Syllabus

Instructor Information

Name: Eva-Marie Lee, Ed.S. in Educational Technology, M.Ed. in Special Education

Contact Information: mrsevalee@yahoo.com, 601-917-4936 (text first)

Twitter: EvaLee71

Office Hours: Online, by appointment (CST) via email requests.

Availability: Anytime by appointment, open to Email, Zoom, Webex, etc.

Course Description

This is a twelve-month professional development course intended to improve your knowledge and instruction of special education transition practices based on the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Association for Secondary Education and Transition, and the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition standards, indicators, and evidence-based practices.  Through this course, you will be able to ethically implement strategies that affect employment, education/training, and community and daily living skills along with social, emotional, behavioral, and self-determination and self-advocacy skills that affect the lifetime of a person with a disability.  

Prerequisites for this course include at least one course for exceptional children or special education. It is also expected that you have some experience with students with disabilities within a classroom. 

Course Outcomes

Based on the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Standards (Links to an external site.), by the end of this course in-service and pre-service special education teachers of students with disabilities (SWD) will be able to...

Standard 1: Engage in Professional Learning and Practice within Ethical Guidelines
Standard 2: Understand and Address Each Individual’s Developmental and Learning Needs
Standard 3: Demonstrate Subject Matter Content and Specialized Curricular Knowledge (our focus is on Special Education Transition)
Standard 4: Use Assessment to Understand the Learner and the Learning Environment for Data-Based Decision Making
Standard 5: Support Learning Using Effective and Evidence-Based Instruction
Standard 6: Support Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Growth of SWDC
​Standard 7: Collaborate with Team Members

Course Objectives

1. Examine the ethical dilemmas within the history, laws, and current issues of special education transition.
 2. Differentiate and address individual developmental and learning needs with specific evidence-based instruction related to the 13 categories of disability in the IDEA.
3. Determine best practices of informal assessment and collaboration through person-centered practices.
4. Support learning, social, emotional, and behavioral growth through evidence-based instruction in self-determination and self-advocacy.
​5. Examine best practices to plan for social, emotional, and behavioral growth of students with disabilities.
6. Evaluate the use of universal design for learning to address a wide range of developmental and learning needs.
7. Explain the role of transition, co-teaching, assessment, and other methods of collaboration and classroom support for inclusive classes.
8. Demonstrate specialized curricular knowledge, evidence-based practices, and appropriate assessments that support learning employment skills.
9. Demonstrate specialized curricular knowledge, evidence-based practices, and appropriate assessments that support learning education/training skills.
​10. Demonstrate specialized curricular knowledge, evidence-based practices, and appropriate assessments that support learning community and independent living skills.
11. Construct a best-practices in collaboration toolkit for working with IEP team members, including families, fellow education professionals, and agencies.

Course Materials

There will be many readings and resources given throughout the course, but they will be provided by links.  As such, there are no books required.  All you need for this course are internet connectivity and technical skills as described below. Additionally, you will need to subscribe to free memberships for NTACT-C and the Transition Coalition.

Internet Connectivity. 

You need an up-to-date computer with an Internet connection for this course.

Technical Skills Recommended for Course Success

You will benefit from the ability to
Email your instructor and peers
Upload and attach documents and images
Use a discussion forum or online bulletin board
Use Word documents, Powerpoints, .PDFs/Google Slides, Google Docs to create Hyperdocs
Use video and audio media (including YouTube and Flipgrid)
Begin, format, and maintain a Blog or a professional/personal website
Use spreadsheets and databases (either Microsoft or Google)
Use Chrome addons
Embed widgets via HTML code (embed Google Maps in a Document, or a YouTube Video into a professional site)

Memberships & Accounts

If you do not have one already, you will need to create a free account for The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition Collaborative (Links to an external site.) and The Transition Coalition (Links to an external site.).  There will be assignments related to these two sites.

If you are a special education transition teacher, I also recommend that you become a member of the Council for Exceptional Children (Links to an external site.), especially the Division on Career Development and Transition.  The materials available for members contain invaluable information that will assist you in your professional learning.

Grading

After accomplishing one hundred points in each section, you will earn a badge.  After completing 10 badges and a final summative project, you will earn a badge for the completion of the entire course.  Badges are listed along with the names of those who have earned them on the final page of this course.

Schedule of Learning Activities

You will have a month for each module. All items are due at the end of the month.

Month 1- Course Introduction and Brief History, Laws, and Current Issues
-- Read through Syllabus
-- Introduce yourself. Sign in via discussion board (your name, the number of years in secondary special education, and what you are most looking forward to learning from this course)-15 points
--Complete the survey based on a modified PISA checklist (Links to an external site.) to help me understand the current state of transition education in your community.-25 points-- Create a discussion blog  post discussing the three most important transition laws and related court cases- 25 points (and respond to another person's discussion post)-15 points
--After post on Twitter something you have learned in this lesson (tag @EvaLee71 in reply).-20 points (You may also post on Instagram and Facebook if you prefer. Email me regarding what to tag).

