or disabilities. The teacher must be able to: (1) apply multiple evidence-based

instructional practices, including those supported by scientifically-based research when available,

and materials that meet the needs of children and families in the areas of language and literacy,

cognitive, adaptive, physical, social or emotional, and behavioral development; (2) select,

implement, monitor, and adjust curricula and intervention strategies across developmental

domains; (3) provide, as well as teach families and other early childhood providers,

developmentally and functionally appropriate individual and group activities within natural

routines and across settings for infants, toddlers, and young children; (4) implement positive

behavior supports appropriate for young children with developmental delays or disabilities and

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their families with a focus on teaching the child necessary and appropriate replacement skills;

(5) align current developmental and learning experiences and teaching strategies with the

expectations of subsequent educational settings and facilitate the transition process for young

children with developmental delays or disabilities and families; and (6) design, implement,

monitor, and adjust instruction and supports, including the use of assistive technologies, to

accelerate the rate of learning in reaching age-appropriate benchmarks, attain child and family

outcomes, and facilitate transition processes.

D. Collaboration and communication. A teacher of special education: early childhood

cultivates and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with children and youth, families,

educators, other professionals, and the community to support development and educational

progress. The teacher must be able to: (1) apply cultural competencies, including self-awareness

of one’s personal perspectives, when using verbal, nonverbal, and written communication and

interpersonal skills to collaborate with families and consult with those providing services; (2)

facilitate and manage student-specific teams, including those for child study, individualized

program planning, and planning for transitions; (3) identify and access sources of services,

agencies, and organizations for young children with developmental delays or disabilities and their

families; (4) understand the educational roles and responsibilities of instructional and related

service providers and paraprofessionals, and coordinate the provision of services to young

children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families; (5) assist the family in

understanding the impact of the developmental delays or disabilities and planning for the

transitions of young children; (6) communicate and collaborate with service coordinators and

providers in planning for the transition process across hospital, home, and infant and toddler,

early childhood, and elementary programs; and (7) provide and receive consultation and

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Project PREP

collaborate in a variety of settings regarding development and implementation of the

comprehensive evaluation process, individualized education program planning, delivery of

instruction and accommodations, and transition with individuals and agencies; (8) access and

evaluate information, research, and emerging practices relevant to the field of early childhood

special education through consumer and professional organizations, peer-reviewed journals, and

other publications; and (9) engage in continuing professional development and reflection to

increase knowledge and skill as a special educator and inform instructional practices, decisions,

and interactions with children and youth and their families.

E. Clinical experiences. A teacher of special education: early childhood applies the

standards of effective practice through a variety of early and ongoing clinical experiences in

teaching children who exhibit a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities in infant or

toddler, preschool, and primary (grades K-1) settings across a range of service delivery models.

In addition to the ECSE standards, competencies needed to work with culturally and

linguistically diverse populations include (a) understanding how one’s own cultural background

and biases affect teaching and learning; (b) identifying how individual students might experience

cultural change (e.g. knowledge of their traditional culture, involvement with their traditional

culture, etc.); (c) adapting instructional practices to specific cultural groups; (d) understanding

how race, culture, & communication differences impact behavior and school success; (e)

understanding how education referral and assessment process; (f) modifying instructional

methods to reflect the unique learner needs of children with disabilities from diverse culture and

language backgrounds; (g) using assessment data to design instructional programming to meet

individual learning needs, culture, and language differences; (h) identifying guidelines regarding

unbiased instructional services for students who have disabilities from diverse culture and

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language backgrounds; (i) identifying strategies for enhancing communication with diverse

students and families; and (j) networking with community agencies and identify resources for

children and families from diverse backgrounds.

As the proposed program unfolds, curricular revisions will be made in accordance with

feedback from faculty and the Advisory Council as needed.

2.3 School-based field experiences and co-teaching student teaching in partner

schools. Table 6 in Appendix A shows the alignment of courses and field/clinical experiences

and co-teaching student teaching. These experiences are incredibly important. In a recent exit

survey conducted with our graduates - not including ECSE because the program is new - 90% of

the graduates indicated they were very satisfied with the “mentoring they received from their

cooperating teachers” during their special education preparation program. We have expanded

field experiences to each semester as well as increasing the time during the semester. The

relationship with partner schools will ensure long-term experiences. Letters in Appendix C.

2.4 On-site seminars with partner school district personnel, Project PREP faculty

and peer scholars. In addition to the field experiences and co-teaching student teaching, Project

PREP scholars will have the opportunity to meet twice each semester with school personnel,

Project PREP faculty and each other to grow and learn together. On-site seminar discussions will

be specifically relate to use of EBPs, review of student data and discussions about the profession.

Relevant readings will accompany these discussions. We believe the collaboration between the

Minnesota State University, Mankato and Minneapolis Public Schools represents a unique and

critically important opportunity for training in, and exploration of, ECSE in a racially, culturally,

and linguistically diverse urban school district.

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2.5 Mentoring, induction and support for Project PREP graduates. Noted in the

section above, mentoring and support is important and leads to positive impact on three sets of

outcomes: teacher commitment and retention, teacher classroom instructional practices, and

student achievement (Ingersoll and Strong, 2011). Therefore, with the assistance of Project

PREP’s Advisory Council, the College’s Center for Mentoring and Induction (CMI), Project

PREP’s technology advisor and expertise from MSM’s Information and Technology Services

(ITS), we will develop Project PREP’s mentoring website and support system. This will include:

mentoring and induction resources, such as: Reflecting on practice, the New Teacher Center’s

The Framework for Teaching: Continuum of Teacher Performance (2010), Professional Learning

Community (PLC); evidence-based practices; resources for using data to ensure student learning

and success; Q&A: Online with Project PREP faculty; linking to resource websites and much

more. In addition to the wonderful mentoring and induction programs in our partner schools.

2.6. Ongoing evaluation of scholars’ progress to ensure success and improve

program. Our system of monitoring and evaluation to determine student progress will be

formative in nature to ensure scholars are showing the intended development in all areas: Course

success, field experiences, etc. The intensity, quality and duration are designed to be sufficient to

develop improved knowledge and practice. Competencies related to Project PREP program will

be evaluated using traditional means (e.g., exams, papers, and projects) for ensuring progress

toward degree milestones and coursework requirements. As mentioned, scholars will plan an

individualized program of study, detailing areas of focus, short and long-term objectives, planned

and completed coursework, as well as field experiences, on-site seminars and co-teaching during

student teaching. To ensure that competencies related to the training program are met, Dr. Deris

will meet monthly with faculty advisors and program scholars to review progress and address any

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problems or concerns. Additionally, scholars will undergo an Annual Review to monitor their

progress toward general degree requirements. We will also review information related to GPRA

needs as noted in Section C and throughout the proposal.

Goal 3: Collaborate with Partners Maximize Effectiveness of Project PREP (b3iv)

Project PREP faculty and staff will work with a variety of partners for a number of outcomes in

order to maximize the effectiveness of the program. Partners are important and add great value

to the work whether external or internal to Minnesota State University, Mankato.

3.1 Convene Advisory committee

3.2 Set up working relationships – specific to Project PREP – with COE offices.

3.3 Share information with MDE/IHE and other MDE entities.

Three school districts will work with us to serve on the Advisory Council, provide

targeted recruitment, facilitate field experience/clinical practice, arrange school site

seminars, identify targeted student teaching opportunities and evaluate success.

Minneapolis Public Schools, Mankato Public Schools, and Bloomington Public Schools’

Departments of Special Education have all agreed to work with Project PREP.

Minneapolis Public Schools meets the high-need, high-poverty and, in some cases, low

performing criteria. Each of these districts has publicly-funded early childhood programs

with whom we will work. The 2010 Census Poverty Data by LEA list Minneapolis at

32.5%, Mankato 14.4% and Bloomington at 15.26% and 25% or more is considered high-

poverty. Section D contains more information about the schools. See letters of support

and commitment in Appendix C. Our Advisory Council includes both external and

internal partners and experts. Table 7 contains the Advisory Council members.

Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) – Personnel Improvement Center

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(National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for

Children with Disabilities) – Joan Breslin-Larson. Project PREP will align key efforts

with this work in Minnesota. Specifically, MDE goals are to (a) collect and analyze

Minnesota state data to identify local special education personnel needs and university

production rates; (b) increase communication and collaboration among IHEs preparing

categorical teachers, ECSE, autism specialists and SLPs across the state to address the

shortage of personnel; (c) build relationships among the state education agency (SEAs),

local education agencies (LEAs), and IHEs to address urban and rural personnel needs in

the state and (d) create LEA/IHE partnerships to address new autism spectrum disorder

(ASD) licensure requirements. Appendices C and E contain letters from MDE.

Sharing resources. Several programs and offices will collaborate for the purpose of

sharing resources, supporting program development and delivery, and addressing

personnel shortages. Minnesota State University, Mankato College of Education’s Center

for Mentoring Induction (CMI), Office of Field and International experiences (OFI),

Center for School and University Partnerships (CSUP), Office of Assessment and

Research, AVID Teacher Preparation, Extended Learning and Information and

Technology Services (ITS). The way we work with these offices and programs is evident

throughout the proposal. In addition, the Department of Special Education serves on a

consortium of Institutions of Higher Education in Minnesota that have programs in

Special Education. This is a collaborative group where information is shared for the

purpose of addressing personnel shortages and supporting teacher preparation.

Table 7: Project PREP Advisory Council Members

Name Representation

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Project PREP

Melissa Barenbaum ECSE Teacher

Lisa Backer Community Partner: ECSE Supervisor, MN Department of Education

Judy Swett Community Partner: Early Childhood Coordinator, PACER Center

Ellyn Grothem Minnesota State University, Mankato ECSE Student

Chris Christenson District Partner: Supervisor Special Ed, Bloomington Public Schools

Ruth Rosenwinkel District Partner: Assistant Director: Special Ed, Mankato Public

Schools

Rochelle Cox District Partner: Administrator of Early Childhood Special

Education, Minneapolis Public Schools

Karen Balmer Executive Director, MN Board of Teaching

Joan Breslin-Larson Minnesota Department of Education

Robbie Burnett Maverick Teacher Recruitment Coordinator, MSU, Mankato

Lori Bird Center for Mentoring and Induction, MSU, Mankato

Project PREP Drs. Wallace, Deris, Hurlbutt, and Georgina

Goal 4: Make Use of Technology to Mentor and Support Project PREP Graduates (b3v)

Technology will play a strong role in Project PREP along with key experts at Minnesota State

University, Mankato to advise development and use. Technology will be used in these ways:

4.1 Online and hybrid courses are offered in Project PREP

4.2 Project PREP mentoring website will help support scholars and graduates

4.3 Communication and collaboration among partners (those around Mankato and those

around our Edina location) will be facilitated through the use of Telepresence rooms available

on Minnesota State University, Mankato campuses

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4.4 Technology is critical in today’s classrooms so scholars are taught about useful iPad

applications, Smart boards and tables, and more

All of the ECSE specific courses are offered online and most of courses addressing core special

education standards and standards of effective practice have online components; some are hybrid.

Faculty members participate in online teaching courses such as Quality Matters to ensure teaching

is effective and assessment of learning occurs to ensure scholars are learning and achieving

competencies/standards. Our technology advisor will work with faculty to ensure our online

courses meet industry standards. In addition, we will be developing a website for mentoring and

support of Project PREP scholars and graduates. The mentoring and community of practice

website will offer the following components and will meet standards for accessibility.

Mentoring and induction resources: reflecting on practice, the New Teacher Center’s The

Framework for Teaching: Continuum of Teacher Performance (2010), Professional

Learning Community (PLC);

Evidence-based practices;

Using data to ensure student learning and success;

Online with Project PREP faculty;

Linking to resource websites (links OSEP funded projects and centers); and more.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 covers a wide range of recommendations

for making Web content more accessible. Following these guidelines will make content

accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision,

deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, limited movement,

speech disabilities, photosensitivity and combinations of these. Following these guidelines

will also often make our Web content more usable to users in general.

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Efficient use of non-project resources (b3v)

The College of Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato is presently involved in the

NExT Initiative, which is a three-state Bush Foundation funded initiative to transform teacher

preparation. The Center for Mentoring and Induction (CMI) at Minnesota State University,

Mankato is supported through such funds and will support Project PREP. Specifically, Dr. Lori

Bird will serve on the Advisory Council as well as advising on the development of the mentoring

site we will develop for Project PREP. Partner districts will receive professional development in

the following areas: Cognitive Coaching, New Teacher Center Instructional Mentoring, AVID

strategies for supporting students, and more.

Our involvement in NExT also provides us with access to networking that will bring

awareness to Project PREP and offer many opportunities for recruitment and professional

collaboration and sharing. In addition, our Center for School and University Partnership (CSUP)

offers a number of opportunities for connections to our 8 school district partners allowing

recruitment and sharing of Project PREP work and plans. When needed, we can secure input and

guidance from these eight superintendents and secure input from them. In addition, the P.I. for

Project PREP has been on the leadership team for NExT as well as on the site team for AVID for

teacher preparation programs embedding AVID strategies in the courses she teaches with plans

for additional implementation in courses. Project PREP scholars will be involved in these courses.

There are many ways in which non-project resources will be used. Other Minnesota State

Mankato offices and services will contribute to Project PREP as noted in proposal and Section D.

C. Quality of Project Evaluation

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Evaluation of Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes (c2i)

We will implement a comprehensive evaluation of project activities to evaluate our progress

toward the program goals, objectives, and outcomes and to document our effort, efficacy, and

impact. Our evaluation plan will include examination of our process and outcomes to ensure that

our project is being implemented as intended, that we are attaining our anticipated outcomes, and

that we are gathering feedback for continuous improvement. Much of this formative evaluation

will occur during the advisee and advisor relationship through the review of progress, completion

of program of study, competency assessment and field/clinical experiences and co-teaching

student teaching. The project director will contribute to do this when the scholar is involved in

field/clinical and on-site seminars where feedback from school personnel will be gathered, fidelity

assessments completed (when appropriate). The principal investigator will meet with core faculty

monthly to assess program implementation.

Method of Evaluation (c2i, c2iii, c2iv). The PI and Co-PI/Project Director will: (a) meet

weekly to review activities and progress, (b) meet regularly (face-to-face and via telepresence)

with the Advisory Council and faculty to evaluate program activities and progress, (c) work with

faculty to collect formative and summative measures of the extent to which scholars are acquiring

the competencies necessary to provide evidence-based instruction and services that result in

improved outcomes for children with disabilities, and (d) collect data on scholar performance and

progress toward project goals, and will use these data to detect discrepancies and improve scholar

performance. Throughout the funding period, the PI and Co-PI/Project Director will evaluate the

project using (e) the Discrepancy Evaluation Model (DEM) (Yavorsky, 1976), which is a

research-based, formative evaluation procedure. The DEM provides information about

educational programs for the purpose of improving these programs and is based on two important

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premises: (1) evaluation is essentially a constructive process that can assist in ongoing program

development, and (2) to be maximally effective, there must be broad participation by project staff

in the evaluation activity. DEM defines evaluation as the comparison of what is (i.e.,

performance) to an expectation of what should be (i.e., a standard). If a difference is found

between the performance and standard, this is identified as a discrepancy. Each semester, the PI,

Co-PI/Project Director and Core Faculty will compare expected performance criteria and staff

progress reports for each objective. This comparison will allow us to easily identify and create a

plan to resolve any discrepancies in a timely manner.

The results of all evaluation activities, including progress toward competences, the

Management and Evaluation Plan (Table 8 in Appendix A), and measures of the extent to which

graduates of the training program have the knowledge and competencies necessary to provide

evidence-based instruction and services that result in improved outcomes for children with

disabilities, will be communicated to OSEP in the project's annual performance report as well as

its final performance report. Data will be submitted on each scholar within 60 days after the end

of each grant budget year. The following data will be gathered through the meetings with faculty

and scholars, observation of scholars in field/clinical, on site seminars and co-teaching student

teaching experiences, document reviews, surveys, focus groups and ongoing discussions used for

continuously improvement for the project. The PI will be responsible for ensuring all evaluation

tasks are completed and reported. Regular reports will be made to staff, Advisory Council and

OSEP project coordinator. See Table 8: Project Management and Evaluation Plan Appendix A.

• Direct measures of project outcomes (e.g., number of scholars recruited and admitted,

numbers of program plans developed, number of students from traditionally

underrepresented groups, number graduated, number of scholars employed to address

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shortage, EBPs in courses, scholars use EBPs in field experiences/student teaching, more)

• Measures of progress on project plans (e.g., conducted meetings with Advisory Council,

number of school site seminars led and topic, number and type of field/clinical and co-

teaching student teaching experiences arranged, is scholar making progress on

competencies and program of study evaluated, formative assessment measures of

performance collected and evaluated, more)

• Measures of participant satisfaction (e.g., input from Advisory Council, evaluation meetings

with school-based seminar leaders, formative input from scholars regarding seminar and

field/clinical experiences, course evaluations, survey results, more)

• Measures of program impact (e.g., scholars’ measures of achievement, such as: grades,

field/clinical experiences evaluation, degree of completing program of study, follow-up

survey of graduate scholars, % of Project PREP graduates working in ECSE and fully

credentialed, cost to prepare fully credentialed ECSE teacher thru Project PREP,

evaluation survey of School partners and core faculty regarding the program’s

implementation, more)

Role of Advisory Council in Project Evaluation and Continuous Improvement (c2iv, 4i)

In addition to the dependent measures that have been described, we intend to use our Advisory

Council (Table 7 shows membership) to fully review all of our dependent measures. Members of

the Advisory Council will meet with scholars to fully evaluate activities. In keeping with our

intent to use a discrepancy analysis, we will ask our Advisory Council to review proposed grant

activities with those conducted to submit along with our performance reports. Finally, with

assistance from our Office of Assessment and Research and the office of the Dean of Education,

we will follow participants in this training program after graduation. In particular, we will

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conduct we will conduct the following as developed as part of the NExT Common Metrics:

Guide to Data Collection, Reporting, Analysis, and Use (see Appendix K). The following are

surveys for scholars, graduates and supervisors of our first year teachers and are provided in

Appendices L – O.

Entry Questionnaire for Teacher Education – Appendix L

Teacher Preparation Program Exit Survey – Appendix M

Transition to Teaching Survey – first year of teaching – Appendix N

Survey of Supervisors of First-Year Teachers – Appendix O

The survey data will help meet GPRA requirements. For example, the Transition to Teaching

Survey will capture information on current employment status, steps taking to secure job, and

extent to which they fill prepared for their teaching responsibilities. The survey aligns with

Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice for Teachers and the Interstate Teacher Assessment

and Support Consortium (InTASC) standards and is administered about one year after candidates

complete their programs. The survey for supervisors of our first-year teachers will provide data

on the supervisor’s perspectives of the first-year teacher’s readiness for the teaching profession.

The survey asks supervisors to assess the quality of the graduate’s instructional practices, abilities

to work with diverse learners, abilities to establish positive classroom environment, and levels of

professionalism. We will have an ongoing description of our students’ impact after completion, as

well as comparison group for assessing impact of participating in Project PREP. The following

section describes some of the measures we intend to use for assessing scholar teaching and

student learning.

Teaching Measures (c2ii)

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Descriptions of measures we intend to use to assess teaching effectiveness, confidence,

dispositions, ratings of value-added to student growth, first year teaching experience, satisfaction

with preparation program, demographic data, prior experiences with children and more. Table 9

shows assessment and evaluation collected during and after Project PREP.

Framework for Teaching (FFT) - The Framework for Teaching (FFT) was built on

research compiled by Educational Testing Service (ETS) in its development of Praxis III, an

observation-based evaluation of first-year teachers for licensing purposes. The Framework

extended the work to capture the skills of teaching required by novice and experienced teachers.

