Special Needs - Initial Licensure

General Information Special Needs (Pre-K-8, 5-12)

The program in Special Needs prepares professionals to work with children with moderate disabilities at the Pre-K and 5-12 levels who participate in integrated or self contained classrooms. These Programs Lead to Initial and Professional Licensure in Moderate Disabilities (Pre-K-8, 5-12).  The programs meet the following common core objectives by:

• Providing students with a view of cognitive development of children and adolescents, learning theory for all learners, the philosophical implications for the regular education integration model (REI), and the utilization of behavioral management principles.
• Making students aware of educational terminology for students with mild to moderate disabilities and knowledge of services provided by other agencies.
• Providing opportunities for identification and remediation of various mild to moderate disability conditions.
• Providing experiences in the field to enhance observational skills and an awareness of curriculum adaptation.
• Providing opportunities to develop assessment skills and in particular, reporting, informal information: sensory motor checklists, pre-school screening, receptive and expressive language development.
• Providing opportunities to develop experience to adapt curriculum goals, create materials, select technologically appropriate tools and prepare, implement, and evaluate individual education programs (IEPs).
• Providing opportunities to integrate and federal regulations pertaining to special education.
• Providing experiences for students to view the role of families and the community-at-large in dealing with various mild to moderate disabilities conditions of all learners.

The distinction between the different grade level licensures (i.e., Pre-K-8 and 5-12) lies in:

• The entrance requirements (e.g., prior course work and provisional licensure);
• The number of clock hours and the grade level for the practicum experience; and
• Assignments within courses that address the grade level at which the student is pursuing licensure.

Specific Admission Requirements

• application form and fee;
• statement of professional goals;
• official transcripts of all academic work (at a minimum a Bachelor’s degree);
• two letters of recommendation;
• a passing score on the communication & Literacy test (MTEL)
• a copy of all Massachusetts teacher license, if any; and
• official score on either the Miller’s Analogy or GRE.

Program of Study

Notes: Courses required for obtaining Initial Licensure in Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8, 5-12) are marked below with (*).

Pre-practicum courses are marked below with (**)

Practicum placements will be appropriate to the level of the license sought, PreK-8 or 5-12 and will meet the required clock hours for those levels and are marked below with (***).

• ED 580 - Innovative Practices in Education (Cr: 3)
• ED 581 - Technology in Education: An Integrated Approach (Cr: 3)
• ED 582 - Research Methods (Cr: 3)
• EDC 510 - Policy Analysis, Leadership and the Change Process (Cr: 3)
• EDC 570 - Understanding the Dynamics of Student Aspirations (Cr: 3)
• SPN 500 - Special Delivery and the Inclusion: Model for Students with Special Needs (Cr: 3)

• * (See note above)

• SPN 501 - Methods and Materials for Curriculum Development of Special Needs Programs (Cr: 3)

• * (See note above)

• ** (See note above)

• SPN 502 - Curriculum Development for Learners with Special Needs (Cr: 3)

• * (See note above)

• SPN 504 - Assessment and Educational Planning (Cr: 3)

• * (See note above)

• SPN 505 - Reflective Seminar: Teacher of Special Needs (Cr: 3)

• * (See note above)

• *** (See note above)

• SPN 506 - Nature and Needs of Students with Moderate Disabilities (Cr: 3)

• * (See note above)

• SPN 510 - Practicum Experience: Teacher of Special Needs (Cr: 3)

• * (See note above)

• *** (See note above)

Completion of the Program