Month 2- IDEA Disabilities (You need 100 Points to Complete this Module)

-- Create an overview of a child's disability related to a case study and post it to the discussion board for this unit - 80 points

-- Discussion Board. Post a reply to one classmate on their original post.- 20 points

Month 3-Person-Centered Planning (You need 100 Points to Complete this Module)
-- Evaluating a Student's Needs in Person-Centered Planning --20 points
-- Analyzing and Developing Tools/Processes of Person-Centered Planning- 30 points
-- Person-Centered Planning Presentation - 50 points

Month 5-Self-Determination (You need 100 Points to Complete this Module)
-- Culture Chart - 20 points
-- Discussion Board - 20 points
-- Presentation - 60 points

Month 6-Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Planning (You need 100 Points to Complete this Module)
-- Create a behavior plan for a student using evidence-based practices
-- Create a lesson to teach communication for a student using evidence-based practices
-- Analyze a student's social, emotional, and behavioral needs with an FBA.

Month 7-Universal Design for Learning (You need 100 Points to Complete this Module)
-- Triangle, Square, Circle Reflection - 3 points
-- My + Your Course Analyses (Self-Scoring Rubric)- 2 points each = 4 points
-- Flipgrid Reflection - 3 points

Month 8-Inclusive Practices and Classroom Support (You need 100 Points to Complete this Module)
-- Examine scenarios for inclusive practices and classroom support
-- Explain the role of support and assessment regarding transition in inclusive classes.
-- Develop a list of co-teaching responsibilities and collaboration practices

Month 9-Employment (You need 100 Points to Complete this Module)
-- Create an environmental assessment for a given student using a local workplace.
-- Curate a list of local employment resources within each of the 16 career clusters.
-- Create a plan to improve employment outcomes for students using evidence-based practices.
-- Analyze students' needs for employment assessment and create an assessment plan for students on your roster.

 

Month 10-Education and Training (You need 100 Points to Complete this Module)
-- Using video, demonstrate the use of evidence-based practices.
-- Analyze students' needs for education/training assessment and create an assessment plan for students on your roster.
-- Evaluate students' needs for future education/training and, using local resources, create a plan for each student on your roster.

Month 11-Independent Living (You need 100 Points to Complete this Module)
-- Using video, demonstrate the use of evidence-based practices.
-- Analyze students' needs for independent living assessment and create an assessment plan for students on your roster.
--Evaluate students' needs for future independent living and, using local resources, create a plan for each student on your roster. 

​Month 12-Collaborative Practices (You need 100 Points to Complete this Module)
-- Construct a best practices in collaboration toolkit for working with IEP team members
-- Construct a best practices in collaboration toolkit for working with families.
-- Construct a best practices in collaboration toolkit for working with fellow education professionals. 
-- Construct a best practices in collaboration toolkit for working with local agencies.

 

Final Celebration - Completing the Training
--Evaluate your school needs for transition and create a plan to improve your school's implementation of transition practices using the Predictor Implementation School/District Self-Assessment from the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition Collaborative (Links to an external site.). The results of the assessment and the plan may be sent to me via email. Alternatively, given some district privacy requirements, you may send a certified letter from your administrator stating that the plan has been completed and reviewed by your administrator.

Rubrics 

A list of links to rubrics will be available here when I finish them.

• Discussion Board
• Blog
• Presentation

Student Expectations 

In this course, you may need to put in at least three hours a week. You will also need to participate in collaborative discussions and projects.  This means you will need to work together, plan together, and listen to each other's ideas. If you need help of any kind or have questions, just let me know, and I will be happy to work with you. What you get out of a course like this will be based on what you put into it.  

Privacy Information

Throughout this course, I will be asking you to post assessments online. There is no way, in this case, for me to protect your privacy.  Please be aware of posting information that may endanger your privacy or that of your students.  Never use a student's name or age in this course and never mention your school system, location, or other personally identifiable information other than your name, education level, and the number of years in service. 

Academic Honesty

All work in this course is expected to be your own. Copyright infringements of material (whether written, audio, video, images, etc.) are a serious issue. If it is found at any time that you have plagiarized or violated licensing and copyright laws, you will be denied the right to continue this course and have your name removed from any badges already earned, even if you have already finished this course.  As such, you will find information related to protecting copyright laws and avoiding plagiarism here.

ADA, Accommodations, and Inclusivity

If you require any accommodations or perceive any barriers to instruction or assessments, whether due to a disability or personal or professional issues, or if you are simply feeling overwhelmed within this course, please contact me at mrsevalee@yahoo.com, and I will try to address the issue in whatever way I can or I can put you in touch with another person who can help, depending on the need.  Ultimately, my goal is for you to succeed, so your students can succeed.

I expect all students within this course to be civil, respectful, and supportive of each other.  This is the only way to protect learning for all. As such read your peers' work.  If you disagree with an academic point, criticize the ideas, not the person, and explain your reasoning.  It is preferable to back up your reasoning with research.  Allow everyone to express their own ideas, and realize that sometimes those ideas or experiences may be different from your own, so ask clarifying questions if you don't understand another person's point of view.  Above all, avoid inflammatory language and pay heed to other people's preferences to language.

 

Alternate Syllabus Format

Google Docs Format (Links to an external site.)