INDIANA PROGRAM REVIEW
Special Education (Mild Intervention)
Indiana University – Purdue University at Fort Wayne
Document # 1
A. UNIT SUMMARY
Program Description
The Special Education Certification Program in Mild Interventions at IPFW is a teacher
preparation program for those professional wanting to educate students with Mild Disabilities.
IPFW students, who complete the program, are eligible for Mild Intervention certification
through the State of Indiana which includes Learning Disabilities (LD), Mild Mental Handicaps
(MiMH), and Emotional Handicaps (EH).
This special education program includes coursework dealing with characteristics of students
with Mental Retardation, Learning Disabilities, and Emotional Handicaps. Additionally, the
coursework addresses current best practices of cognitive and behavioral methodologies in the
inclusive classroom, as well as differentiated instruction in the general education classroom.
The coursework is balanced by courses in consultation & collaboration, transitions, standardized
assessment, behavior management, inclusion, and trends & issues in Special Education.
For teacher candidates to obtain a Mild Intervention Teaching Certification he/she needs to
satisfactorily complete 26-credits of undergraduate coursework in Special Education. The
teacher candidate is eligible to complete the coursework if he/she is currently enrolled in the
School of Education Teacher Education Program as a general education major or if he/she has
recently completed the general education program and wishes to continue for the special
education license.
The required courses are available at:
http://www.ipfw.edu/edst/assets/documents/pdfs/mildint2006.pdf. Additionally, a course
description is under the K201-K505 course information at http://www.ipfw.edu/educ/courses.
The first course is EDUC K 201 and EDUC K 206. The other prerequisites and co-requisites are
listed with each course. For both courses, EDUC K 371 and EDUC K 352 there is a co-requisite
course (M201 or M301), which consists of 30 hours each of field experience in a school with
students with disabilities. The last course in the program of study is M470 which is a practicum
in special education.
B. Teacher Education Courses
IPFW School of Education Conceptual Framework
In support of our School of Education Conceptual Framework, the Special Education
Program in the Department of Educational Studies emphasizes the interrelated aspect of each of
the six core components within its curriculum and program delivery. While individual courses
may focus on some aspects of the framework more than others, we are confident that our
courses and programs as a whole, embrace this central core of teacher training and development.
Due to the current national testing and assessment movement, content Knowledge is critical for
effective educators to comprehend. Educators need to understand how knowledge is
constructed, how the processes of inquiry are applied, how domains of knowledge are
established, how disciplines can be integrated, and how this information can effectively be
communicated to students. Understanding content knowledge is critical however, it cannot be
viewed in isolation from the other five components. Democracy and Community is the second
key component that we encourage in the Department of Educational Studies. Educators need an
understanding of the moral, cultural, social, political, and economic foundations of our
community and society in order to foster democratic concepts within the school community.
Effective educators understand that knowledge alone is not sufficient. Within the third
component, Habits of Mind, our students practice critical reflection within the context of a
compassionate, caring community with the goal of fostering these habits to engage learners in
the critical aspects of the learning process. Without an understanding of Pedagogy, our students
would not understand the multiple roles of the teaching such as facilitator, guide, role model,
scholar, and motivator. Without an understanding of pedagogy, educators would not understand
the diverse perspectives of learning and understanding and the social circumstances that they
and their students bring to the educational setting. Without rich Experiences both in and out of
the traditional classroom, candidate skills would lie dormant and unrefined. The last
component, Leadership, provides our candidates the educational and social vision necessary to
inspire others, both students and colleagues, to accept the educational challenges of the twentyfirst century.
The Unit Assessment System
The Unit Assessment System (UAS) in the School of Education at Indiana University –
Purdue University at Fort Wayne was created in response to a professional responsibility to
ensure that our programs are of the highest quality. This dynamic assessment system is
continually evaluated to insure that 1) instruction and curriculum are aligned with professional,
state, and institutional standards (e.g., the Conceptual Framework and Mission Statement); 2)
courses, field experiences, and programs are efficient; and 3) content knowledge and the
demonstration of teaching that leads to a student teaching experience that reflects the attainment
of core concepts.
A key component of the UAS within the Special Education Endorsement Program is the
systematic review of the on-going teacher candidate portfolio. This portfolio is introduced in
our Invitation to Teaching course (F300) and students are provided a copy of the Guidelines for
Preparing a Portfolio that they continually refer to as they progress through our program.
Instruction in the Mathematics Teaching Program professional course sequence is a faculty team
effort. Professional Teacher Education courses are currently offered in two clusters with a
culminating experience of 16 weeks of a student teaching experience. Faculty teaching in these
block courses normally meet at the beginning and end of each semester to discuss levels of
organization and changes that need to address emerging issues and improvement of the
program. Portfolio checkpoints are located at four distinct locations within the program: F300,
at the conclusion of Blocks I, II, and at the exit portfolio during the student teaching semester.