The Framework is widely accepted by teachers, administrators, policymakers, and academics as a

comprehensive description of good teaching, and includes four domains, 22 components, and five

performance levels. The 2007 version of FFT was based on 10 years of research on the use of the

Framework which indicated high levels of construct validity and reliability when trained assessors

used the instrument to rate teacher effectiveness.

The New Teacher Center in collaboration with Charlotte Danielson and with Minnesota

State University, Mankato is currently adapting the FFT continuum to evaluate the skills of pre-

service teachers. The revised continuum replaces the unsatisfactory benchmark with two pre-

service levels of performance. In the first level, teacher candidates are assessed on their

understanding and awareness of the elements of effective teaching. In the second level, they are

assessed on their application of the elements with supervised guidance by instructors in classroom

settings and by supervisors and cooperating teachings in field settings.

Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) in Minnesota - The Teacher Performance

Assessment (edTPA) is a performance-based assessment embedded in the pre-service experience.

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Project PREPNARRATIVE

Table 9: Clinical Assessment and Evaluation Collected During and After Project PREP

Teacher Preparation - Field Experience Level and Assessment Information

Semesters I, II & III

Field experiences and On-Site

Seminars

- Entry Questionnaire for Teacher Education

- MTLE – Basic Skills

- Disposition

- Framework For Teaching (FFT) – Level II, III, III (field experience)

Co-Teaching during

Student Teaching

- MTLE – Content and Pedagogy

- Disposition

- Framework For Teaching (FFT) – Level IV (Mid-Semester and FINAL)

- Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA)

- Teacher Preparation Exit Survey (TPES)

1st Year Teaching - MSM Transition to Teaching Survey (TTS)

- First Year Supervisor Survey (FYSS)

Project PREP

The edTPA is based upon both the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and the

Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium. To ensure the technical quality of

the edTPA, AACTE and CCSSO partnered with a team of assessment developers at Stanford

University led by Linda Darling-Hammond and Raymond Pecheone. Patterned after California’s

PACT assessment, the assessment is currently being piloted in 20 states with five states pursuing

accelerated implementation. Minnesota is one of the five accelerated states with full

implementation that began fall 2012. However, the edTPA special education handbook was

recently released. We are using it with our teacher candidates.

edTPA reliability studies based upon the Spring 2012 field test are being completed now.

Prior reliability studies, based on 2003-4 PACT data, allowed ratings that were one point off to be

considered matches producing an overall reliability of .91. Exact matches occurred only in 56.57

% of ratings. Assessor reliability by tasks was as follows: Planning .658, Instruction .65,

Assessment .746, Reflection .724, Academic Language .667, Overall .880 (Pecheone, R.L. &

Chung, R.R. 2007). These reliability measures approach the threshold for legitimate low stakes or

research decisions but do not reach the high stakes threshold needed for a high stakes licensure

recommendation that affects students’ graduation. In Minnesota, the edTPA is being used for

teacher preparation program review; not as a licensure requirement. The change of rubrics in

spring 2012 from 4 to 5 points was due to studies that indicated misclassification error (Linn, R.,

1994). Urban vs. suburban/rural bias in passing scores on the TPA has not yet been resolved

(Pecheone R.L & Chung, R., 2007). Generalizability to other measures of teacher assessment or

licensure recommendation assessments has not been established so there is no concurrent validity

yet (Pecheone, R.L & Chung, R.R, 2007). Recently, a limited study of PACT candidates found

the assessment to be a strong predictor of teacher effectiveness measured by students’ value-

Project PREP

added achievement gains (Newton, 2010 in Hill, Hansen & Stumbo, 2011). Improvements have

been made to the edTPA and further studies are being conducted. edTPA is in Appendix P.

Disposition Assessment (Showing Professionalism) - The showing professionalism

measure was developed to align with both the Framework for Teaching and the Technical

Standards for Teaching. Faculty from the College of Education and from each content area

reviewed the proposed standards and only those behaviors that were directly observable were

included. The instrument has been used by both faculty and cooperating teachers for the last six

years to assess teacher candidate professional dispositions. In addition, The New Teacher Center

in collaboration with Minnesota State University, Mankato is currently adapting the FFT

continuum to evaluate the early skills of pre-service teachers. Appendix Q includes a sample of

this form.

Entry Survey – This survey gathers demographic background and characteristics of the

teacher candidate, candidate’s prior experiences in educational settings with students and

children, prior academic performance (e.g, GPA, ACT, etc.).

Transition to Teaching (TTS) –The Transition to Teaching Survey (TTS) is directly

aligned with the Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice and is comprised of five sections: (a)

Licensure and Job Status; (b) Teacher Preparation: What were you prepared to do?; (c) Teacher

Practice: What do you do as a teacher?; (d) School Context: What is your school like?; and (e)

Personal Background: Demographics, education history, and career goals of the teacher. Most

items are measured by 4-point Likert-type scales. Validity studies on this instrument have been

conducted and a centralized administration protocol is in place. To establish the validity of the

TPS, a series of exploratory factor analyses were conducted. The corrected item-total correlations

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Project PREP

(ranging from .55 to .84) and alpha (ranging from .89 to .93) of the four factors showed favorable

validity and reliability evidence. This survey can be found in Appendix N.

Teacher Preparation Exit Survey (TPES) – The TPES survey is intended to assess

teacher candidate’s satisfaction with the preparation program, specifically, it captures candidate’s

perceptions on their preparedness for the functions of teaching; confidence for teaching 21st

century skills; program structure; and future plans for teaching. The survey was designed and

piloted by the 14 “partner” NExT teacher preparation programs in Minnesota, North Dakota and

South Dakota. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) were conducted based on an initial set of data

from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UMTC). These analyses were conducted with four

sets of items: Teacher Education Program Satisfaction I (TEPS-I, 10 items), Teacher Education

program Satisfaction II (TEPS-II, 8 items), and Preparation for Teaching (PFT, 17 items), and 21st

Century Skills (TFSK, 8 items). A reliability analysis was conducted for the defined factors and

moderate correlations were found depending on the number of items. Survey in Appendix M.

First Year Supervisor Survey (FYSS) – The FYSS is a survey that asks school-based

supervisors (e.g., principal, department chair) to report on the performance of the teachers near

the end of their first year of teaching. This report will provide an independent assessment of

beginning teachers’ performance and not be subject to the potential self-report biases that may

appear in the TTS. The survey was developed and initially piloted by the American Institutes for

Research (AIR). It was anticipated that such a survey would yield several benefits: 1) it would

help validate the TTS, 2) it would establish another source of information for institutions to use to

improve their teacher preparation programs, 3) it would establish another source of information

for the Minnesota Board of Teaching to use for their program approval process, 4) it would help

clarify the factors that underlie the MSEPT, and 5) it would help principals reflect on the

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performance of new teachers in relation to the Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice for

Teachers and the quality of support that those new teachers are receiving.

A preliminary 90-item draft survey was administered online to a sample of supervisors of

first-year teachers in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Test-retest reliability

estimates for the items in the 65-item version of the survey ranged from −0.112 to +0.675. A

factor analysis was conducted with the number of factors constrained to five correlated factors:

Factor 1, Classroom environment; Factor 2, Instructional practice; Factor 3, Working with

students with different skills and backgrounds; Factor 4, Developing students’ 21st century skills;

Factor 5 Communication. The solution that emerged showed support for the Hypothesized

constructs. The NExT partner institutions will also evaluate the criterion validity of the

Supervisor Survey ratings by examining correlations to other measures of teacher quality (i.e.,

classroom observations, teacher evaluations from principals, principals’ decisions to re-employ

teachers). This survey can be found in Appendix O.

Minnesota Teacher Licensure Exam (MTLE) - As of September 2010, the Minnesota

Teacher Licensure Examinations are the sole means of assessing the basic skills, pedagogical, and

special education core knowledge of Minnesota K–12 teacher candidates. All candidates for an

initial license will be required to pass the MTLE Basic Skills test as well as pedagogy and

content-area tests. The items match with Minnesota’s teaching standards. The tests in the MTLE

program are criterion referenced and objective based. Criterion-referenced tests are designed to

measure a candidate's knowledge and skills in relation to an established standard of performance

(a criterion) rather than in relation to the performance of other candidates. The tests are designed

to help identify those candidates who have the level of knowledge and skills required to perform

satisfactorily as educators. The MTLE are delivered as computer-based tests. Each MTLE test

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includes multiple subtests, each with its own passing score. Subtests consist of multiple-choice,

constructed-response, and/or other technology-supported test items to assess candidates'

knowledge and skills based on the test objectives. Cut scores were determined by the Minnesota

Board of Teaching and are set at 240.

Student measures

While measures of teaching and supervisor satisfaction are very important, it is critical to assess

scholars’ impact on infant, toddler and preschooler learning outcomes.

Early Literacy Measures - The Early Literacy Measures focus on letter sounds, letter names,

onset phonemes, and phoneme segmentation. The Minneapolis Public Schools has developed

indices in this area, which have been demonstrated to be technically adequate (Marston et al.,

2006). The Early Literacy Measures used in this study have been shown to be highly predictive

of later reading success. An assignment using the early literacy measures and IDGIs described on

p. 5 and detailed in the syllabi will be carryout and then discussed during on-site seminars.

GPRA Performance measures. Project PREP will collect and report information to address

the performance data aligned with OSEP GPRA measures:

1. Show that Project PREP incorporates evidence-based practices into our curriculum;

2. Share the percentage of Project PREP scholars who complete the program to become

knowledgeable and skilled in evidence-based practices for infants, toddlers and children

with disabilities;

3. Report the number of scholars to exit Project PREP due to poor academic performance;

4. Follow graduates to identify the percentage of Project PREP graduates working in ECSE;

5. Follow graduates to identify the percentage of Project PREP graduates working in ECSE

who are fully credentialed;

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6. Follow graduates to determine the percentage who maintain employment in ECSE and

remain fully credentialed; and

7. Report the cost to prepare a fully certified graduate in ECSE through Project PREP.

Evaluation findings will be used as a basis for improving Project PREP using the process

described above and reported to OSEP in annual and final performance reports (4i, 4ii).

D. Quality of Project Personnel, Management Plan and Resources

Employment of Persons from Underrepresented Groups (d2)

Minnesota State University, Mankato is committed to providing equal education and

employment opportunities to all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,

religion, veteran’s status, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, physical and

mental disability, creed, or any other group against which discrimination is prohibited by

applicable state or federal laws or State University Systems Policy. The MSU employment

policy is in full compliance with Section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act

(GEPA). The university has established procedures for filling any vacant positions with the

Human Resources and Affirmative Action Office overseeing the search and hiring process. Each

announcement will contain the following, “Preference given to individuals who have succeeded in

overcoming barriers similar to those confronting the program’s target population” as well as “An

affirmative action/equal opportunity university.”

Qualifications of Key Personnel (d3i)

Dr. Teri Wallace – Principal Investigator – 10% FTE. In her role at Principal

Investigator, Dr. Wallace will ensure Project PREP work plans are developed and implemented in

a timely manner. She will work closely with Dr. Deris in the planning and evaluation of Project

40

Project PREP

PREP to ensure communications and collaboration occurs with Advisory Council, school district

partners, non-project resource partners (Director of the Center for Mentoring and Induction,

Maverick Teacher Recruitment Coordinator, Director of the Office of Assessment and Research,

etc.), reporting to project’s OSEP federal project officer and more.

Dr. Wallace presently serves as the Department Chairperson for the Department of Special

Education in the College of Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Dr. Wallace

earned her doctorate from the University of Minnesota and served as P.I. for research projects

examining the development and use of general outcome measurement and response to

intervention. She served as Co-PI with Dr. Christine Espin of a national research center on

progress monitoring – Research Institute on Progress Monitoring (RIPM). Since her move to

Minnesota State University, Mankato, she serves as Department Chair redesigning the teacher

preparation programs in special education, improving field experiences, and serving on the

leadership team of the NExT initiative funding by the Bush Foundation to transform teacher

preparation. Dr. Wallace’s vita can be found in Appendix H.

Dr. Aaron Deris – Co-Principal Investigator/Project Director – 25% FTE. Dr. Deris

will serve as the lead in Project PREP program development and implementation. He will work

with school district partners as well as the advisory council. In addition, Dr. Deris will provide

leadership in the areas of recruitment, field experience, on site seminars, student teaching

coaching, and mentoring. Dr. Deris has a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of New

Orleans in 2005, with a major as Early Intervention and an emphasis in autism. Dr. Deris has

over 10 years of practical teaching experience and holds MN state teachers' certification in

teaching (EBD, LD, ECSE, DD) and Director of Special Education.  Dr. Deris’ early childhood

teaching experience includes home, center and school based early intervention with children birth

41

Project PREP

to three years of age. He has evaluated early childhood special education programs and provided

technical assistance in designing programs and for NAEYC accreditation. These experiences have

been with both general and special educators. He has presented at local, regional, and national

conferences on a variety of topics including assessing the needs of parents of young children,

working with gay families, preparing early childhood personnel to be culturally competent, and

including young children with disabilities in outdoor play. Dr. Deris has published research on

support priorities of parents of young children with autism, and using story based interventions.

He currently has three articles under review- sensory integration and autism, ways to include

young children with autism in general education settings, and indication of young Hispanic

English Language Learners in special education.

Dr. Deris’ university teaching experience includes both in-person and online teaching. He

has taught graduate level courses in research methodology, teaming, methods, introduction to

special education, methods in early childhood special education and assessment in early

childhood special education. He has served as a mentor for the Response to Intervention Network.

In this role, he consulted and provided technical assistance to school districts across the United

States of America. He used a variety of technology tools to deliver information on assessment,

curriculum, data collection and making data based decisions for early childhood to school age

programs. Dr. Deris’s vita can be found in Appendix H.

Dr. Karen Hurlbutt – Graduate Program Coordinator – 5% FTE. In her role as

Graduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Karen Hurlbutt will work with the Co-P.I./Project Director to

assess Project PREP applicants to ensure they meet entrance requirements. Karen Hurlbutt, Ph.D.

is a faculty member in the Department of Special Education. Dr. Hurlbutt serves on the College’s

assessment and NCATE committees. She is her department’s representative on these committees

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Project PREP

and works to ensure high quality of teacher candidates seeking to be special education teachers.

Her areas of research and interest lie in autism spectrum disorders, moderate to severe intellectual

disabilities, and pre-service teacher education. Dr. Hurlbutt’s vita can be found in Appendix H.

Dr. David Georgina – Technology Advisor – 10%. Dr. Georgina returned to teaching

fall 2010, after working in the ITS division of MSU Mankato as an Instructional Designer. He has

designed and taught online courses since 2001 and is a Certified Online Course Master Reviewer.

Dr. Georgina has a doctorate in Education—Teaching & Learning in Higher Education with a

focus on Technology Integration and Instructional Design. He will serve as the technology

advisor supporting Project PREP in the design of the mentoring website and support system as

well as working with faculty to ensure high quality online courses. Dr. Georgina’s vita can be

found in Appendix H.

Time Commitments of Project Director and Key Personnel (d3ii)

Table 10 provides the percent of effort and number of days that key faculty will contribute to

Project PREP goals during Year 1 of the project.

College of Education

Robbie Burnett, M.S. is the Maverick Recruitment Coordinator (MRC) – professional

staff and adjunct faculty member deliberately focused on, and committed to, diversity. She is a

woman of color, special education teacher, experienced in outreach with underrepresented

populations, creator of a visionary teacher preparation program (Teachers of Tomorrow), and

graduate of COE’s special education teacher preparation program. She will serve on the Advisory

Council and guide recruitment activities. See letter of support and commitment in Appendix C.

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Project PREP

Table 10: Person Loading Chart: Percent of Effort Devoted to Key Goals – Year ONE

Project PREP

Goals

Wallace

PI

10%

Deris

Co-PI/PD

25%

Hurlbutt

GC

10%

Georgina

Technology Advisor

10%

MSU Contributing

Faculty and Staff

Advisory Council

and

Partners

Project

Management

and Evaluation

5 5 4 2 Drs. Bird, Dona and

Ms Burnett will

contribute to specific

phases of Project

PREP – Course

instruction,

recruitment,

evaluation,

mentoring and

coaching.

Council members

will assist with

planning, evaluation

and recruitment.

District partners will

also assist with on-

site seminars,

clinical and field

experiences, student

teaching.

Goal 1: Recruit

& Retain

3 10 4

Goal 2: Program 2 19 4

Goal 3: Partner

Collaboration

4 6 1

Project PREP

Goal 4:

Technology

3 4 4 15

Note: Time in Day(s) Per Year

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Kristin Dauk, M.A. is the Director in the Office of Field and International Experience in

the College of Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Office of Field and

International Experience oversees all of the field experience opportunities our teacher candidates

participate in as they proceed through our teacher education programs. Director Dauk serves as

the instructor for two of our teacher education programs and supervises about 35 university

supervisors who work closely with the candidates. She has worked with the Framework for

Teaching, Teacher Performance Assessment, Co-Teaching, and observations. Her charge is to

work with Dr. Deris (Co-PI/Project Director) to facilitate field experiences. Because of her recent

classroom teaching experience, she brings a unique perspective to the project.

Dr. Paul Dona is currently the Director of Assessment and Research in the College of

Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Her research, professional and academic

interests focus on the study of factors that influence the trajectory of developmental learning for

p-12 student learners, teacher preparation candidates and professional educators. In particular,

Dr. Paul Dona is interested in the development and alignment of assessments designed to evaluate

the competencies of individuals as they advance through the continuum of teacher preparation and

into their careers as teachers and education leaders. She is currently involved in a number of

projects aimed at studying the impact of various curricular and field experience opportunities on

the development of multiple teacher competencies including, among others, intercultural

sensitivity. Dr. Paul Dona is currently a member of the Bush Foundation’s Network for

Excellence in Teacher Education (NExT) Common Metrics group. This group designs and

administers “common” tools for evaluating preparation program performance across shared

international, national and state professional standards.

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Adequacy of the support, including facilities, equipment, supplies and other resources (d3iv)

Minnesota State University, Mankato - Minnesota State University, Mankato is one of 32

institutions, including 25 two-year colleges and seven state universities, in the Minnesota State

Colleges and Universities system, which is the largest single provider of higher education in the

state of Minnesota. Minnesota State Mankato promotes learning through effective undergraduate

and graduate teaching, scholarship, and research in service to the state, the region and the global

community. Minnesota State Mankato has more than 14,500 students including nearly 600

international students from 72 countries; and approximately 1,800 faculty and staff.

The College of Education (COE) is the founding academic program at Minnesota State

Mankato. The primary role of the today’s College of Education is to prepare professional

educators, counselors, and education leaders in many roles, creating one of the most stable and

high quality school workforces in the world. With nearly 1,700 students enrolled in the COE,

approximately 1,100 are undergraduates, making education the most popular major at Minnesota

State Mankato. The College also serves approximately 600 graduate level students seeking

doctorate and Masters degrees as well as specialist licensure and continuing education

certification.

In addition to the core academic programs, the College houses award-winning centers in the

areas of engaged leadership, school-university partnerships, and mentoring and induction. The

COE is home to the award-winning Children’s House, a non-profit childcare facility operated on

the campus of Minnesota State Mankato. The College of Education also embraces the

responsibility of student success – success that builds healthy individuals, stronger communities,

and better schools. At Minnesota State Mankato that responsibility is embedded in teaching,

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research and working relationships with area schools. Some examples of those relationships

include:

Nationally recognized Center for School University Partnerships - Minnesota State

University, Mankato's College of Education initiative to improve public school teaching

has been selected for one of the nation's major awards honoring such collaborative efforts

— the 2012 Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement Award.

Sponsored by the National Association of Professional Development Schools (NAPDS),

the award is given annually to a select few universities with true partnerships

demonstrating excellent achievement for P-12 students, future teachers and practicing

teachers and faculty members.

