Foundations in Research and Evaluation of Psychoeducational Issues in Special Education

Catalog description

This course is designed to introduce candidates to a range of children and adolescents with exceptional learning needs (ELN), to the intent of special education law and the process of identification and evaluation of exceptional learners, and to the foundational research on the complex issues and problems that affect these students. Topics include methods of identifying and working effectively with children and youth with special learning needs in the regular classroom; the roles and responsibility of counselors, psychologists, educators and ancillary personnel as members of a multidisciplinary team in planning educational services for exceptional learners; laws that impact on assessment, placement, parent and student rights, and support services. In this course, candidates are introduced to a range of quantitative and qualitative research designs and the methodological tools to analyze data. Through discussion of issues, candidates consider how research can be a valuable tool that helps teachers systematically reflect on learning and evidence-based practices. Using current scholarly research articles, each candidate investigates, writes, and presents on a psychoeducational issue that impacts a specific category of exceptional learners. This course requires a fieldwork component as part of the evaluation process. Crosslisted with SPED 4403 .