Bush Initiative to improve teaching, teacher recruitment, and teacher retention (NExT)

Urban teaching leadership through the Urban Teaching Education Partnership and

community college partnerships

Center for Scholarship and Research (CSER) - The mission of the Center for Scholarship

and Research (CSER) is to develop and nurture communities of scholars; promote and support

faculty scholarship and publication; provide faculty with assistance in research design and data

analysis; develop and promote forums for faculty and students to showcase scholarly work; and

provide recognition for the scholarly accomplishments of faculty and students. CSER supports

research at Minnesota State University, Mankato through the provision of the following services:

data analysis (descriptive statistics, power analysis, regression, correlation, t–test, z scores,

ANOVA, MANOVA, etc.); SPSS tutoring; data coding, interpretation and presentation; research

design consultation; and spreadsheet software tutoring. Dr. In-Jae Kim has a doctorate in

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Mathematics and serves as the Director, Center for Excellence in Scholarship and Research.

Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment (IRPA) - serves as the

official source of objective data about the University's students; its programs and their

effectiveness; its resources; and its peer institutions. The office supports the University's overall

performance measurement activities and coordinates the assessment activities of its academic and

administrative departments. IRPA answers requests for information about the University from

other campus units and from state and federal agencies, accrediting bodies, college guides, and

the general public. The office staff can access a wide variety of databases to support longitudinal

studies and statistical analysis. They collaborate with other offices to advance the integrity and

develop the usability of the University's information systems. IRPA staff will be available to

assist project staff with information related to teacher candidates and graduates.

Information and Technology Services (ITS) - Key technical services provided through

ITS include: available and accessible file storage and file sharing ability for faculty, staff, and

students; monitor and improve the electronic communication access and use of faculty, staff, and

students; provide an accessible and available wireless network on-campus; provide accessible and

available printing resources on-campus; and provide faculty and staff training in using computer

resources. Web services are provided for departments and centers. For example, useful and

informative websites are developed for the university and its constituents.

Minnesota State University, Mankato Professional Development Schools

The Minnesota State Mankato PDS is comprised of the following partners: Bloomington,

Faribault, LeSueur-Henderson, Mankato, Owatonna, Sibley East, St. Peter, and Waseca Public

Schools; College of Education, and partnering teacher education faculty from the College of

Science, Engineering, & Technology, College of Allied Health & Nursing, College of Arts &

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Humanities, and College of Behavioral Science. PDS partners are dedicated to promoting school-

university partnerships that support teacher education, student achievement, educational research

and professional development. Since 2001, the PDS model has sponsored and facilitated

programs that have both created and sustained genuine collaborative partnerships between P-12

and higher education, which shapes educator leadership and practice. In 2012, the Minnesota

State Mankato PDS was recognized by the National Association for Professional Development

Schools (NAPDS) for achievements in nine areas, ranging from advancing equity, to

collaboration, reflection and communication, to innovation, to sharing best practices. Some of our

professional development school superintendents will serve on the Advisory Council. They will

bring information to the rest of the PDS superintendents through the PDS governance council.

Appendix C includes letters of support and commitment from superintendents will to serve on

the project’s advisory board.

Minneapolis Public School District – Early Childhood Special

Education (ECSE) services in Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) are offered to those children

who have been identified with a medical diagnosis known to hinder the child's ability to learn, an

educational label of Autism Spectrum Disorder or who show significant developmental delays

through a detailed developmental evaluation process. MPS offers a continuum of ECSE service

settings reflecting the natural progression of growth of children from infancy, when babies are

typically at home or in a daycare setting with one primary caregiver, to preschoolers who are

often in preschools or daycare during a portion of their day and have a number of familiar primary

adult caregivers. These settings are home based, community based, center based, or autism

classrooms. Letters of support and commitment in Appendix C.

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Mankato Public School District – Early intervention's purpose is to promote the

educational development of each identified handicapped child. It is the school district's

philosophy that early intervention services are most effective when they support the family and

work in conjunction with community resources. It is also accepted that it is most appropriate that

learning and instruction occur in natural settings. Letters of support and commitment in

Appendix C.

Bloomington Public School District - Bloomington Public Schools offers a wide array of

ECSE services. Services are determined by the student's Individual Education Plan (IEP) team,

and are based upon the student's unique needs. ECSE services generally fall within one of three

categories: birth through two years of age, three to five years of age, and kindergarten services.

Letters of support and commitment in Appendix C.

Adequacy of the Budget (d3v)

The budget proposed for Project PREP is adequate to support the personnel, stipends, travel and

supplies needed to obtain intended results. We believe the budget and narrative provided

elsewhere in this proposal suggest reasonable costs given the objectives, design and potential

significance of the project. We have budgeted the funds necessary to provide integrated training

and practice opportunities to support at least 32 graduate students during the duration of project

with over 68% of the total requested budget per year used for student support.

Reasonableness of Cost The return on investment comes through sustained operation of

programs that address pressing areas of need. Minnesota State University, Mankato has already

committed resources and initiated activities to produce a sustainable teacher preparation program

like the one described in this application. The most important element of this project is the central

role played by faculty members and center staff who are participating at no cost to the project.

51

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix A

Appendix A

Tables and FiguresFigure 1:

Project PREP Conceptual Framework

Table 1:Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice for Teaching

Table 2:Course requirements for the Department Special Education licensure & Masters ECSE program

Table 3:Alignment of Adult Learning Needs and Project PREP Components

Table 4:Alignment of Project PREP ECSE Courses and Key Evidence-Based Practices

Table 5:Minnesota Board of Teaching Standards Included in Project PREP Courses

Table 6:Alignment of Courses and Field/Clinical Experiences and Student Teaching

Table 7: Project PREP Advisory Council members

Table 8:Management and Evaluation Plan

Table 9:Assessment and Evaluation Information Collected during and after Project PREP

Table 10:Person Loading Chart for YEAR ONE

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix B

Appendix B

Letter Regarding Shortages to Commissioner Casselliusfrom Deputy Assistant Secondary Saunders-White

53

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix C

Appendix C

Letters of Support and Commitment

Rochelle Cox, Minneapolis Public SchoolsChris Christenson, Bloomington Public Schools

Ruth Rosenwinkel, Mankato Public Schools

Judy Swett, PACER Center Ellyn Gothem, Current Student

Melissa Barenbaum, ECSE TeacherLisa Backer, Minnesota Department of Education, ECSE

Karen Balmer, Executive Director, Minnesota Board of TeachingJoan Breslin-Larson, Minnesota Department of Education

Robbie Burnett, Maverick Teacher Recruitment Coordinator, MSU, Mankato Lori Bird, Center for Mentoring and Induction, MSU, Mankato

54

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix D

Appendix D

Minnesota Board of Teaching

Early Childhood Special Education StandardsCore Special Education Standards

Standards of Effective Practice

55

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix E

Appendix E

Letters of Regarding NCATE and BOT Approval

December 18, 2012January 15, 2013

March 6, 2013

56

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix F

Appendix F

Certification of Eligibility for Federal Assistance

57

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix G

Appendix G

Work or Repay Agreement

58

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix H

Appendix H

Faculty Vita

Dr. Teri Wallace

Dr. Aaron Deris

Dr. Karen Hurlbutt

Dr. David Georgina

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix I

Appendix I

Minnesota State University, Mankato’s

Early Childhood Special Education Program

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix J

Appendix J

Syllabi for Project PREP ECSE Courses

SPED 520 Education of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs SPED 621 Assessment of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs SPED 622 Collaboration with Families and Professionals SPED 625 Methods of Working with Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs SPED 627 Graduate Student Teaching: Early Childhood Special Education

NOTE: These syllabi are proprietary intellectual property and may not be copied or shared without the express permission of the author and institution. This syllabus is subject to changes by the instructor.

Thank you.

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix K

Appendix K

Guide to Data Collection, Reporting, Analysis and Use

62

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Appendix L

Appendix L

Entry Questionnaire for Teacher Education – NexT

63

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Appendix M

Appendix M

Teacher Preparation Program Exit Survey – NexT

64

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Appendix N

Appendix N

Transition to Teaching Survey

65

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Appendix O

Appendix O

Survey of Supervisors of First-Year Teachers

66

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix P

Appendix P

edTPA Special Education Handbook January 2013

67

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix Q

Appendix Q

Framework for TEACHING Sample Disposition Form

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Figure 1: Project PREP Conceptual Framework

High Professional

Standards Produce High

Student Achievment

Socially Constructed Understanding of Professional

Expectations (negotiaging expectations through coaching,

mentoring, support)

Data Based Reflection on

Changes in Professional

Practices

Correlations of Formative and Summative Measures Used for

Ongoing Continuous Improvements- pre-service

through Practice

Self Directed Professional Growth with

Supervisor and Peer Guidance (proxy is co-

teaching, extended field

experiences and

PLC/seminars)

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Table 3: Alignment of Adult Learning Needs and Project PREP Components

Adult Learning Needs Project PREP Personnel Preparation Components

1. Adult learners need to learn experientially and within a real, situated context (Brookfield, 1986; Caine and Caine, 1997a, 1997b; Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1998; Kolb, 1984; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999; Mezirow, 1998; Wheatley, 1992).

Field Experiences and Co-Teaching Student Teaching will be intentionally planned with

partner schools

Courses and field/clinical experiences will be integrated to allow scholars to use their content

knowledge in clinical practice

2. Learning for adults needs to be transactional, negotiated, relationship-based, and collaborative (Caine & Caine, 1997a, 1997b; Daloz, 2000; Mezirow, 1998, 2000; Taylor, 2000).

Scholars will work with MSU faculty, peers, university supervisors, mentor teachers during their program. Each of these relationships will

contribute to their learning.

3. Adults prefer self-directed learning (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1998; Kolb, 1984; Mezirow, 1998; Wheatley, 1992).

While SEPs and Core Special Education courses are offered face-to-face and as hybrid courses, ECSE specific courses will be offered

as online courses and, as such, require self-direction.

4. Adults need to participate in individual or group reflection on their learning while there are differences of opinion about what should be included in the content of these reflections (Belenky & Stanton, 2000; Brookfield, 1986; Caine & Caine, 1997a, 1997b; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999; Mezirow, 1998; Schon, 1987a, 1987b; York-Barr, Sommers, Ghere, & Montie, 2001).

Reflection is built in Project PREP in a variety of ways. Danielson’s Framework for Teaching will be used as a tool for reflection on practice – the scholar’s own practice as well as during

conversations with university supervisors, mentor teachers and MSU faculty.

Scholars will be provided with ongoing guidance and feedback

5. There is also an increasing awareness of the need to learn in a community of learners (Daloz, 2000; Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, and Many, 2010; Foord and Haar, McLaughlin and Talbert, 2001).

Project PREP school site seminars will be held where scholars will meet bringing in district

staff and others to address topics, review student data and reflect on learning.

Mentoring website will provide ongoing support to graduates.

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Table 4: Alignment of Project PREP ECSE Course and Evidence-Based Practices

Key Evidence Based Practices Project PREP CourseDirect Instruction SPED 625 Methods of Working with Infants and

Young Children with Developmental NeedsCurriculum Hawaii Early Learning Profile

(HELP) High Scope Carolina Creative Curriculum Assessment, Evaluation and

Programming (AEPS)Early Literacy Interactive Book

Reading/Dialogic ReadingDEC Recommended PracticesNAEYC Developmentally appropriate PracticeNatural EnvironmentsDevelopmental Screeners SPED 621 Assessment of Infants and Young

Children with Developmental Needs

Support Based Home Visiting SPED 520 Education of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs

SPED 625 Methods of Working with Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs

Embedded InstructionInclusive PracticesRecognition and Response

Social Emotional Interventions SPED 520 Education of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs

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Table 6: Alignment of Courses and Field/Clinical Experiences and Co-Teaching Student Teaching

Course Credits Hours Focus of this ExperienceSPED 520:Education  of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs

3 credits

7 hours

1.  Visit at least 2 different early intervention settings (EIS) in which you are not affiliated for a minimum of 6 hours (3 hours each). These settings must include at least one infant/toddler program and one preschool program. Describe the following: The philosophical approach The service delivery The daily schedule The physical layout of the environment

2. Attend at least one IFSP meeting for a minimum of one hour in length. You will reflect on what you observed, learned, and discovered about working with families and the development of an IFSP.

AGE: Infant/Toddler and PreschoolSPED 621: Assessment of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs

3 credits

8 hours

1.Administer and summarize the findings from the following Early childhood screening instrument (Infant/Toddler or Preschool) Environmental rating scale (Infant/Toddler or Preschool) Norm‐referenced assessment (Infant/Toddler, Preschool, or K). Criterion‐based assessment (Infant/Toddler, Preschool, or K).

AGE: Infant/Toddler, Preschool or KindergartenSPED 622: Collaboration with Families and Other Professionals

3 credits

4 hours

1. Attend an evaluation results sharing meeting, an evaluation results planning meeting, an IFSP meeting, or another ECSE teaming meeting. Students will reflect on verbal and nonverbal communication used for collaboration and supportive interaction. Students will determine what was effective/ineffective in moving the team forward.2. Students will interview a professional who was in attendance at the meeting observed. Students will address collaboration as a whole and will use the information from Friend & Cook text to structure the interview.

AGE: A broad experience is expected for teacher candidates to experience school settings in which students with disabilities are taught.

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Course Credits Hours Focus of this ExperienceSPED 625: Methods for Working w/Infant and Young Children with Developmental Needs

3 credits

15 hours

1. Develop an IFSP2. Provide an Evidence-Based Intervention to a child with a disability and use data to determine effectiveness and to make changes3. Conduct 2 lessons for a child- one in the home (infant/toddler) and one in the classroom (preschool or K)4. Conduct a Functional Behavior Analysis in an elementary setting (K-3)

AGE: The last activity must be completed in a K-3 setting, the other activities will vary as long as they are sufficient and coordinated with the overall plan for each teacher candidate to ensure Infant/Toddler, Preschool, or Kindergarten

SPED 656: Initial Graduate Seminar: Special Education OR

SPED 659: Advanced Graduate Seminar: Special Education&SPED 628:Seminar: Current Issues and Trends in ECSE

3 credits each

16 weeks:8 wks each-B-2 & 3-5

Teacher candidates will complete the Teacher Performance Assessment: Special Education Handbook; show evidence of effective teaching using the Danielson Framework of Effective Practice; and complete the identified competencies (SeeSyllabus for SPED 656 or 659 & SPED 628). Co-teaching occurs between the scholar/teacher candidate and mentor during all Project PREP student teaching experiences.

AGE: Infant/Toddler and Preschool

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Table 1: Alignment of Minnesota SEPs and the Tasks of the Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)

Project PREPAPPENDICES

Table ___: District-Wide Data Retrieved from MDE Website for Minnesota State University, Mankato Professional Development Schools

District ELL SPED FRL AYP Reading 2011/Proficiency Index

AYP Math 2011/Proficiency Index

Bloomington Public Schools

1,182/11.4% 1,494/14.4% 4,026/38.9% No/84.2 No/68.3

Mankato Public Schools

344/4.6% 1,458/19.3% 2,598/34.4% Yes/86.6 No/76.8

Faribault Public Schools

633/16.2% 594/15.2% 1,970/50.4% No/74.2 No/58.8

Owatonna Public Schools

409/8.3% 666/13.5% 1,680/34.0% No/82.1 No/70.9

Waseca Public Schools

97/5.0% 275/14.3% 669/34.8% Yes/91.0 Yes/76.5

St. Peter Public Schools

90/4.8% 345/18.4% 745/39.8% No/85.6 No/74.3

LeSueur-Henderson Public Schools

76/6.7% 187/16.4% 379/33.2% No/80.8 No/60.7

Sibley East Public Schools

174/14.5% 156/13.0% 509/42.4% Yes/87.2 Yes/74.0

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Project PREPCertification of Eligibility for Federal Assistance

Recipient’s Name: _______________________________________________________

Permanent Address: _____________________________________________________

Social Security #: ________________________________________________________

Mav Tech ID#: _________________________________________________________

In accordance with section 673 (h) (1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the regulation in 34 CFR parts 75.60, 75.61, and 75.62, I, _____________________, certify that I am eligible for a fellowship, scholarship, or discretionary grant funded by the United States Department of Education.

Under penalty of perjury, I certify that I am current in repaying a debt and am not in default on a debt under the following fellowship, scholarship, discretionary grant, or loan programs:

• Pell Grant • National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership Program • Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant • State Student Incentive Grant • Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program • Jacob K. Javits Fellows Program • Patricia Roberts Harris Fellowship Program • Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Program • Bilingual Education Fellowship Program • Rehabilitation Long-Term Training Program • Perkins Loan Program • Income Contingent Direct Loan Demonstration Project • Stafford Loan Program • Supplemental Loans for Students, PLUS, or Consolidation Loan Program • Cuban Student Loan Program • Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship Program • Law Enforcement Education Program • Indian Fellowship Program

I further certify that I have not been debarred or suspended by a judge under section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of l988. I understand that if I accept a fellowship, scholarship, or discretionary grant based on a false certification of eligibility for federal assistance, I am liable for recovery of the funds made available under the certification, for civil damages or penalties imposed for false representation, and for criminal prosecution under 18 U. S. C. 1001.___________________ Date_________________________________Witness Name

___________________ Recipient’s Signature___________________ Witness Signature

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Project PREPAPPENDICES

Appendix C

Appendix CWork or Repay Agreement

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Terms of Agreement Project PREP Scholarship

Recipient’s Name: _______________________________________________________

Permanent Address: _____________________________________________________

Social Security #: ________________________________________________________

Mav Tech ID #: _________________________________________________________

In accordance with section 673 (h) (1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the regulation in 34 CFR part 304, I, ______________________________________, affirm that I am a United States Citizen or national, or a lawful permanent resident of the United States. I also affirm that I am interested in a career providing leadership in the field of special education or related services for children and youth from a variety of cultural and language backgrounds.

I, ____________________________________, agree that by accepting these scholarship funds, I will maintain employment in a school or Institution of Higher Education, on a full-time or part- time basis, for a period equivalent to two years for each year for which assistance was received.I understand that such employment should begin after completion of the Project PREP Personnel Preparation Program. I must complete the service obligation within the period ending not more than the sum of the number of years required above, plus two additional years, from the date I complete my training.

I understand that at the time of exit from the program, I must provide written certification to Minnesota State University, Mankato that identifies: 1) the number of years I must work to satisfy the service obligation, 2) the total amount of scholarship assistance received subject to the work-or-repay provision, and 3) the time period during which I must satisfy the work requirements.

I understand that if I do not fulfill the requirements as stated above, I am obligated to repay the United States Department of Education through Minnesota State University, Mankato all or part of the scholarship received, including tuition and fees in conjunction with my training assignments, plus interest. I understand that if I am dismissed from the Minnesota State University, Mankato, or if I voluntarily leave, I am liable for repayment of scholarship funds received.

I agree that until I have satisfied the employment obligation described above, I am obligated to inform the Program Director (507-389-2211) at the Minnesota State University, Mankato of any change in name, address, or employment status, and to document employment status satisfying the terms of this agreement.

I understand that the Graduate Program and this scholarship require that each grant trainee must meet the following requirements:

• Enroll as a full-time student (minimum is six credits).

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• Maintain a 3.0 grade point average.

• Complete all activities associated with Project PREP including course work, field experiences, on-site seminars, student teaching, mentoring and evaluation activities.

• Complete the training program within the allotted timeframe.

Consequently, I agree that I will meet these conditions if I receive scholarship funds.I accept scholarship funds for the period of ___________________ to _______________ under the terms of the agreement as stated above.

___________________ Date_________________________________Witness Name

___________________ Recipient’s Signature___________________ Witness Signature

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Appendix ____

Appendix

Minnesota Board of Teaching

Standards of Effective Practice Core Special Education Standards

Early Childhood Special Education Standards

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Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice for Teachers

1 REVISOR 8710.2000 - 8710.2000 STANDARDS OF EFFECTIVE PRACTICE FOR TEACHERS.Subpart 1. Standards. A candidate for teacher licensure shall show verification of completing the standards in subparts 2 to 11 in a teacher preparation program approved under part 8700.7600.Subp. 2. Standard 1, subject matter. A teacher must understand the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines taught and be able to create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students. Subp. 3. Standard 2, student learning. A teacher must understand how students learn and develop and must provide learning opportunities that support a student's intellectual, social, and personal development. Subp. 4. Standard 3, diverse learners. A teacher must understand how students differ in their approaches to learning and create instructional opportunities that are adapted to students with diverse backgrounds and exceptionalities. Subp. 5. Standard 4, instructional strategies. A teacher must understand and use a variety of instructional strategies to encourage student development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills. Subp. 6. Standard 5, learning environment. A teacher must be able to use an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create learning environments that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation. Subp. 7. Standard 6, communication. A teacher must be able to use knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom. Subp. 8. Standard 7, planning instruction. A teacher must be able to plan and manage instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals. Subp. 9. Standard 8, assessment. A teacher must understand and be able to use formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the student. Subp. 10. Standard 9, reflection and professional development. A teacher must be a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of choices and actions on others, including students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community, and who actively seeks out opportunities for professional growth. Subp. 11. Standard 10, collaboration, ethics, and relationships. A teacher must be able to communicate and interact with parents or guardians, families, school colleagues, and the community to support student learning and well-being.Subp. 12. Effective date. The requirements in this part for licensure are effective on September 1, 2010, and thereafter.Copyright ©2009 by the Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota. All Rights Reserved. Note: (does not include specific standard details)

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Appendix __

Appendix

Syllabi for Project PREP ECSE Courses

SPED 520 Education of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs SPED 621 Assessment of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs SPED 622 Collaboration with Families and Professionals SPED 625 Methods of Working with Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs SPED 627 Graduate Student Teaching: Early Childhood Special Education

NOTE: These syllabi are proprietary intellectual property and may not be copied or shared without the express permission of the author and institution. This syllabus is subject to changes by the

instructor. Thank you.

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Minnesota State University, Mankato

Department of Special Education

SPED 520: Education of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs • Online via D2L • 3 Credits

Instructor: Aaron R. Deris, Ph.D., Department of Special Education Office: Instructor – Suite 332, Edina Location; Department – 313 Armstrong Hall Phone and e-mail: 952.818.8878 • aaron.deris@mnsu.eduOffice Hours: Monday & Tuesday- 2 – 5:30pm, or by appointment Course Meetings: Wednesdays 5:30 – 8:15pm

Required TextBowe, F. G. (2008). Early childhood special education: Birth to eight (4th ed.). Clifton Park,

NY: Delmar.Peterson, C. A., Fox, L., & Santos, A. (2009). Young exceptional children monograph series,

No. 11: Quality inclusive services in a diverse society. Missoula, MT: Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Additional readings – see course calendar

Mission and VisionThe mission of the Minnesota State University, Mankato' s College of Education (COE) is to prepare principled professional practitioners who thrive and succeed in diverse environments, promote collaborative and generative communities, and engage in life-long learning.

Proclamation of the Conceptual Framework:Grounded in a vision of learning communities, the College of Education has at its heart collaboration and connectedness to students, schools, neighborhoods, and society. To achieve this vision, the College of Education seeks to graduate individuals with passion for and proficiency in content, with thoughtful and principled pedagogy, and a strong sense of educational purpose. College of Education graduates possess the attributes, knowledge, and skills to effectively promote the success of students, families, and schools. They see their own learning and the learning of others as occurring in a cycle of experience, reflection, and re-conceptualization -- a process of seeking new knowledge that both fits into and changes existing understanding.  Furthermore, College of Education graduates understand that individuals are embedded in family, school, and community systems, and they seek to foster positive systems change as well as individual growth. College of Education graduates value diverse cultures and communities, seeking to help all students achieve the knowledge and skills needed to flourish as successful members of a pluralistic society.  They work to form broad-based, inclusive learning communities, which engage in respectful and relevant conversations that promote shared understandings.  College of Education graduates value multiple perspectives and use culturally relevant strategies in

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their work.   They guide and nurture individuals with whom they work to live and thrive in a diverse and open society. (Source: www.mnsu.edu/)

Course Description and Outcomes

Course Description: Learners in this course will understand the historical foundations, legal issues and current issues related to the field of education and specifically to early childhood special education as they relate to the educational delivery system. The rights and responsibilities of families, students, teachers and schools within the context of IDEIA will be a focus for this course. Learners will engage in a field experience that exposes them to different educational settings serving young children with developmental needs.

Board of Teaching Standards Aligned with this Course:Teachers of Special Education: Early Childhood

Course Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to understand, apply, and identify:

Evidence will be demonstrated via the following artifacts:

A. Foundational knowledge. A teacher of special education: early childhood understands the foundations of special education services for students with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities on which to base practice. The teacher must demonstrate knowledge of the:(1) historical and philosophical foundations, legal bases, and contemporary issues pertaining to the education of young children with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities and their families;

Class discussions, Quizzes, Exam, Fact sheet, and Field Experience

(2) etiology and characteristics of specific disabilities, disorders, and developmental delays, and the developmental and educational implications on infants, toddlers, and young children;

Class discussions, Quizzes, Exam, Fact sheet, and Field Experience

(6) ethical, policy, and practice issues related to educational, social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and medical factors unique to young children with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities and their families;

Class discussions, Quizzes, Article Review, Exam

(7) early childhood developmental theory and the impact of coexisting developmental delays or multiple disabilities across domains, including cognitive, physical, vision, hearing, adaptive, behavioral, social or emotional, and communication; and

Class discussions, Quizzes, Exam, Field Experience

D. Collaboration and communication. A teacher of special education: early childhood cultivates and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with children and youth, families, educators, other professionals, and the community to support development and educational progress. The teacher must be able to:(5) assist the family in understanding the impact of the developmental delays or disabilities and planning for the transitions of young children;

Class Discussions, Quizzes, Exam,

(8) access and evaluate information, research, and emerging practices relevant to the field of early childhood special education through consumer and professional organizations, peer-reviewed journals, and other publications; and

Class Discussions, Quizzes, Exam, Research Article Review, Field Experience

E. Clinical experiences. A teacher of special education: early childhood applies the standards of effective practice through a variety of early and ongoing clinical experiences in teaching children who exhibit a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities in infant or toddler, preschool, and primary (grades K-1) settings across a range of service delivery models.

Board of Teaching Standards Aligned with this Course:Teachers of Special Education:

Course Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the course, students Evidence will be demonstrated

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will be able to understand, apply, and identify: via the following artifacts:B. Referral, evaluation, planning, and programming. A teacher of special education understands and applies principles of prevention and intervening early and procedures for referral, assessment, evaluation, individualized planning, programming, and placement. The teacher must be able to:(16) address the transition needs of students to enhance participation in family, school, recreation or leisure, community, and work life, including self-care, independent living, safety, and prevocational and vocational skills.

Class discussions, Quizzes, Exam,

D. Communication and collaboration. A teacher of special education cultivates and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with children and youth, families, educators, other professionals, and the community to support development and educational progress. The teacher must be able to:(9) access services, networks, agencies, and organizations relevant to the needs of the children and youth and their families;

Fact Sheet, Field Experience, Quizzes, Exam

(10) access and evaluate information, research, and emerging practices relevant to the field of special education through consumer and professional organizations, peer-reviewed journals, and other publications; and

Class discussions, Article Review, Quizzes, Exam, Fact Sheet, Field Experience

Grading

Grading Scale:A – 93 – 100% C – 76 – 83%B – 84 – 92% D – 68 – 75% Grades will be posted on D2L in the feedback section of the Dropbox and also appear in the Gradebook.

Grading and Timely Submission of AssignmentsI do not curve the final grade; the grading will be based on straight percentages based on the grade total of points for the course. There is no extra credit option available for this course nor are assignments graded for a second time for additional points.

The due dates for all graded items can be found in the course calendar. All graded materials must be submitted to D2L (unless otherwise noted by the instructor). No graded items will be accepted after the due date unless there is a significant emergency (i.e., a death in the family, serious injury or illness, natural disaster, etc.) that cause the need for an extension—PLEASE NOTE, online discussions are not accepted after the due date. In order to submit an assignment late the student MUST contact the instructor prior to the due date, and the instructor must approve the item as late. If the student does not follow this procedure, the instructor is under no obligation to accept the item or make accommodations. If accepted, the item may be docked 10% points per each day late beyond the due date, with no assignments accepted after 5 days of the due date.

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Course Assignment Descriptions, Associated Points & Due Dates** Unless otherwise noted- all information is due by 8am CST Monday of the Week for the

Corresponding Session.Guidelines for AssignmentsDirections/Templates and Scoring Rubrics are provided for each assignment. Complete the criteria outlined and attach the rubric to your assignments. Assignments must be typed, contain level headings, and the rubric. Please use the following file name when submitting your assignment to D2L-LastNameFirstNameAssignmentName.doc (you must submit using office word). I do not allow for resubmission of assignments for additional points.

Ensure that papers are professionally written (correct syntax, semantics, spelling, mechanics, etc.). Cite references using APA style 6th edition within the contents of the paper. A portion of each grade earned is based on accuracy of writing skills. Write papers with sufficient detail to explain all information (assume that the reader does not understand the information presented). Writing of this manner will better enable the teacher to explain ideas and understanding of content to the professor, as well as prepare one to explain ideas to families and professionals with whom one will work in the future.

Graded Items:1. Disability Fact Sheet & Presentation (70 points)

Write a fact sheet of a disability chosen from a list provided by instructor. Include in the fact sheet a description of the following information: description/characteristics, cause, prevalence/incidence, educational implications, pertinent websites & resources for families. Part 1- a seven minute (NO LONGER) that provides a summary of the presentation- this is only an overview of what was found and put together for the FULL presentation. For part 1, I would highly recommend using- http://www.wevideo.com/features/Collaboration, screencast0matic, or camtasia relay (free from MNSU, Mankato), you can use other products, but I know that these are free. To help you with this, think of this if you were allowed to summarize your topic and asked to do it in 7 minutes only- share only the highlights and the most important information. Part 1 is worth 25 pointsPart 2 – the actual presentation. For the FULL presentation this will need to include all of the required items, but will have more depth than what is in your 7 minute summary presentation. For the 2nd part/the actual presentation, I would recommend using PowerPoint or Prezi. Put this together as if you were going to actually present this live to the class and would be enough content to fulfill the required bulleted information and would take about 25 minutes to present.PLEASE NOTE- for parts 1 & 2 you will not actually be presenting. You will create 2 separate files- one as a summary for your classmates and the other with more in-depth information that one could view if wanting to know more about the particular conceptual model. Part 2 is worth 45 points

2. D2L Class Discussions (8 @ 10 points each = 80 points)This course will be comprised of 7 modules and in each there will be discussions to respond via D2L. You will need to make an initial post (by 8pm of the 1st Thursday of the discussion, at least 100 words in length) and respond to at least two peers by 8pm Thursday of the 2nd week of the discussion. The classmates you respond to will be-the person above and below your post; if you are

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the first to respond then you must post to the immediate two after you; if you are the last to post then you must post to the two people above you. Postings to peers must be thoughtful (more than “good job”, “I agree”…) and be at least four sentences in length. The postings to peers need to deepen the discussion either by asking probing questions, commenting on similarities or differences in views. PLEASE NOTE… you will also have an additional discussion regarding the article reviews.

3. Field Experiencesa) Early Intervention Setting (2 @45 points each = 90 points)Visit at least 2 different early intervention settings (EIS) - in which you are not affiliated - for a minimum of 6 hours (3 hours each.) These settings must include at least one infant/toddler program and 1 preschool program. Describe the following information: the philosophical approach of the program, the service delivery used, the daily schedule, resources provided to families with a child with a disability and the physical layout of the environment. b) IFSP Meeting Attendance (45 points)Attend at least one IFSP Meeting for a minimum of 1 hour in length. You will reflect on this experience on what you observed, learned and discovered about working with families and the development of an IFSP.

4. Article Review & Presentation (55 points)Read, review, and reflect on a current (within past 2 years) research article in the field of early childhood special education. You will develop a short video (e.g., camtasia relay, screencastomatic, narrated PowerPoint) to share your information with your classmates. Appropriate journals would be, but not limited to- Journal of Early Intervention, Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, Young Children, Zero to Three Journal. REMINDER- you can and should be accessing these journals through the university library- see D2L for a tutorial on how to access articles via the university library.

5. Quizzes (7 @10points each = 70 points)Complete quizzes based on assigned readings. These will be a combination of multiple choice, true/false, and short answer.

6. Exam (100 points)Complete an exam based on assigned readings and discussions. These will be a combination of multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and/or essay.

7. Be responsible for reading assigned sections of the textbook and other readings and participate in online and in class discussions regarding content of materials.

DisabilityMinnesota State University, Mankato is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in educational opportunity. MSU provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodation to participate in educational programs, activities or services. Students with disabilities requiring accommodation to participate in class activities or meet course requirements should first register with the Office of Disability Services, located in 0132 Memorial Library, at 389-2825 (voice) or TDD 711 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Instructor should be notified of this process by the end of the second week of the class.

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Academic Honesty

The University policy regarding academic honesty follows and can be retrieved at http://www.mnsu.edu/policies/search/index.html?key_words=academic+honesty (retrieved June 13, 2011)In order for an academic community to teach and support appropriate educational values, an environment of trust, cooperation and personal responsibility must be maintained. As members of this University community, students assume the responsibility to fulfill their academic obligations in a fair and honest manner. This responsibility includes avoiding such inappropriate activities as plagiarism, cheating or collusion. Students found responsible for one or more of these activities may face both academic sanctions (such as lowering a grade, failing of a course, etc.) and disciplinary sanctions (such as probation, suspension, expulsion).

It is the intent of Minnesota State University, Mankato to encourage a sense of integrity on the part of students in fulfilling their academic requirements. To give students a better understanding of behaviors that may constitute academic dishonesty, the following definitions are provided.

Plagiarism – Submission of an academic assignment as one’s own work, which includes critical ideas or written narrative that are taken from another author without the proper citation. This does not apply only to direct quotes, but also to critical ideas that are paraphrased by the student.Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

• submitting the work of others as your own• submitting others’ work as your own with only minor changes• submitting others’ work as your own without adequate footnotes, quotations, and other reference forms• multiple submission of the same work, written or oral, for more than one course without both instructor’s permission, or making minor revisions on work which has received credit and submitting it again as new work.

Cheating – Use of unauthorized material or assistance to help fulfill academic assignments. This material could include unauthorized copies of test materials, calculators, crib sheets, help from another student, etc.

Collusion: Assistance to another student or among student in committing the act of cheating or plagiarism.

NOTE: Any assignment plagiarized will be assigned a grade of -0-

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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Course Calendar At-a-glanceModule Module Topic Course Readings Assignment and Due

DatesNot a

Module – Week 1

Welcome and Orientation to the Course- Welcome! Introductory activities Preview course / assignments and expectations People First Language

--People First Language hand-out and chart available at: http://disabilityisnatural.com/explore/pfl

Module 1 History and Laws regarding special education Inclusive Education/Effective Inclusive

practices Theories & Philosophies of Education Discuss- Historical TimelineIn class

Ch. 1: Theory, Development, and PhilosophyCh. 2: Prelude: Overview of Early Childhood Special EducationOTHER READING---Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Ed, Teachers – Special Educationhttp://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos070.htm--Available via D2L- ERIC Document- 420 979-- Developing a teaching philosophy http://www.edulink.org/portfolio/philosophies.htm--Monograph- p31 Smith et al.

DUE- See D2L-(1) Quiz Ch. 1(2) Sign up for Disability Fact Sheet(3) Discussion Mod 1

Module 2 Research in Early Childhood Special Education

Support Based Home Visiting Identifying and programming for student

needs: Assessment, IEPs and Due Process The IFSP/IEP Meeting Accommodation, Modification Intervention Family Rights & Services

Evaluation and Assessment

Ch. 4: The IDEACh. 5: Family Rights and ServicesCh. 7: Evaluation and AssessmentOTHER READINGS---Minnesota Department of Education web links:“Procedural Safeguards Notice: Part C-Infant and Toddler Early Intervention, Ages Birth-2” available at: http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/SchSup/SpecEdComp/ComplMonitor/ProcSafe/--Monograph- p107 Cheatham & Santos

DUE- See D2L-(1) Quiz Ch. 4(2) Quiz Ch. 5(3) Quiz Ch. 7(4) Discussion Mod 2

Module 3 Communication Development Implications for children with

communication deficits- ASD, Deaf-Blind, VI, TBI, Speech, Multiple Disabilities, DCD, Deafness

Physical Development Implications for children with issues with

physical development- Orthopedically impaired, TBI

Ch. 11: Communication DevelopmentCh. 12: Physical Development

__ Sipay article – see link in D2L

DUE- See D2L-(1) Quiz Ch. 12(2) Post an outline of your Disability Fact sheet (5pts)(3) Discussion Mod 3

Module Module Topic Course Readings Assignment and Due

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DatesModule 4 Cognitive Development

Implications for children with cognitive deficits- ASD, developmental delay, TBI, Multiple Disabilities, DCD, Emotional Disturbance Social Emotional Development

Implications for children with communication deficits- ASD, Emotional Disturbance, developmental delay Deaf-Blind, VI, TBI, Speech, Multiple Disabilities, DCD, Deafness, Hearing Impaired

Ch. 13: Cognitive DevelopmentCh. 14: Social or Emotional Development--Monograph- p96 Hollingsworth et al.

DUE- See D2L-(1) Quiz Ch. 14(2) Disability Fact sheet (5pts)(3) Discussion Mod 4

Module 5 Adaptive Development Implications for children with any of the 13

federal disability categories – Autism (ASD), Specific Learning Disability (SLD), Other Health Impairment (OHI), Orthopedic Impairment (OI), Deaf-blindness (DB), Visual Impairment (VI), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Speech or Language Impairment, Multiple Disabilities, Mental Retardation (generally referred to as Developmental Cognitive Disability [DCD]), Hearing Impairment (HI), Emotional Disturbance (ED)

Ch. 15: Adaptive Development DUE- See D2L-(1) Post your article to the Discussion board- if duplicate articles- the person who posted their article first will be able to use the article—this is not graded (2) IFSP Meeting(4) Discussion Mod 5(5) Discussion- respond to peers article review

Module 6 Methods and Materials for ECSE Lesson Planning ECSE & IFSP/IEP integration Early Childhood Transition

Ch. 6: MethodsCh. 8: Individual Planning

DUE- See D2L-(1) Quiz Ch. 8(2) Field Experience summaries(3) Discussion Mod 6

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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Module Module Topic Course Readings Assignment and Due Dates

Module 7 Current research in ECSE Recognition and Response Technology in ECSE Ethical Issues Data in ECSE Sharing article reviews Review for final exam

Ch. 3: How Are We Doing? Research in ECSE--Monograph- p18 Buysse & HolligsworthCh. 9: TechnologyCh. 10: Practical and Ethical IssuesOTHER READING---Q&A Protecting the Privacy of Student Educational Records and Personally Identifiably Information, Minnesota Dept of Education available at http://www.education.state.mn.us/MDE/SchSup/SpecEdComp/ComplMonitor/QA/DueProcRight/index.html--Data practices and early childhood education available at: http://ecadmin.wikidot.com/data-practices--Area Special Education Cooperative Due Process Procedural Safeguards Manual (see 8.00, 8.02, 8.03, 8.11)- http://www.asec.net/tses/parentinvolv.htm

DUE- See D2L-(1) ECSE Article Summary(2) Disability Fact Sheet(3) Discussion Mod 7

Exam Week

DUE- See D2L- will open up at 5:30pmDue- Thursday of Exam Week

DUE- See D2L- will open up at 5:30pmDue- Thursday of Exam Week

DUE- See D2L- will open up at 5:30pmDue- Thursday of

Exam Week

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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Minnesota State University, Mankato

Department of Special Education

SPED 621: Assessment of Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs

Online via D2L • 3 Credits

Instructor: Aaron R. Deris, Ph.D., Department of Special Education Office: Instructor – Suite 332, Edina Location; Department – 313 Armstrong Hall Phone and e-mail: 952.818.8878 • aaron.deris@mnsu.eduOffice Hours: Monday & Tuesday- 2 – 5:30pm, or by appointmentCourse Meetings: Tuesdays 5:30 – 8:15pm

Required Texts (available at campus bookstore):

Kritikos, E. P., LeDosquet, P. L., & Melton, M. E. (2012). Foundations of assessment in early childhood special education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

McLean, M., & Snyder, P. (2011). Young exceptional children monograph series No. 13: Gathering information to make informed decisions: Contemporary perspectives about assessment in early intervention and early childhood special education. Missoula, MT: Council for Exceptional Children Division for Early Childhood.

Required Articles (will be placed on D2L):

Buysse, V., & Peisner-Feinberg, E. (2010). Recognition and response: Response to intervention for PreK. Young Exceptional Children, 13(4), 2-13.

Coleman, M. R., Dennis, A., & Hertzog, N. B. (2011). Resources within reason: Resources for nurturing high potential in young children of diverse abilities. Young Exceptional Children, 14(4), 57-58

Barton, E. E., & Reichow, B. (2012). Guidelines for graphing data with Microsoft Office® 2007™, Office 2010™, and Office for Mac™ 2008 and 2011. Journal of Early Intervention, 34(3), 129-150. doi: 10.1177/1053815112456601

Espinosa, L. M. (2005). Curriculum and assessment considerations for young children from culturally,

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linguistically, and economically diverse backgrounds. Psychology in the Schools, 42(8), 837-853.Grisham-Brown, J. (2000). Transdisciplinary activity-based assessment for young children with multiple

disabilities: A program planning approach. Young Exceptional Children, 3(2), 3-10.Hojnoski, R. L., Gischlar, K. L., & Missal, K. N. (2009). Improving child outcomes with data-based decision

making: Collecting data. Young Exceptional Children, 12(3), 32-44.McWilliam, R. A., Casey, A. M., & Sims, J. (2009). The Routines-Based Interview: A method for gathering

information and assessing needs. Infants and Young Children, 22(3), 224-233.National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2005). Screening and assessment of young English-

language learners. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Available to download from, http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ELL_SupplementLong.pdf

Additional readings may be assigned throughout the course to supplement the above required readings.

Mission and VisionThe mission of the Minnesota State University, Mankato' s College of Education (COE) is to prepare principled professional practitioners who thrive and succeed in diverse environments, promote collaborative and generative communities, and engage in life-long learning.

Proclamation of the Conceptual Framework:Grounded in a vision of learning communities, the College of Education has at its heart collaboration and connectedness to students, schools, neighborhoods, and society. To achieve this vision, the College of Education seeks to graduate individuals with passion for and proficiency in content, with thoughtful and principled pedagogy, and a strong sense of educational purpose. College of Education graduates possess the attributes, knowledge, and skills to effectively promote the success of students, families, and schools. They see their own learning and the learning of others as occurring in a cycle of experience, reflection, and re-conceptualization -- a process of seeking new knowledge that both fits into and changes existing understanding.  Furthermore, College of Education graduates understand that individuals are embedded in family, school, and community systems, and they seek to foster positive systems change as well as individual growth. College of Education graduates value diverse cultures and communities, seeking to help all students achieve the knowledge and skills needed to flourish as successful members of a pluralistic society.  They work to form broad-based, inclusive learning communities, which engage in respectful and relevant conversations that promote shared understandings.  College of Education graduates value multiple perspectives and use culturally relevant strategies in their work.   They guide and nurture individuals with whom they work to live and thrive in a diverse and open society. (Source: www.mnsu.edu/)

Course Description and Outcomes

Course DescriptionThis course emphasizes core skills necessary for early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers to conduct developmental screenings, observe children with special needs for purposes of evaluation, and administer criterion-referenced and norm-referenced assessment tools. Students will understand the referral process and learn how to interpret the results of the evaluation process to determine eligibility for special education. Included will be considerations when evaluating children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse populations and their families. The course will also cover sharing evaluation results with families, using assessment information to develop the IFSP/IEP, and techniques for ongoing monitoring of progress. Current topics in the field will be

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addressed including Response to Intervention (RtI) and measuring early childhood outcomes using the Child Outcome Summary Form (COSF).

Board of Teaching Standards Aligned with this Course:Teachers of Special Education: Early ChildhoodCourse Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to understand, apply, and identify:

Evidence will be demonstrated via the following artifacts:

A. Foundational knowledge. A teacher of special education: early childhood understands the foundations of special education services for students with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities on which to base practice. The teacher must demonstrate knowledge of the:(3) educational definitions, issues related to identification, and eligibility criteria pertaining to young children with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities;

Class discussions, reading from course materials

(4) definitions and distinctions between and among screening, evaluation, assessment, and progress monitoring related to the legal standards and practice;

Class discussions, article reviews, and field experience

(5) rationale and application of due process and procedural safeguards for young children with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities and their families;

Class discussions, readings from course materials

(6) ethical, policy, and practice issues related to educational, social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and medical factors unique to young children with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities and their families;

Class discussions, readings from class materials, and field experiences

B. Referral, evaluation, planning, and programming. A teacher of special education: early childhood understands and applies principles of screening, prevention and intervening early and procedures for referral, assessment, evaluation, individualized planning, programming, and placement specific to teaching students with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities. The teacher must be able to:(1) apply screening, prevention, referral, assessment, and evaluation for eligibility determination including consideration of criteria for vision loss, hearing loss, deaf-blind, speech and language delays, developmental cognitive delays, physical or health disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, other health disorders, and traumatic brain injury;

Class discussions, field experience, and reading from course materials

(2) select, administer, and interpret formal and informal evaluation and assessment measures for young children with developmental delays or disabilities, accounting for limitations, ethical concerns, and the need for assistive technologies, and communicate the results to children, families, teachers, and other professionals;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, and field experiences

(3) adapt and modify existing evaluation and assessment measures and methods to accommodate the abilities and specific needs of young children with developmental delays or disabilities including those with a diagnosed physical or mental condition or disorder that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay;

Class discussions and reading from course materials

(4) integrate and interpret multiple sources of information from families, educators, and others for the purpose of evaluating, planning, implementing, and monitoring the individualized family service plan, individualized education program plan, or individualized interagency intervention plan;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experience

(5) design individual plans that integrate evaluation and assessment results and family concerns and priorities to determine goals, including the use of assistive technologies;

Class discussions, field experience, and readings from course materials

(6) collaborate in determining services and placement within a range of delivery models, natural environments, and educational settings based on the needs and required levels of support for the child and the family; and

Class discussions, reading from course materials, and field experiences

(7) address factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, familial background, and cultural and linguistic diversity that may influence the

Class discussions, reading from course materials, and

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identification of young children with developmental delays or disabilities. field experiences

Board of Teaching Standards Aligned with this Course:Teachers of Special Education:Course Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to understand, apply, and identify:

Evidence will be demonstrated via the following artifacts:

D. Collaboration and communication. A teacher of special education: early childhood cultivates and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with children and youth, families, educators, other professionals, and the community to support development and educational progress. The teacher must be able to:(2) facilitate and manage student-specific teams, including those for child study, individualized program planning, and planning for transitions;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, and field experiences

E. Clinical experiences. A teacher of special education: early childhood applies the standards of effective practice through a variety of early and ongoing clinical experiences in teaching children who exhibit a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities in infant or toddler, preschool, and primary (grades K-1) settings across a range of service delivery models.A. Foundational knowledge. A teacher of special education understands the foundations of special education, including information about students served by special education. The teacher must demonstrate knowledge of the:(11) the importance and utility of parent involvement in student academic achievement, and the implications for the provision of educational services;

Class discussions, reading from course materials,

B. Referral, evaluation, planning, and programming. A teacher of special education understands and applies principles of prevention and intervening early and procedures for referral, assessment, evaluation, individualized planning, programming, and placement. The teacher must be able to:(3) satisfy child find requirements during universal screening and early intervening efforts;

Class discussions, field experience, and readings from course materials

(4) integrate multiple sources of student data relative to progress toward grade-level content standards from prior prevention and alternate instruction efforts into the referral process;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

(5) implement required pre-referral intervention procedures; Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

(6) design, facilitate, and support a comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation process using unbiased assessment measures;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

(7) select and use assessment measures and procedures that are technically adequate and appropriate for the student and specific assessment purpose, including assistive technology supports where appropriate;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

(8) communicate the results of assessments and the evaluation process to students, families, teachers, and other professionals;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

(11) assess the impact of environmental factors on assessment results and the special education evaluation, planning, and programming process;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

(12) assess the impact of gender, familial background, socioeconomic status, and cultural and linguistic diversity on assessment results and the special education referral, evaluation, planning, and programming process;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

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(13) integrate multiple sources of data to develop individualized educational programs and plans;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field

C. Instructional design, teaching, and ongoing evaluation. A teacher of special education understands how to provide and evaluate specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students in special education through individualized educational plans. The teacher must be able to:(2) lead individual education plan teams through statewide assessment options to make appropriate decisions for a learner’s participation within the statewide assessment system;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

(5) collaborate with other professionals and parents on the design and delivery of prevention efforts, early intervening services, pre-referral interventions, English language learning, gifted education, and intervention strategies to promote the academic, behavioral, linguistic, communication, functional, social, and emotional competency of students;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

D. Communication and collaboration. A teacher of special education cultivates and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with children and youth, families, educators, other professionals, and the community to support development and educational progress. The teacher must be able to:(5) facilitate and manage student-specific teams, including those for child study, individualized education program planning, and planning for transitions;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

(6) understand and make use of structures supporting interagency collaboration, including interagency services, agreements, referral, and consultation;

Class discussions, reading from course materials, field experiences

GradingGrading Scale:A – 93 – 100% C – 76 – 84%B – 85 – 92% D – 67 – 75% Grades will be posted on D2L in the feedback section of the Dropbox and also appear in the Gradebook.

Grading and Timely Submission of AssignmentsI do not curve the final grade; the grading will be based on straight percentages based on the grade total of points for the course. There is no extra credit option available for this course nor are assignments graded for a second time for additional points.

Due Dates for all graded items is posted in the course calendar. All graded materials must be submitted to D2L (unless otherwise noted by the instructor). No graded items will be accepted after the due date unless there is a significant emergency (i.e., a death in the family, serious injury or illness, natural disaster, etc.) or unforeseen events (a sick child, car trouble, etc.) that cause the need for an extension—PLEASE NOTE, if this course contains online discussions these are not accepted after the due date. In order to submit an item late the student MUST contact the instructor prior to the due date, and the instructor must approve the item as late. If the student does not follow this procedure, the instructor is under no obligation to accept the item or make accommodations. If accepted, the item may be docked 10% points per each day beyond the due date, with item accepted after 5 days of the due date.

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Course Assignment Descriptions, Associated Points & Due Dates

** Unless otherwise noted- all information is due by 8am CST Monday of the Corresponding Session. Guidelines for AssignmentsDirections/Templates and Scoring Rubrics are provided for each assignment. Complete the criteria outlined and attach the rubric to your assignments. Assignments must be typed, contain level headings, and the rubric. Please use the following file name when submitting your assignment to D2L-LastNameFirstNameAssignmentName.doc (you must submit using office word).

Ensure that papers are professionally written (correct syntax, semantics, spelling, mechanics, etc.). Cite references using APA style 6th edition within the contents of the paper. A portion of each grade earned is based on accuracy of writing skills. Write papers with sufficient detail to explain all information (assume that the reader does not understand the information presented). Writing of this manner will better enable the teacher to explain ideas and understanding of content to the professor, as well as prepare one to explain ideas to families and professionals with whom one will work in the future.

Graded Items:1. Field Experiences- The field experiences in this course are designed to build into one major assessment plan on one student. It is highly advised and recommended to work with the same student so that at the end you have developed a portfolio that will be turned in as a comprehensive evaluation report that will contain all of the information that you have collected on the child and program (if applicable) where the child attends.

a) Screening ToolStudents will administer and summarize the findings from a developmental screener. Students will use a developmental screener to determine if a child would be referred for further evaluation. The screener can either be one from the list below (these are owned by the SPED department) or you may seek approval for a different screener. If using a different screener, permission must be obtained from the instructor. These following screeners are available from SPED Department: Denver-II, Ages & Stages

b) Environmental Rating Scale (75 points)Students will administer and summarize the findings from an environmental rating scale. In addition, this assignment will include observing one child with a disability in the setting and reporting on this observation. The environmental rating scale can either be one from the list below (these are owned by the SPED department) or you may seek approval for a different rating scale. If using a different rating scale, permission must be obtained from the instructor. These following rating scales are available from SPED Department: Early Childhood

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Environmental Rating Scale, Infant Toddler Environmental Rating Scale, Classroom Assessment Scoring System, Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation

c) Norm-Referenced Assessment (50 points) Students will administer and summarize a norm-referenced assessment to one student aged- infant/toddler, preschool, or Kindergarten. The assessment can either be one from the list below (these are owned by the SPED department) or you may seek approval for a different rating scale. If using a different assessment, permission must be obtained from the instructor. These following assessments are available from SPED Department: The Bayley Scales of Infant Development 3rd edition, The Battelle Developmental Inventory 2nd edition (BDI-2)

d) Criterion Based Assessment (50 points) Students will administer and summarize a criterion-based assessment to one student aged- infant/toddler, preschool, or Kindergarten. Students will select one criterion-referenced assessment tool and administer two of the following domains based on the needs of the child: cognitive, communication, social, adaptive. The assessment can either be one from the list below (these are owned by the SPED department) or you may seek approval for a different rating scale. If using a different assessment, permission must be obtained from the instructor. These following assessments are available from SPED Department: The Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP), The Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children (AEPS), The Carolina, The Transdisciplinary Play-based Assessment, High Scope-Infants and Toddlers, Brigance.

e) Final Assessment Report (150 points) Students will write a final assessment report for the child who they have been working with during the semester. The report will have background information regarding the child and family (obtained from the screener). The assessment report will contain a summary of both the criterion and norm referenced assessment administered and a plan for the appropriate setting for this child.

2. Article Review & Presentation (55 points)Students will read, review, and reflect on a current (within past 5 years) research article in the field of early childhood special education specific to Assessment in ECSE. Appropriate journals would be, but not limited to- Journal of Early Intervention, Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, Young Children, Zero to Three Journal.

3. Be responsible for reading assigned sections of the textbook and other readings and participate in online and in class discussions regarding content of materials.

DisabilityMinnesota State University, Mankato is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in educational opportunity. MSU provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodation to participate in

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educational programs, activities or services. Students with disabilities requiring accommodation to participate in class activities or meet course requirements should first register with the Office of Disability Services, located in 0132 Memorial Library, at 389-2825 (voice) or TDD 711 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Instructor should be notified of this process by the end of the second week of the class.

Academic HonestyThe University policy regarding academic honesty follows and can be retrieved at http://www.mnsu.edu/policies/search/index.html?key_words=academic+honesty (retrieved June 13, 2011)In order for an academic community to teach and support appropriate educational values, an environment of trust, cooperation and personal responsibility must be maintained. As members of this University community, students assume the responsibility to fulfill their academic obligations in a fair and honest manner. This responsibility includes avoiding such inappropriate activities as plagiarism, cheating or collusion. Students found responsible for one or more of these activities may face both academic sanctions (such as lowering a grade, failing of a course, etc.) and disciplinary sanctions (such as probation, suspension, expulsion).It is the intent of Minnesota State University, Mankato to encourage a sense of integrity on the part of students in fulfilling their academic requirements. To give students a better understanding of behaviors that may constitute academic dishonesty, the following definitions are provided.Plagiarism – Submission of an academic assignment as one’s own work, which includes critical ideas or written narrative that are taken from another author without the proper citation. This does not apply only to direct quotes, but also to critical ideas that are paraphrased by the student.Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

• submitting the work of others as your own• submitting others’ work as your own with only minor changes• submitting others’ work as your own without adequate footnotes, quotations, and other reference forms• multiple submission of the same work, written or oral, for more than one course without both instructor’s permission, or making minor revisions on work which has received credit and submitting it again as new work.

Cheating – Use of unauthorized material or assistance to help fulfill academic assignments. This material could include unauthorized copies of test materials, calculators, crib sheets, help from another student, etc.Collusion: Assistance to another student or among student in committing the act of cheating or plagiarism.

NOTE: Any assignment plagiarized will be assigned a grade of -0-

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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Course Calendar At-a-glance

Module Module Topic Course Readings Assignment and Due Dates

Module 1 Welcome! Introductory activities Preview course / assignments and expectations History of Assessment Assessment vs Evaluation Types of Assessments Validity and Reliability Eligibility Criteria Due Process Tests & Test Development Assistive Tech and Assessments

Ch. 1: Introduction to Children with Special NeedsCh. 2: Legal IssuesCh. 5: Technical Aspects of AssessmentCh. 6: Assessment ModelsOTHER READING (available via the internet)-(1) 2008 Minnesota Administrative Rules, Chapter 3525 at https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/rules/ Search by number for: 3525- .1325, .1327, .1331, .1337, .1343, .1345, .1348, .1350-1352, .2550, .2710, .3600 & skim remaining items under Entrance & Exit Criteria

NOTE- To accommodate the arrival of late books you will have an extra week to complete all portions of the discussion without late penaltyDUE- See D2L-(1) Discussion Mod 1

Module 2 Legal Issues Procedural Safeguards FERPA Adaptations and Modifications in Assessment Interagency Coordinating Council Natural Environments Child Find Screening Tools

o Denver IIo Ages & Stages

Cultural Considerations in the Screening Process

Ch. 2: Legal IssuesCh. 3: Family Diversity and AssessmentMonograph- (1) p133 Duran et al. (2) p16 Clifford et al.

OTHER READING (see D2L)-(1) Espinosa (2005)(2) NAEYC Position Statement(3) http://education.state.mn.us/mde/schsup/specedcomp/complmonitor/procsafe/index.html(4)http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html(5) Coleman (2011)

DUE- See D2L-(1) Discussion Mod 2

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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Module Module Topic Course Readings Assignment and Due Dates

Module 3 Early Language and Literacy Classroom Assessment Assessing Literacy and Communication Environmental Scales

o Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scaleo Infant Toddler Environmental Rating Scaleo Classroom Assessment Scoring System,o Early Language and Literacy Classroom

Observation Observing children Informed opinion Authentic Assessment Adapting and Modifying Assessments

Ch. 7: Environmental AnalysisCh. 11: CommunicationCh. 8 Observational Assessment

Monograph- p79 Neisworth & BagnatoMN Rule

DUE- See D2L-(1) Discussion Mod 3

Module 4 Criterion-Referenced Measuremento Briganceo The Hawaii Early Learning Profile (HELP)o The Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming

System for Infants and Children (AEPS)o The Carolinao The Transdisciplinary Play-based Assessment,o High Scope-Infants and Toddlers

Norm Referenced Assessment Toolso The Bayley Scales of Infant Development 3rd

edition The Battelle Developmental Inventory 2nd edition

(BDI-2)

Criterion & Norm Referenced AssessmentsOTHER READING (see D2L)-(1) Grisham-Brown (2000)

DUE- See D2L-(1) Discussion Mod 4(2) Article Discussion(3) Screener Assignment

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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Module Module Topic Course Readings Assignment and Due Dates

Module 5 Assessing Social Skills and Behavioro Sensory Profileo Behavior Assessment System for Childreno Infant Toddler Social and Emotional Assessmento Ages and Stages: Social Emotional

Assistive Tech and Assessment Pre-referral Interventions Recognition and Response

o Individual Growth and Development Indicatorso Preschool-Wide Evaluation Tool

Cognitive Development Implications for children with cognitive deficits- ASD,

developmental delay, TBI, Multiple Disabilities, DCD, Emotional Disturbance Social Emotional Development

Implications for children with communication deficits- ASD, Emotional Disturbance, developmental delay Deaf-Blind, VI, TBI, Speech, Multiple Disabilities, DCD, Deafness, Hearing Impaired

Chapter 9: Sensory AssessmentChapter 10: Cognitive and Social Emotional AssessmentMonograph- p111 Santos et al.

OTHER READING (see D2L)-(1) Buysse, & Peisner-Feinberg, (2010)(2) Introduction to Recognition and Response (Response to Intervention for Pre-K) available at http://www.recognitionandresponse.org/content/view/81/92/(3) DEC/NAEYC Joint Position Statement

DUE- See D2L-(1) Post your article to the Discussion board- if duplicate articles- the person who posted their article first will be able to use the article (not graded)(2) Environmental Analysis(3) Discussion Mod 5

Module 6 Routines-Based Interview (RBI) Using RBI to write Family Outcomes Family Identified Needs Writing Evaluation Reports Subjective Language Communicating Results to Families Using Assessment Information to write goals and

objectives

Monograph- p43 McWilliam et al.Monograph- p64 Campbell

OTHER READING (see D2L)-(1) McWilliam, Casey, & Sims (2009)

DUE- See D2L-(1) Discussion Mod 6

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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Module Module Topic Course Readings Assignment and Due Dates

Module 7 Graphing Data Making Data based decisions Writing Progress Reports on the IEP/IFSP Standards Based IEPs Measuring Child and Family Outcomes Statewide Assessment Options

Monograph- p157 Hebbler et al.

OTHER READING (see D2L)-(1) Hojnoski, Gischlar, & Missal (2009)(2) Barton & Reichow (2012)(3) http://www.pacer.org/parent/php/php-c143.pdf

Additional—ECO Center Website:http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~eco/index.cfm

DUE- See D2L-(1) Discussion Mod 7(2) Article Discussion(3) Norm Referenced & Criterion Referenced

Exam Week

DUE- Post to D2L:Final Evaluation Report- Tuesday 8pm of

Exam Week

DUE- Post to D2L:Final Evaluation Report- Tuesday 8pm of

Exam Week

DUE- Post to D2L:Final

Evaluation Report-

Tuesday 8pm of Exam Week

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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SPED 622: Collaboration with Families and Professionals

• Online via D2L • 3 Credits

Instructor: Aaron R. Deris, Ph.D., Department of Special Education Office: Instructor – Suite 332, Edina Location; Department – 313 Armstrong Hall Phone and e-mail: 952.818.8878 • aaron.deris@mnsu.eduOffice Hours: T & Th - 2 – 5:30pm (in person), W- 10am-12pm (email- will answer

within 15 minutes) or by appointmentCourse Meetings: Online--- please see course calendar for adobe connect dates

Required Texts Friend, M., & Cook, L. (2013). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school

professionals (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Additional required readings available on D2L

Peterson, C. A., Fox, L., & Blasco, P. M. (2008). Young exceptional children monograph series, No. 10: Early intervention for infants and toddlers and their families: Practices and outcomes. Missoula, MT: Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.

–NOTE the Peterson et al. text are noted in D2L as Monograph readings

Christian, L. G. (2006). Understanding families: Applying family systems theory to early childhood practice. Young Children, 61(1), 12-20.

Rous, B. S., & Hallam, R. A. (2012). Transition services for young children with

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disabilities: Research and future directions. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 31(4), 232-240.

Wildenger, L. K., & McIntyre, L. L. (2011). Family concerns and involvement during kindergarten transition. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 20(4), 387-396.

Mission and VisionThe mission of the Minnesota State University, Mankato' s College of Education (COE) is to prepare principled professional practitioners who thrive and succeed in diverse environments, promote collaborative and generative communities, and engage in life-long learning.

Proclamation of the Conceptual Framework:Grounded in a vision of learning communities, the College of Education has at its heart collaboration and connectedness to students, schools, neighborhoods, and society. To achieve this vision, the College of Education seeks to graduate individuals with passion for and proficiency in content, with thoughtful and principled pedagogy, and a strong sense of educational purpose. College of Education graduates possess the attributes, knowledge, and skills to effectively promote the success of students, families, and schools. They see their own learning and the learning of others as occurring in a cycle of experience, reflection, and re-conceptualization -- a process of seeking new knowledge that both fits into and changes existing understanding.  Furthermore, College of Education graduates understand that individuals are embedded in family, school, and community systems, and they seek to foster positive systems change as well as individual growth. College of Education graduates value diverse cultures and communities, seeking to help all students achieve the knowledge and skills needed to flourish as successful members of a pluralistic society.  They work to form broad-based, inclusive learning communities, which engage in respectful and relevant conversations that promote shared understandings.  College of Education graduates value multiple perspectives and use culturally relevant strategies in their work.   They guide and nurture individuals with whom they work to live and thrive in a diverse and open society. (Source: www.mnsu.edu/)

Course Description and OutcomesCourse DescriptionIn this course students will learn about models of collaboration, communication, and teaming in regular and special education settings, with an emphasis on early childhood special education practice. The roles and responsibilities of regular and special education teachers, paraprofessionals, other service providers such as speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists will be discussed. Interagency collaboration between education agencies, social service agencies, and private agencies will be explored. An emphasis on the family as a critical team member will be integrated throughout the course.

Board of Teaching Standards Aligned with this Course:Teachers of Special Education: Early ChildhoodCourse Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to understand, apply, and identify:

Evidence will be demonstrated via the following artifacts:

A. Foundational knowledge. A teacher of special education: early childhood understands the foundations of special education services for students with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities on which to base practice. The teacher must demonstrate knowledge of the:(8) responsibilities of the Interagency Early Intervention Committee (IEIC). Class readings, class discussion,

final group project

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Board of Teaching Standards Aligned with this Course:Teachers of Special Education: Early ChildhoodCourse Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to understand, apply, and identify:

Evidence will be demonstrated via the following artifacts:

B. Referral, evaluation, planning, and programming. A teacher of special education: early childhood understands and applies principles of screening, prevention and intervening early and procedures for referral, assessment, evaluation, individualized planning, programming, and placement specific to teaching students with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities. The teacher must be able to:(6) collaborate in determining services and placement within a range of delivery models, natural environments, and educational settings based on the needs and required levels of support for the child and the family; and

Class readings, class discussion, field experience, and final paper

D. Collaboration and communication. A teacher of special education: early childhood cultivates and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with children and youth, families, educators, other professionals, and the community to support development and educational progress. The teacher must be able to:(1) apply cultural competencies, including self-awareness of one’s personal perspectives, when using verbal, nonverbal, and written communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate with families and consult with those providing services;

Class readings, class discussion, field experience, and final paper

(2) facilitate and manage student-specific teams, including those for child study, individualized program planning, and planning for transitions;

Class readings and class discussion

(3) identify and access sources of services, agencies, and organizations for young children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families;

Class readings, class discussion, and final paper

(4) understand the educational roles and responsibilities of instructional and related service providers and paraprofessionals, and coordinate the provision of services to young children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families;

Class readings, class discussion, field experience, and final paper

(6) communicate and collaborate with service coordinators and providers in planning for the transition process across hospital, home, and infant and toddler, early childhood, and elementary programs; and

Class readings, class discussion, field experience, and final paper

(7) provide and receive consultation and collaborate in a variety of settings regarding development and implementation of the comprehensive evaluation process, individualized education program planning, delivery of instruction and accommodations, and transition with individuals and agencies;

Class readings, class discussion, and field experience

E. Clinical experiences. A teacher of special education: early childhood applies the standards of effective practice through a variety of early and ongoing clinical experiences in teaching children who exhibit a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities in infant or toddler, preschool, and primary (grades K-1) settings across a range of service delivery models.D. Communication and collaboration. A teacher of special education cultivates and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with children and youth, families, educators, other professionals, and the community to support development and educational progress. The teacher must be able to:(9) access services, networks, agencies, and organizations relevant to the needs of the children and youth and their families;

Class readings, class discussion, and field experience

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GradingGrading Scale:A – 93 – 100% C – 76 – 84%B – 85 – 92% D – 67 – 75% Grades will be posted on D2L in the feedback section of the Dropbox and also appear in the Gradebook.

Grading and Timely Submission of AssignmentsI do not curve the final grade; the grading will be based on straight percentages based on the grade total of points for the course. There is no extra credit option available for this course nor are assignments graded for a second time for additional points.

The due dates for all graded items can be found in the course calendar. All graded materials must be submitted to D2L (unless otherwise noted by the instructor). No graded items will be accepted after the due date unless there is a significant emergency (i.e., a death in the family, serious injury or illness, natural disaster, etc.) that cause the need for an extension—PLEASE NOTE, online discussions are not accepted after the due date. In order to submit an assignment late the student MUST contact the instructor prior to the due date, and the instructor must approve the item as late. If the student does not follow this procedure, the instructor is under no obligation to accept the item or make accommodations. If accepted, the item may be docked 10% points per each day late beyond the due date, with no assignments accepted after 5 days of the due date.

Course Assignment Descriptions, Associated Points & Due Dates

** Unless otherwise noted- all information is due by 8pm CST Monday of the Week for the Corresponding Session.

Guidelines for AssignmentsDirections and Scoring Rubrics are provided for each assignment. Complete the criteria outlined and attach the rubric to your assignments. Assignments must be typed, contain level headings, and the rubric. Please use the following file name when submitting your assignment to D2L-LastNameFirstNameAssignmentName.doc (you must submit using office word).

Ensure that papers are professionally written (correct syntax, semantics, spelling, mechanics, etc.). Cite references using APA style 6th edition within the contents of the paper. A portion of each grade earned is based on accuracy of writing skills. Write papers with sufficient detail to explain all information (assume that the reader does not understand the information presented). Writing of this manner will better enable the teacher to explain ideas and understanding of content to the professor, as well as prepare one to explain ideas to families and professionals with whom one will work in the future.

Graded Items:1. Teaming and Collaborating (75 points)

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Part 1- Teachers in special education settings are responsible for leading meetings. A teacher must be able to use knowledge of effective verbal and nonverbal communication techniques to foster collaboration and supportive interaction. This assignment is designed to give you an opportunity to observe effective communicative techniques used by the team to move through the meeting collaboratively. You may attend an evaluation results sharing meeting, an evaluation results planning meeting, an IFSP meeting, or another ECSE teaming meeting. Part 2- The focus of the 2nd part of this assignment is to interview a professional who was in attendance at the meeting you observed (i.e., special education teacher, SLP, OT, PT, etc.) Please address collaboration as a whole as you conduct the interview and submit a follow up paper that describes the interviewee's responses to the questions asked. You may also ask additional questions that are of interest to you related to collaboration. Use the information from Friend & Cook text to help you think about structuring the interview.Please see the rubric for more details- don’t forget this must be double spaced with level headings. No more than 5 pages (not counting the cover page and reference page, if applicable).

2. D2L Class Discussions (7 @ 10 points each = 70 points)This course will be comprised of 7 modules and in each there will be discussions to respond via D2L. You will need to make an initial post (by 8pm of the 1st Thursday of the discussion, at least 100 words in length) and respond to at least two peers by 8pm Thursday of the 2nd week of the discussion. The classmates you respond to will be-the person above and below your post; if you are the first to respond then you must post to the immediate two after you; if you are the last to post then you must post to the two people above you. Postings to peers must be thoughtful (more than “good job”, “I agree”…) and be at least four sentences in length. The postings to peers need to deepen the discussion either by asking probing questions, commenting on similarities or differences in views.

3. Conflict Management Style Survey (40 points)(a) http://www.terencemauri.com/wp-content/uploads/10.Thomas-Kilmann-Conflct-Questionnaire.pdf

(b) http://www.wacampuscompact.org/retentionproject/onlineresources/2011onlineresources/Communication/Thomas-Kilmann%20Model%20of%20Conflict%20Management%20Styles.pdf

Students will complete the Thomas Kilman Conflict Management Style Survey (see links above). Students will then write a reflective summary. Please see the rubric for more details- don’t forget this must be double spaced with level headings. No more than 2 pages (not counting the cover page and reference page, if applicable).

4. Final Collaborative Group Paper (100 points)You will work in a group of no more than 3 students to develop a group paper regarding behaviors and strategies for the home and school setting. You will be assigned a group no later than the end of the 2nd module. The purpose of the Final Paper is for you to illustrate how Family Centered Program theories and concepts support the classroom and the child’s family. Please see the rubric for more details- don’t forget this must be double spaced with level headings. No more than 10 pages (not counting the cover page and reference page, if applicable). Disability

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Minnesota State University, Mankato is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in educational opportunity. MSU provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodation to participate in educational programs, activities or services. Students with disabilities requiring accommodation to participate in class activities or meet course requirements should first register with the Office of Disability Services, located in 0132 Memorial Library, at 389-2825 (voice) or TDD 711 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Instructor should be notified of this process by the end of the second week of the class.

Academic HonestyThe University policy regarding academic honesty follows and can be retrieved at http://www.mnsu.edu/policies/search/index.html?key_words=academic+honesty (retrieved June 13, 2011)In order for an academic community to teach and support appropriate educational values, an environment of trust, cooperation and personal responsibility must be maintained. As members of this University community, students assume the responsibility to fulfill their academic obligations in a fair and honest manner. This responsibility includes avoiding such inappropriate activities as plagiarism, cheating or collusion. Students found responsible for one or more of these activities may face both academic sanctions (such as lowering a grade, failing of a course, etc.) and disciplinary sanctions (such as probation, suspension, expulsion).

It is the intent of Minnesota State University, Mankato to encourage a sense of integrity on the part of students in fulfilling their academic requirements. To give students a better understanding of behaviors that may constitute academic dishonesty, the following definitions are provided.Plagiarism – Submission of an academic assignment as one’s own work, which includes critical ideas or written narrative that are taken from another author without the proper citation. This does not apply only to direct quotes, but also to critical ideas that are paraphrased by the student.Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

• submitting the work of others as your own• submitting others’ work as your own with only minor changes• submitting others’ work as your own without adequate footnotes, quotations, and other reference forms• multiple submission of the same work, written or oral, for more than one course without both instructor’s permission, or making minor revisions on work which has received credit and submitting it again as new work.

Cheating – Use of unauthorized material or assistance to help fulfill academic assignments. This material could include unauthorized copies of test materials, calculators, crib sheets, help from another student, etc.Collusion: Assistance to another student or among student in committing the act of cheating or plagiarism.

NOTE: Any assignment plagiarized will be assigned a grade of -0-

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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Course Calendar At-a-Glance

Module Dates Module / Topic Course Readings Assignment(see rubrics)

Module 1 History of Collaboration Teams Characteristics of Collaboration Difficulties with Collaboration Characteristics of Teams Teams in Schools Team Effectiveness

Ch. 1 The Fundamentals of CollaborationCh. 6 Teams

NOTE- To accommodate the arrival of late books you will have an extra week to complete all portions of the discussion without late penalty(1) Discussion 1(2) Post Introduction(3) Upload a picture(4) Confirm all settings are correct

Module 2 Models of Communication Communication Skills Principles of Effective Interpersonal Communication

Ch. 2 Interpersonal CommunicationCh. 5 Interpersonal Problem SolvingMonograph- p47 Hughes & Peterson

(1) Discussion 2 –

Module 3 Purpose of Statements Giving Verbal Feedback Asking Questions Conducting Interview

Ch. 3 Listening, Responding, and Giving FeedbackCh. 4 Integrating Skills through Interviews

(1) Discussion 3 –

Module 4 Familieso Connecting and

Collaborating with other agencies, families, and other networks

Teaming Transition Planning

Ch. 11 FamiliesMonograph- p19 Applequist et al.D2L- Christian (2006)

(1) Discussion 4 –(2) Teaming and Collaborating Paper-

March 11 – 15 Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break

Module Dates Module / Topic Course Readings Assignment

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(see rubrics)Module 5 Co-teaching Approaches

Staff Development School Consultation Consultation Models

o Connecting and Collaborating with other agencies, school professionals, and networks

Practical Issues Understanding Conflict &

Resistance

Ch. 7 Co-TeachingCh. 8 Consulting, Coaching, and MentoringCh. 9 Difficult InteractionsMonograph- p60 Chen & Klein

(1) Discussion 5-

Module 6 Scheduling and Coordinating Services

o Connecting and Collaborating with other agencies, school professionals, and other networks

Program Development Tasks

Ch. 12 Interagency and Community CollaborationMonograph- p75 Hughes et al.D2L- Rous & Hallam, (2012)D2L- Wildenger & McIntyre (2011)

(1) Discussion 6 –(2) Conflict Management Style Paper-

Module 7NOTE- Includes

Exam Week

Ethics in Collaborative Practice Role-Specific Considerations in Collaboration Context Considerations for Collaboration

Ch. 10 ParaeducatorsCh. 13 Perspectives and Issues

(1) Discussion 7 –(2) Final Group Paper Due-

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Minnesota State University, Mankato

Department of Special Education

SPED 625: Curriculum/Methods Working with Infants and Young Children with Developmental Needs

• Online via D2L • 3 Credits

Instructor: Aaron R. Deris, Ph.D., Department of Special Education Office: Instructor – Suite 332, Edina Location; Department – 313 Armstrong Hall Phone and e-mail: 952.818.8878 • aaron.deris@mnsu.eduOffice Hours: T & Th - 2 – 5:30pm (in person), W- 10am-12pm (email- will answer

within 15 minutes) or by appointment

Required Texts: Cook, R. E., Klein, M. D., & Chen, D. (2012). Adapting early childhood curricula for children with special

needs (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Horn, E., Peterson, C. A., & Fox, L. (2007). Young exceptional children monograph series, No. 9: Linking

curriculum to child and family outcomes. Missoula, MT: Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children.

--NOTE readings from the Horn text will be available via D2L under the “monograph” tab in the content area

Klass, C. (2008). The home visitor’s guidebook: Promoting optimal parent and child development (3rd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

--NOTE readings from the Klass text will be available via D2L

Copple, C., & S. Bredekamp, eds. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8 (3rd ed.) Washington, DC: NAEYC

Sandall, S. Hemmeter, M. L., Smith, B. J., & McLean, M. (2005). DEC recommended practices: A comprehensive guide for practical application in early intervention/early childhood special education. Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children: Missoula, MT.

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Required Readings- Available via D2L:

Brown, W. H., & Conroy, M. A. (2011). Social-emotional competence in young children with developmental delays: Our reflection and vision for the future. Journal of Early Intervention, 23(4), 310-320. doi: 10.1177/105381511429969

Barton, E. E., & Reichow, B. (2012). Guidelines for graphing data with Microsoft Office® 2007™, Office 2010™, and Office for Mac™ 2008 and 2011. Journal of Early Intervention, 34(3), 129-150. doi:

10.1177/1053815112456601

Byington, T. A., Whitby, P. J. S. (2011). Empowering families during the planning process. Young Exceptional Children, 14(4), 44-55. doi: 10.1177/1096250611428878

Dunlap, G., & Fox, L. (2011). Function-based interventions for children with challenging behavior. Journal of Early Intervention, 23(4), 333-343. doi: 10.1177/105381511428467

Goldstein, H. (2011). Knowing what to teach provides the roadmap for early literacy intervention. Journal of Early Intervention, 23(4), 269-267. doi: 10.1177/105381511429464

Greenwood, C. R., Carta, J. J., & McConnell, S. (2011). Advances in measurement for universal screening and individual progress monitoring of young children. Journal of Early Intervention, 23(4), 254-267. doi: 10.1177/105381511428467

Jung, L. E. (2007). Writing individualized family service plan strategy that fit into the ROUTINE. Young Exceptional Children, 10(3), 2-9.

Jung, L. A. & Grisham-Brown, J. L., (2006). Moving from assessment information to IFSPs: Guidelines for a family-centered process. Young Exceptional Children, 9(2), 2-11.

Katy, G. (2011). A document analysis of the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s developmentally appropriate practice position statement: What does it tell us about supporting children with disabilities? Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 12(2), 175-186.

Lifter, K., Mason, E. J., & Barton, E. E. (2011). Children’s play: Where we have been and where we could go. Journal of Early Intervention, 23(4), 281-297. doi: 10.1177/105381511429465

McWilliam. R. (2012). Implementing and preparing for home visits. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 31(4), 224-231.

Parette, H. P., Quesenberry, A. C., & Blum, C. (2010). Missing the boat with technology usage in early childhood settings: A 21st century view of Developmentally Appropriate Practice. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(5), 335-343.

Swanson, J., Raab, M., & Dunst, C. J. (2011). Strengthening family capacity to provide young children everyday natural learning opportunities. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 9(1), 66-80.

Mission and VisionThe mission of the Minnesota State University, Mankato' s College of Education (COE) is to prepare principled professional practitioners who thrive and succeed in diverse environments, promote collaborative and generative communities, and engage in life-long learning.

Proclamation of the Conceptual Framework:Grounded in a vision of learning communities, the College of Education has at its heart collaboration and connectedness to students, schools, neighborhoods, and society. To achieve this vision, the College of Education seeks to graduate individuals with passion for and proficiency in content, with thoughtful and principled pedagogy, and a strong sense of educational purpose. College of Education graduates possess the attributes, knowledge, and skills to effectively promote the success of students, families, and schools. They see their own learning and the learning of others as occurring in a cycle of experience, reflection, and re-conceptualization -- a process of seeking new knowledge that both fits into and changes existing

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understanding.  Furthermore, College of Education graduates understand that individuals are embedded in family, school, and community systems, and they seek to foster positive systems change as well as individual growth. College of Education graduates value diverse cultures and communities, seeking to help all students achieve the knowledge and skills needed to flourish as successful members of a pluralistic society.  They work to form broad-based, inclusive learning communities, which engage in respectful and relevant conversations that promote shared understandings.  College of Education graduates value multiple perspectives and use culturally relevant strategies in their work.   They guide and nurture individuals with whom they work to live and thrive in a diverse and open society. (Source: www.mnsu.edu/)

Course Description and OutcomesCourse DescriptionThis course will focus on applying current knowledge and recommended practices with infants and toddlers with special needs within the family context. Students in this class will learn how to gather information using the Routines-Based Interview, use assessment information to develop an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)/Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and how to structure home visits to address the outcomes identified on the IFSP. This class will teach students how to encourage parent-child interactions both during the home visit and on an ongoing basis that will support the child’s development. In addition, students will learn how to provide services to infants and toddlers using a transdisciplinary approach. Students will learn how to manage a self-contained preschool classroom, co-teach with early childhood educators, and serve as an itinerant ECSE teacher in community preschools.

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members

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Board of Teaching Standards Aligned with this Course:Teachers of Special Education: Early ChildhoodCourse Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to understand, apply, and identify:

Evidence will be demonstrated via the following artifacts:

B. Referral, evaluation, planning, and programming. A teacher of special education: early childhood understands and applies principles of screening, prevention and intervening early and procedures for referral, assessment, evaluation, individualized planning, programming, and placement specific to teaching students with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities. The teacher must be able to: (4) integrate and interpret multiple sources of information from families, educators, and others for the purpose of evaluating, planning, implementing, and monitoring the individualized family service plan, individualized education program plan, or individualized interagency intervention plan;

Class discussions, class readings, field experience, IFSP/IEP activity, Classroom Plan

(5) design individual plans that integrate evaluation and assessment results and family concerns and priorities to determine goals, including the use of assistive technologies;

Class discussions, class readings, field experience, IFSP/IEP activity, Lesson Plan activity, Classroom Plan

C. Instructional design, teaching, and ongoing evaluation. A teacher of special education: early childhood understands how to use individualized education program plans, individualized family service plans, and individualized interagency intervention plans to design, implement, monitor, and adjust instruction for students with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities. The teacher must be able to:(1) apply multiple evidence-based instructional practices, including those supported by scientifically-based research when available, and materials that meet the needs of children and families in the areas of language and literacy, cognitive, adaptive, physical, social or emotional, and behavioral development;

Class discussions, class readings, field experience, IFSP/IEP activity, Lesson Plan activity, Classroom Plan

(2) select, implement, monitor, and adjust curricula and intervention strategies across developmental domains;

Class discussions, class readings, field experience, IFSP/IEP activity, Lesson Plan activity, Classroom Plan

(3) provide, as well as teach families and other early childhood providers, developmentally and functionally appropriate individual and group activities within natural routines and across settings for infants, toddlers, and young children;

Class discussions, class readings, field experiences

(4) implement positive behavior supports appropriate for young children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families with a focus on teaching the child necessary and appropriate replacement skills;

Class discussions, class readings, field experiences

(5) align current developmental and learning experiences and teaching strategies with the expectations of subsequent educational settings and facilitate the transition process for young children with developmental delays or disabilities and families; and

Class discussions, class readings, field experience

(6) design, implement, monitor, and adjust instruction and supports, including the use of assistive technologies, to accelerate the rate of learning in reaching age-appropriate benchmarks, attain child and family outcomes, and facilitate transition processes.

Class discussions, class readings, field experience, IFSP/IEP activity, Curriculum Evaluation and Lesson Plan activity, Article review

D. Collaboration and communication. A teacher of special education: early childhood cultivates and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with children and youth, families, educators, other professionals, and the community to support development and educational progress. The teacher must be able to:

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Board of Teaching Standards Aligned with this Course:Teachers of Special Education:Course Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to understand, apply, and identify:

Evidence will be demonstrated via the following artifacts:

(7) provide and receive consultation and collaborate in a variety of settings regarding development and implementation of the comprehensive evaluation process, individualized education program planning, delivery of instruction and accommodations, and transition with individuals and agencies;

Class discussions, class readings, field experience,

E. Clinical experiences. A teacher of special education: early childhood applies the standards of effective practice through a variety of early and ongoing clinical experiences in teaching children who exhibit a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities in infant or toddler, preschool, and primary (grades K-1) settings across a range of service delivery models.C. Instructional design, teaching, and ongoing evaluation. A teacher of special education understands how to provide and evaluate specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students in special education through individualized educational plans. The teacher must be able to:(1) adapt and modify curriculum and deliver evidence-based instruction, including SRBI when available, aligned with state and local grade-level content standards to meet individual learner needs;

Class discussions, class readings, field experience, IFSP/IEP activity, Classroom Plan

(4) use evidence-based instruction, knowledge of subject matter, grade-level content standards, task analysis, and student performance data to sequence instruction and accelerate the rate of learning;

Class discussions, class readings, field experience, IFSP/IEP activity, Classroom Plan

(8) teach in a variety of service delivery models, including the delivery of specially designed instruction in the general education classroom and collaboration with other educational professionals and paraprofessionals;

Field experience

(9) apply systematic procedures for compiling and using data for the purposes of continuous progress-monitoring, modification of instruction, and program and school-wide improvement;

Class discussions, class readings, field experiences, IFSP/IEP activity, Classroom Plan, Article Review

(11) construct and implement instructional sequences to address and teach transition skills based on the cognitive, affective, and academic strengths of each student and plan for transition from school to community living, recreational and leisure, postsecondary training, career training, and employment.

Class discussions, class readings, field experiences, IFSP/IEP activity, Classroom Plan

D. Communication and collaboration. A teacher of special education cultivates and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with children and youth, families, educators, other professionals, and the community to support development and educational progress. The teacher must be able to:(4) work collaboratively with family members, including children and youth, in designing, implementing, and evaluating individual educational plans and programs;

Class discussions, class readings, field experiences, IFSP/IEP activity, Classroom Plan, Article Review

(7) provide consultation to and receive it from other professionals regarding specially designed instruction and program organization and development for children and youth and families;

Class discussions, class readings, field experiences, IFSP/IEP activity

(8) direct and monitor the activities of paraprofessionals, aides, volunteers, and peer tutors;

Class discussions, class readings, field experiences, IFSP/IEP activity, Classroom Plan, Article Review

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(11) engage in continuing professional development and reflection to increase knowledge and skill as a special educator and inform instructional practices, decisions, and interactions with children and youth and their families.

Class discussions, class readings, field experiences, Article Review

(12) cultivate professional relationships that encourage peer observation, coaching, and systems for giving and receiving feedback from colleagues to enhance student instruction and program outcomes.

Class discussions, class readings, field experiences, IFSP/IEP activity

GradingGrading Scale:A – 93 – 100% C – 76 – 84%B – 85 – 92% D – 67 – 75% Grades will be posted on D2L in the feedback section of the Dropbox and also appear in the Gradebook.

Grading and Timely Submission of AssignmentsI do not curve the final grade; the grading will be based on straight percentages based on the grade total of points for the course. There is no extra credit option available for this course nor are assignments graded for a second time for additional points.

Due Dates for all graded items is posted in the course calendar. All graded materials must be submitted to D2L (unless otherwise noted by the instructor). No graded items will be accepted after the due date unless there is a significant emergency (i.e., a death in the family, serious injury or illness, natural disaster, etc.) or unforeseen events (a sick child, car trouble, etc.) that cause the need for an extension—PLEASE NOTE, if this course contains online discussions these are not accepted after the due date. In order to submit an item late the student MUST contact the instructor prior to the due date, and the instructor must approve the item as late. If the student does not follow this procedure, the instructor is under no obligation to accept the item or make accommodations. If accepted, the item may be docked 10% points per each day beyond the due date, with item accepted after 5 days of the due date.

Course Assignment Descriptions, Associated Points & Due Dates** Unless otherwise noted- all information is due by 8pm CST Monday of the Corresponding Session.

Guidelines for AssignmentsDirections/Templates and Scoring Rubrics are provided for each assignment. Complete the criteria outlined and attach the rubric to your assignments. Assignments must be typed, contain level headings, and the rubric. Please use the following file name when submitting your assignment to D2L-LastNameFirstNameAssignmentName.doc (you must submit using office word).

Ensure that papers are professionally written (correct syntax, semantics, spelling, mechanics, etc.). Cite references using APA style 6th edition within the contents of the paper. A portion of each grade earned is based on accuracy of writing skills. Write papers

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with sufficient detail to explain all information (assume that the reader does not understand the information presented). Writing of this manner will better enable the teacher to explain ideas and understanding of content to the professor, as well as prepare one to explain ideas to families and professionals with whom one will work in the future.

Graded Items: Develop an IFSP/IEP as this is essential to the planning of curriculum and activities

for preschool children with special needs. Students will write a mock IEP/IFSP for a child in their field experience site. Students should work with their cooperating teacher and the course instructor to identify a child with whom this assignment can be completed. Students will submit the IFSP/IEP along with a 3-4 page double-spaced typed. (80points)

Curriculum Evaluation and Presentation. Students will work in teams of 3-5 persons to evaluate and present a packaged curriculum program. Groups will select a commercial curriculum to evaluate and will identify components of the curriculum. For the presentation, I would highly recommend using http://www.wevideo.com/features/Collaboration You can use other products, but I know that this is free and will allow you to work as a team and edit/modify a video without having to be together in one location. To help you with this, think of this if you were on a curriculum committee and what information would you need to convey to the entire curriculum committee to choose to use the curriculum you and your group members evaluated. Your presentation can not be more than 7 minutes only- share only the highlights and the most important information. (75—45points evaluation and 30 points demonstration)

Field Experience- a) Lesson Plans- Students will be required to submit five daily lesson plans using the

format provided. A goal/objective matrix will be included with each lesson plan for at least 3 children in the classroom. The lessons must embed IEP/IFSP objectives into developmentally appropriate activities that can be completed with a small or large group of children. Students will be expected to implement lessons (two with children age birth to three and two with children grades K-3) and will be observed for at least one lesson by a University Supervisor and be evaluated by their cooperating teachers. (120 points – 4 plans at 30 points each)

b) Functional Behavioral Analysis (FBA)- This assignment involves conducting an observation of a child to determine the precursors and reinforcement for observed academic or social behavior. From the observation, you will provide an analysis of student problem behavior & propose interventions based on a functional analysis and functional assessment conducted and develop an intervention, which contains a replacement behavior. (150 points)

4. Development of a Classroom Plan for a Self-Contained Classroom- Teachers in Early Childhood Special Education need to be able to plan for and implement

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programming for young children with special needs. Students will develop a week-long set of lesson plans for a self-contained classroom. Students can choose their own classroom as a basis for this assignment or contact the instructor for assistance in identifying a “case study classroom” for use in this assignment. (75 points)

5. Impact on Student Learning through Progress Monitoring- This assignment is designed to provide teacher candidates with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to (1) assess student learning, (2) identify a learning target to improve via an intervention, (3) review literature that provides an evidence-base for an intervention strategy that has been shown to be successful, (4) implement the intervention strategy, and (5) evaluate the impact of the project on student performance via progress monitoring. There will be three parts to this assignment (see Rubric for specific information for each part). (75 points)

6. Be responsible for reading assigned sections of the textbook and other readings and participate in online and in class discussions regarding content of materials.

DisabilityMinnesota State University, Mankato is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in educational opportunity. MSU provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodation to participate in educational programs, activities or services. Students with disabilities requiring accommodation to participate in class activities or meet course requirements should first register with the Office of Disability Services, located in 0132 Memorial Library, at 389-2825 (voice) or TDD 711 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Instructor should be notified of this process by the end of the second week of the class.

Academic HonestyThe University policy regarding academic honesty follows and can be retrieved at http://www.mnsu.edu/policies/search/index.html?key_words=academic+honesty (retrieved June 13, 2011)In order for an academic community to teach and support appropriate educational values, an environment of trust, cooperation and personal responsibility must be maintained. As members of this University community, students assume the responsibility to fulfill their academic obligations in a fair and honest manner. This responsibility includes avoiding such inappropriate activities as plagiarism, cheating or collusion. Students found responsible for one or more of these activities may face both academic sanctions (such as lowering a grade, failing of a course, etc.) and disciplinary sanctions (such as probation, suspension, expulsion).It is the intent of Minnesota State University, Mankato to encourage a sense of integrity on the part of students in fulfilling their academic requirements. To give students a better understanding of behaviors that may constitute academic dishonesty, the following definitions are provided.

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Plagiarism – Submission of an academic assignment as one’s own work, which includes critical ideas or written narrative that are taken from another author without the proper citation. This does not apply only to direct quotes, but also to critical ideas that are paraphrased by the student.Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

• submitting the work of others as your own• submitting others’ work as your own with only minor changes• submitting others’ work as your own without adequate footnotes, quotations, and other reference forms• multiple submission of the same work, written or oral, for more than one course without both instructor’s permission, or making minor revisions on work which has received credit and submitting it again as new work.

Cheating – Use of unauthorized material or assistance to help fulfill academic assignments. This material could include unauthorized copies of test materials, calculators, crib sheets, help from another student, etc.

Collusion: Assistance to another student or among student in committing the act of cheating or plagiarism.

NOTE: Any assignment plagiarized will be assigned a grade of -0-

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Course Calendar At-a-Glance

Module Dates Module / Topic Course Readings Assignment(see rubrics)

Module 1 Welcome! Introductory activities Preview course / assignments

and expectations Recommended Practices Service Delivery Evidence Based Practice-

o Inclusive Settings Variables that influence

learning Environmental arrangement Routines & expectations

Ch. 1: Educating Young Children with Special Needs: The Challenge (Cook)Ch. 5: Considerations for Teaching Children with Specific Disabilities (Cook)

NOTE- To accommodate the arrival of late books you will have an extra week to complete all portions of the discussion without late penalty(1) Discussion 1(2) Post Introduction(3) Upload a picture(4) Confirm all settings are correct

Module 2 Evidence Based Practice-o Support Based Home

Visitingo Home Visiting: The

Basicso Health and safety

standards

Ch. 2: In Partnership with Families (Cook)Ch. 1: The Parent-Home Visitor Relationship (Klass-See D2L)Ch. 2: The Home Visitor’s Approach (Klass-See D2L)Monograph- p100 Trivette & DunstMcWilliam (2012)--SEE VIDEO OF Home Visiting--

(1) Discussion 2

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members

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Module Dates Module / Topic Course Readings Assignment(see rubrics)

Module 3 Building a Healthy Environment

Helping Children with Emotional and Behavioral Challenges

Evidence Based Practice-o PBIS

VIDEO- Practical Strategies for Teaching Social Emotional Skills

Transition PlanningFBA

Ch. 6: Promoting Emotional and Social Development (Cook)Brown & Conroy (2011)Dunlop & Fox (2011)

(1) Discussion 3(2) Part 1 of Impact on Student Learning

Module 4 Evidence Based Practiceo Family Guided Routines

Based Interventions Integrity and Monitoring

Progress Linking Curriculum to Child

Outcomes Task Analysis Lesson Plan Get the Following Curriculum

Materialso Hawaii Early Learning

Profile (HELP)o High Scopeo Carolinao Creative Curriculum

Assessment, Evaluation and Programming (AEPS)

Ch. 4: Designing Instructional Programs (Cook)Monograph- p 86 Luze & PetersonMonograph- p111 Catlett

(1) Discussion 4

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Module Dates Module / Topic Course Readings Assignment(see rubrics)

Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring BreakModule 5 Evidence Based Practice

o Family Guided Routines Based Interventions

o Developmentally Appropriate Practice

o Natural Environmentso DEC Recommended

Practiceso Inclusiono Direct Instruction

Katy (2011)Parette et al. (2010)Goldstein (2012)Swanson et al. (2011)DEC- Strands 2 & 3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-h4IHIqkcc

(1) Discussion 5(2) Curriculum Review & Presentation(3) Part 1-2 of Impact on Student Learning

Module 6 Evidence Based Practiceo Embedded Instruction

IFSP & IEP Linking Assessment to

Curriculum Curriculum framework Embedding Standards Transition Planning Adapting the Environment Motor Development Cara’s Kit Communication Interventions Augmentative and Alternative

Communication

Ch. 3: Developing Individualized Intervention Plans and Programs and Monitoring Progress (Cook)Ch. 7: Helping Young Children Develop Motor and Self Help Skills (Cook)Ch. 8 Nurturing Communication Skills (Cook)

Monograph- p16 Pretti-Frontczak et al.Monograph- p29 McCormick et al.

(1) Discussion 6(2) Lesson Plans(3) Development of Classroom Plan

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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Module Dates Module / Topic Course Readings Assignment(see rubrics)

Module 7 Demonstration of Cognitive Skills

Facilitating Development of communication and cognitive skills

Evidence Based Practiceo Dialogic Readingo Embedded Instructiono Interactive Book

Reading Components of Play for

learning Components of Assessment

through PlayEmbedding Learning Outcomes

Ch. 9. Encouraging the Development of Cognitive Skills and Literacy (Cook)Jung & Grisham-Brown (2006)Byington & Whitby (2011)Greenwood et al., (2011)

Ch. 7:Play, Learning, and Development (Klass-See D2L)

Importance of Play - http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=jApW2tilJOI http://www.goplayproject.org/

2010/06/importance-of-play/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHwXlcHcTHc

(1) Discussion 7(2) Parts 1-3 of Impact on Student Learning

Exam Week DUE- Post to D2L, Monday 8pm Exam Week:

-Development of IFSP/IEP

-FBA

DUE- Post to D2L, Monday 8pm Exam Week:

-Development of IFSP/IEP

-FBA

DUE- Post to D2L, Monday 8pm Exam Week:

-Development of IFSP/IEP

-FBA

**Details of the syllabus and the calendar may change based on needs and progress of the class members.

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SPED 628 Seminar: Current Issues and Trends in ECSE (3 Credits)

Instructor: Aaron R. Deris, Ph.D., Department of Special Education Office: Instructor – Suite 332, Edina Location; Department – 313 Armstrong Hall Phone and e-mail: 952.818.8878 • aaron.deris@mnsu.eduOffice Hours: Monday & Tuesday- 1 – 5:30pm, or by appointment Course Meetings: Tuesdays 5:30 – 8:15pm

Texts: Teacher Performance Assessment: Special Education Handbook

Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing Professional Practice. VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Student Teacher Handbook.

Course DescriptionThis course is designed to support student teachers in completing requirements for the teacher work sample that is required for licensure. It is intended to provide a forum for group problem-solving and support as teacher candidates experience what it’s like to be an ECSE teacher in their student teaching placement. The course is a hybrid model, including face-to-face meetings and on-line discussions related to topics of interest and immediacy to student teachers.

Student Outcomes:

The student teacher will complete the following skills under each domain:

1. Planning and Preparation

Recognize that it's necessary to know and understand students’ developmental characteristics, background, interests and abilities; use several strategies to gain this information and apply it to planning.

Through application of writing IEP and IFSP learning objectives that synthesize instructional tasks/activities, match unit goals with them being written in terms of student learning, permit viable methods of assessment, and developmentally suitable for students.

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Demonstrate solid content knowledge, make connections within developmental domains through the application of writing, conducting assessments, synthesizing information into IEP/IFSP, and through providing explanations to parents and other professionals at evaluation meetings.

Demonstrate an understanding of effective instruction by planning a variety of methods, activities and materials which align with lesson objectives, support meaningful learning, and accommodate different approaches to learning; consistently use standard lesson designs which reflect instructional strategies appropriate to the discipline(s).

Apply knowledge of current recommended practice in the area of assessment by planning and using a variety of formal assessments to gauge student learning and/or to plan lessons; assessments align with learning objectives and contain criteria that is clearly communicated to and understood by students; use assessment to plan for the whole class or for groups of students; maintain accurate and up-to-date records on student performance

2. Enhancing the Learning Environment: Synthesize and apply effective communication techniques and current

recommended practices in the area of working with students and families to demonstrate rapport with students and actively take into account students’ background, experiences and developmental levels. Student teacher-student interactions are appropriate and comfortable. There is evidence of mutual respect.

Demonstrate a genuine culture for learning, with commitment to the subject on the part of the teacher and students, high expectations for student achievement, and student pride in work. Both students and student teacher perform at consistently high levels. Student teacher’s expectations for students are appropriate and take into account the students’ experiences and needs.

Demonstrate an understanding by synthesizing research and recommended practices and applying this information to develop classrooms that are safe and allow easy access for all students; use physical resources and creates a room arrangement that supports a variety of learning activities; create a welcoming classroom by displaying materials and student work that enhance the learning environment

In a home visitor position, analyze the role of teacher in terms of being sensitive to family needs and cultural norms. Reflect on how to be warm and inviting of parent participation during home visits.

3. Teaching for Student Learning: Communicate clearly and accurately to students of all abilities and backgrounds,

both orally and in writing; use established procedures and routines and develop new ones.

Apply research and evidenced based practices regarding questioning and discussion and other instructional approaches that reflect meaningful participation by students of various abilities and background.

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Effectively incorporate knowledge of child development into instructional planning and meet the needs of individual learners by accommodating their developmental levels.

4. Professionalism: Through self-evaluation, reflect on specific examples of successes and areas

needing improvement can provide several suggestions for improvement. Synthesize current literature regarding evidence-based practices to find ways to

help all students meet learning goals regardless of ability or background and suggest specific examples to do so.

Maintain positive relationships with colleagues and frequently collaborate outside of the classroom to coordinate learning activities or address other concerns related to teaching.

Complete assigned and unassigned responsibilities without reminders or direct supervision. Attendance and punctuality are appropriate.

Communicate frequently with families and successfully engage them in the instructional program; provide information to parents on both positive and negative aspects of student progress.

Minnesota Board of Teaching Core Skills for Teachers of Special Education:Early Childhood Special Education

I=instruction; IEP; A=assessments; L=log; TPA=teacher performance assessment; LP=lesson plan; CL=class lecture

A. Foundational knowledge. A teacher of special education: early childhood understands the foundations of special education services for students with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities on which to base practice. The teacher must demonstrate knowledge of the:

I, LP, TPA, CL

(3) educational definitions, issues related to identification, and eligibility criteria pertaining to young children with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities;

A, L, TPA, IEP

B. Referral, evaluation, planning, and programming. A teacher of special education: early childhood understands and applies principles of screening, prevention and intervening early and procedures for referral, assessment, evaluation, individualized planning, programming, and placement specific to teaching students with a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities. The teacher must be able to:

IEP, LP, A, L, TPA, LP

(3) adapt and modify existing evaluation and assessment measures and methods to accommodate the abilities and specific needs of young children with developmental delays or disabilities including those with a diagnosed physical or mental condition or disorder that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay;

A, LP

(4) integrate and interpret multiple sources of information from families, educators, and others for the purpose of evaluating, planning, implementing, and monitoring the individualized family service plan, individualized education program plan, or individualized interagency intervention plan;

A, L, TPA, CL IEP

(5) design individual plans that integrate evaluation and assessment results and family concerns and priorities to determine goals, including the use of assistive technologies;

IEP, LP,

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TPAD. Collaboration and communication. A teacher of special education: early childhood cultivates and maintains positive, collaborative relationships with children and youth, families, educators, other professionals, and the community to support development and educational progress. The teacher must be able to:

IEP, L, LP, TPA, CL

(4) understand the educational roles and responsibilities of instructional and related service providers and paraprofessionals, and coordinate the provision of services to young children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families;

L, IEP, TPA, LP, CL

(5) assist the family in understanding the impact of the developmental delays or disabilities and planning for the transitions of young children;

A, IEP, L, TPA

(6) communicate and collaborate with service coordinators and providers in planning for the transition process across hospital, home, and infant and toddler, early childhood, and elementary programs; and

A, IEP, LP, L, TPA

(8) access and evaluate information, research, and emerging practices relevant to the field of early childhood special education through consumer and professional organizations, peer-reviewed journals, and other publications; and

A, LP, L, IEP, TPA, CL

E. Clinical experiences. A teacher of special education: early childhood applies the standards of effective practice through a variety of early and ongoing clinical experiences in teaching children who exhibit a broad range of developmental delays or disabilities in infant or toddler, preschool, and primary (grades K-1) settings across a range of service delivery models.

Assessments:

Participation/disposition points Completion of assignments (to include TPA Teacher Performance Assessment, IEP

and Lesson plans using department-approved templates and rubrics, other assignments relate to topics listed on the Schedule

Tentative Course Content Outline : Course Calendar At-a-glance

SESSION TOPIC

1 Introduction to course; overview of course assignments; review of D2L, icebreaker activity

2 Reflective Practice and writing in your Daily Reflective Journal

3 Requirements for ECSE licensure

4 Panel of first year teachers and their experiences

5 Working with Families of Young Children

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SESSION TOPIC

6 Understanding “Developmentally Appropriate Practice” as a Professional Early Childhood Educator

7 Website and Journal Review of Early Childhood Education and Professional Teaching Resources

8 Preparing for a job interviewComponents of a teaching portfolio

9 Mock job interviews with area Principals and Directors of Special Education

10 On-line class discussion on relevant student generated topics and student teaching experiences

11 On-line class discussion on relevant student generated topics and student teaching experiences

12 On-line class discussion on relevant student generated topics and student teaching experiences

13 On-line class discussion on relevant student generated topics and student teaching experiences

14 Teaching Portfolio Presentations

15 Teaching Portfolio Presentations

DisabilityMinnesota State University, Mankato is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in educational opportunity. MSU provides students with disabilities reasonable accommodation to participate in educational programs, activities or services. Students with disabilities requiring accommodation to participate in class activities or meet course requirements should first register with the Office of Disability Services, located in 0132 Memorial Library, at 389-2825 (voice) or TDD 711 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Instructor should be notified of this process by the end of the second week of the class.

Academic HonestyThe University policy regarding academic honesty follows and can be retrieved at http://www.mnsu.edu/policies/search/index.html?key_words=academic+honesty (retrieved June 13, 2011)In order for an academic community to teach and support appropriate educational values, an environment of trust, cooperation and personal responsibility must be maintained. As members of this University community, students assume the responsibility to fulfill their academic obligations in a fair and honest manner. This responsibility includes avoiding such inappropriate activities as plagiarism, cheating or collusion. Students found responsible for one or more of these activities may face both academic sanctions (such as lowering a grade, failing of a course, etc.) and disciplinary sanctions (such as probation, suspension, expulsion).

It is the intent of Minnesota State University, Mankato to encourage a sense of integrity on the part of

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students in fulfilling their academic requirements. To give students a better understanding of behaviors that may constitute academic dishonesty, the following definitions are provided.

Plagiarism – Submission of an academic assignment as one’s own work, which includes critical ideas or written narrative that are taken from another author without the proper citation. This does not apply only to direct quotes, but also to critical ideas that are paraphrased by the student.Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

• submitting the work of others as your own• submitting others’ work as your own with only minor changes• submitting others’ work as your own without adequate footnotes, quotations, and other reference forms• multiple submission of the same work, written or oral, for more than one course without both instructor’s permission, or making minor revisions on work which has received credit and submitting it again as new work.

Cheating – Use of unauthorized material or assistance to help fulfill academic assignments. This material could include unauthorized copies of test materials, calculators, crib sheets, help from another student, etc.

Collusion: Assistance to another student or among student in committing the act of cheating or plagiarism.

NOTE: Any assignment plagiarized will be assigned a grade of -0-

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Appendix ____

Appendix B

Teacher Preparation Unit Assessment System

Initial Licensure Programs Assessment Tiers

College’s Data Collection and Reporting for 2012-2013

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DIGESTION:

Design new courses/programs and aligned assessments

Support assessment measures; fund and/or conduct measures

Monitor how well assessment system is working and recommend improvements

Aggregate/analyze assessment data from all sources and ensure it is properly distributed.

Recommend actions to enhance student learning, based on

OFFICE OF ASSESSMENT

&RESEARCH

LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

REPORTS

NCATE/EXTERNAL

STAKEHOLDERS

DEPARTMENTS/ PROGRAMS/ CENTERS

NExT COMMITTEES;

WORK GROUPS;

REPRESENTATIVES

NExT AREA LEADS

DATA: Recruit Initial Advanced Characteristics Demographics

Academic –Indicators Admissions Value-Added

DATA: Prepare (Curriculum) Initial Advanced Entrance Survey Core

AssessmentsField Experience

DATA: Prepare (Field) Initial Advanced Student Teaching

Evaluations TPA Observations Co Teaching

Value-Added

DATA: Place Initial Advanced Exit Survey TTS Graduate Program Surveys

Hiring/Retention Data Value-Added

DATA: Support Initial Advanced Value-Added Reports PLC IDI PDS Indicators

PRE-GATE 1

GATE 1

GATE 2

GATE 3

GATE 4

POST- GATE 4

DIGESTION AND DECISIONS:Departments/Units digest and act on their data

ASSESSMENT AND

RESEARCH COMMITTEES

DATA SOURCES

DATASYSTEMS

Teacher Preparation Unit Assessment System

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Initial Licensure Programs Assessment Tiers

Alignment Assessments Target audiencesTier 1 NExT

Common metrics assessments are aligned with Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice and INTASC standards.

Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)Entry Survey (admission to professional education)Exit Survey (completion of student teaching)Transition to Teaching Survey (after one year of employment as a teacher)Supervisor Survey (after one year of employment of teacher)

Candidates intending to enroll or enrolled in teacher licensure programs across 14 teacher education institutions.

Results shared with NExT, unit faculty, PDS Governance Council, Professional Education Advisory Council, COE Assessment Committee, Secondary Education Coalition, Board of Teaching, NCATE

Tier 2 Unit

Aligned to standards within Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice and INTASC.NCATE Elements

Minnesota Teacher Licensure Examination (MTLE) Basic Skills, Content, Pedagogy examsMyWritingLab Grammar and EssayTeacher Credential Levels 1-4 (Danielson)Student Learning Impact Project (discontinued in Fall 2010 in transition to TPA)

Administered to candidates in MSU initial licensure programsMTLE results shared with candidatesResults shared with unit faculty, COE Assessment Committee, Secondary Education Coalition, Board of Teaching, NCATE

Tier 3 ProgramAligned to major concepts within Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice and INTASC.NCATE Elements

Core assessments Administered to candidates enrolled in specific programs

Results shared with program faculty, Secondary Coalition, Board of Teaching, NCATE

Tier 4 CourseAligned to standards within Minnesota Standards of Effective Practice

Assessments unique to an individual course Administered to candidates in individual courses

Results shared with individual candidates, Board of Teaching, NCATE

COE DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING

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DRAFT - 2012-2013 - DRAFTKey: CDC=Curriculum Design Committee; CM = Common Metrics; CPE/D = Coordinator of Professional Ed or Designee; D2L=Desire to Learn (University web platform for course design and delivery; EL=Extended Learning; Hezel/DMD=Contracting company for survey administration and analysis; Hyperion=MnSCU database; IR=Institutional Research; ITS – Informational Technology Services; MDE=Minnesota Department of Education; MnSCU=Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; OFIE=Office of Field and International Experiences; Results Analyzer=Pearson Inc. reporting tool; MTLE = Minnesota Teacher Licensure Examinations; MTQM = Measures of Teacher Quality in Minnesota; NExT = Network for Excellence in Teaching; SIMS = Student Information Management System; TPA = Teacher Performance Assessment; TTS=Transition to Teaching Survey; VARC=Value-Added Research Center (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Report Point of Contact Due Date Frequency Data Sources Level Intended Audience

PEDS CPE/D, NCATE Coordinator

April Annual IR; Finance; PassPort; SIMS;OFIS; CDC; EL; Personnel; ITS

National AACTE

Title II CPE/D, Office of IR April Annual IR; PassPort; SIMS; Results AnalyzerField service;Content area goals;Admissions; Curriculum documents; ITS; if available CDC employer surveys; TTS

National State,federal regulation, Website (required by law)

NCATE Institutional Report

NCATE Coordinator, CPE/D, COE Dean, Director of Assessment and Research

March 2012 Annually (April); 7 year Review

IR; PassPort; SIMS; multiple sources

National NCATE Review Team

MTLE Reports CPE/D, Administrative Assistant for Academic Advising

Monthly data uploads

1 x per semester (and by request program)

Pearson (Results Analyzer)

State Unit faculty, state, federal regulators,

MTQM Education Research October or IR; PassPort; SIMS; State MDE, BOT, MACTE

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Systems Liaison, CPE November Annual Licensure CoordinatorAssessment Point of Contact Due Date Frequency Data

AdministrationLevel Intended

AudienceBUSH Foundation Milestone Report

Director of School-University Partnership & NExT Area Leads

Variable Periodic (bi-annual)

PassPort; SIMS; IR; MnSCU

Bush, IHE Partner

Bush Board of Trustees

Common Metrics Report

Director of Assessment and Research

Summer Annual PassPort; SIMS; VARC; Hezel/DMD

Bush, IHE Partner

Bush Board of Trustees,Bush Partner IHE’s, other stakeholder

Enrollment Report (Freshman-Senior/Graduate declared Licensure majors)

Office of IR, Education Research Systems Liaison, Director of Assessment and Research

Fall/Spring semesters

Annual or Bi-annual

IR; PassPort; SIMS University Bush Board of Trustees,Bush Partner IHE’s, PDS Governance Council

Recruitment and Retention Report

Maverick Recruitment Coordinator

May Annual IR; PassPort; SIMS; ITS (Hyperion)

Unit Unit faculty and administrators, Bush Foundation, otherstakeholders

Entry to Teacher Preparation (Professional Education) Survey (CM)

Director of Assessment and Research,Student Relations Coordinator

Fall/Spring semester

1 X per semester

PassPort Bush, IHE Partner

Unit Faculty and administrators; COE committees and Leadership groupsBush Board of Trustees,Bush Partner IHE’s, other stakeholders

Exit Survey (CM) Director of Assessment and Research,Director OFIE

Fall/Spring semester

1 X per semester

PassPort Bush, IHE Partner

Unit faculty, COE Assessment Committee,

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Leadership Council, Bush Board of Trustees, Bush Partner IHE’s

Assessment Point of Contact Due Date Frequency Data Administration

Level Intended Audience

Transition to Teaching Survey (CM)

Director of Assessment and Research, Education Research Systems Liaison, MnSCU Research Analyst for Teacher Preparation

Springsemester

Annual Hezel/DMD Bush, IHE Partner

Unit faculty and administrators, COE Assessment Committee, Leadership Council, Bush Board of Trustees, Bush Partner IHE’s, PDS Governance Council

Employer-Supervisor Survey (CM)

Director of Assessment and Research, Education Research Systems Liaison, MnSCU Research Analyst for Teacher Preparation

Springsemester

Annual Hezel/DMD Bush, IHE Partner

Unit faculty and administrators, COE Assessment Committee, Leadership Council, Bush Board of Trustees, Bush Partner IHE’s

Admission to Professional Education

Student Relations Coordinator, Education Research Systems Liaison

Fall/Spring semester

1 or 2 times per year

SIMS; Flatfiles Unit Unit faculty and administrators

Advanced Program Follow up surveys

NCATE Coordinator Fall/Spring/Summer

Annual PassPort; Flatfiles; Alumni Office; Survey Monkey

Unit Unit faculty and administrators

Admission to advanced programs

Program Coordinators Fall/Spring/Summer

PassPort; Flatfiles Unit Unit faculty and administrators

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Teacher Credential Level IV (Summative)

Director OFIE Fall/Springsemester

1 x per semester

D2L; university supervisors

Unit COE faculty

Cooperating Teacher Survey

Director OFIE Spring semester 1 x per semester

PassPort; Survey Monkey

Unit University supervisors, NCATE Coordinator

Field experience cooperating teacher

Assistant Director OFIE Fall/Spring semester

1 x per semester

PassPort; Survey Monkey

Unit CDC, NCATE Coordinator

Assessment Point of Contact Due Date Frequency Data Administration

Level Intended Audience

Diversity Analysis of Field Experiences

NCATE Graduate Assistant,Assistant Director OFIE

Spring semester Annual Flatfiles; MDE Unit Unit faculty

Background checks (Field Experience) Confidential

Director OFIE,Assistant Director OFIE

Fall/Spring semester

1 x per semester

SIMS Unit (Confidential) OFIE and District building principals

Intercultural Developmental Inventory

Director of Assessment and Research,Director OFIE

Summer Annual IDI; Flatfiles Unit COE faculty

Variance Requests Coordinator of Professional Education/Student Relations Coordinator

Fall/Spring semester

1 x per semester

SIMS Unit OFIE, Advisors, Unit Faculty, Leadership Council

Assistance Plans CPE/D, Student Relations Coordinator

Fall/Spring semester

1 x per semester

SIMS Unit Advisors, Unit Faculty, Leadership Council

Enrollment/Supply/Demand Analysis

Education Research System Liaison, Director of Assessment and Research

Summer Annual IR; MnSCU; MDE;Other

Unit Unit faculty, Bush Foundation

Core Assessments Department Chairs, Fall/Spring 1 x per PassPort; Flatfiles Program Unit faculty

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(Programs) Assessment Committee Representatives

semester semester

Teacher Performance Assessment

CPE/D, Director OFIE Fall/Springsemester

Annual (or 1 x per semester)

D2L; Pearson or internal scoring

Unit Unit faculty, Bush Foundation

Field Experience Evaluations (Teacher Credential Levels I-III)

Assistant Director OFIE Fall/Springsemester

1 x per semester

PassPort; D2L Unit COE faculty, Bush Foundation

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Appendix____

Appendix ___

Letter of Support from Advisory Board Members, VARC, Partner Districts

Karen BalmerExecutive Director, Minnesota Board of Teaching

Joan Breslin-LarsonMinnesota Department of Education

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Appendix R

Appendix R

References

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