At each portfolio checkpoint, candidates are provided feedback to allow them to continually
build and revise their portfolios up to their student teaching experience. The Special Education
Teaching Program engages in a continuous review process and the School of Education Unit
Assessment Taskforce receives data from the unit assessment system on an annual basis for
review.
The School of Education Assessment System
A candidate record or file is established for all applicants to the School of Education teacher
education programs. This school-wide assessment system is structured around several data
gathering components. All candidates are assessed at several benchmark points 1) admission to
teacher education with minimum grades in specific course, minimum completion hours,
minimum grade point average, and passing scores on the Praxis I exam, 2) retention in teacher
education based on minimum grade point average, 3) eligibility to student teach, 4) eligibility to
graduate and/or complete requirements for licensure (including passing scores on the Praxis II
exam), 5) completion of a successful student teaching experience, and 6) the completion of a
passing exit portfolio discussed above.
Teacher Education Courses
Below is a list of teacher education courses required of all Special Education Endorsement
Teacher Education candidates. Required content specific pedagogy courses are located in
Document # 2. See the following link for campus course descriptions.
http://bulletin.ipfw.edu/content.php?catoid=1&navoid=5
EDUA F300
EDUC H340
EDUC K201
EDUC K206
EDUC K352
EDUC K371
EDUC M101
EDUC M201
EDUC M448
EDUC M470
EDUC M480
EDUC M501
EDUC P250
EDUC P253
EDUC W200
EDUC X401
C. Program Field Experience
Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of a beginning teacher as outlined by the
INTASC Standards.
Program Field Experiences Chart
Course #/Title or
Program
Requirement
Purpose of Field
Experience
Number of Required
Hours in P-12
Classroom
Candidate Required
Tasks
M201 (with K352)
To gain experience
working with P-12
students with mild
disabilities. This field
experience focuses
on planning and
implementing
instruction.
30 hours per semester
Candidate plans and
implements a minimum
of 3 lesson plans.
Candidate will work on
skills in remediation and
student support.
M301 (with K371)
To gain experience
working with P-12
students with mild
disabilities. This field
experience focuses
on assessment of
students and using
the assessment data
30 hours per semester
Candidate selects an
appropriate standardized
assessment for a P-12
student, conducts and
scores the assessment
and writes a report.
Candidate will then plan
and implement a lesson
for planning and
implementing
instruction.
that will address the P12 student’s areas of
concern.
M 470 Practicum in
Mild Intervention
To gain experience
working with P-12
students with mild
disabilities. This field
experience focuses
on all aspects of
teaching; assessment,
planning and
implementing
instruction.
6 weeks FT
M101 (with W200)
Facilitate the use of
technology hardware
and software with
children.
3
M201 (with P250)
Supervised field
experience during
which candidates
apply knowledge
gained in the college
classroom.
30
M201 (with P253)
Supervised field
experience during
which candidates
apply knowledge
gained in the college
classroom.
30
M401 (with M448)
Supervised field
experience during
which candidates
apply knowledge
gained in the college
classroom.
30
Candidate will assess P12 students in an
educational setting.
Candidate will plan and
implement multiple
lessons to meet the IEP
goals of P-12 students in
the classroom.
Candidate will work on
remediation skills and
student supports and
assisting cooperating
teacher in all appropriate
tasks.
Plan, implement, and
reflect on using
technology (internet
activities and software)
with children.
Use observational data
to experience and
address the candidates’
understanding of the
physical, social, and
intellectual
environments of
secondary classrooms.
Demonstrate evidence
of applying INTASC
standards as well as all
information gained in
coursework.
Use observational data
to experience and
address the candidates’
understanding of the
physical, social, and
intellectual
environments of
secondary classrooms.
Demonstrate evidence
of applying INTASC
standards as well as all
information gained in
coursework.
Plan and implement
content experiences;
perform formal and
informal assessments;
other tasks as assigned
by Cooperating Teacher.
Demonstrate evidence
M470 (ms practicum)
Demonstrate the
knowledge, skills,
and dispositions of a
beginning teacher as
outlined by the
INTASC Standards.
6 weeks FT
M480 (student teach)
Demonstrate the
knowledge, skills,
and dispositions of a
beginning teacher as
outlined by the
INTASC Standards.
10 weeks FT
of applying INTASC
standards as well as all
information gained in
coursework.
Candidates engage fully
in the planning,
implementing, assessing
(e.g., student learning),
and evaluating of the
effectiveness of their
teaching. Demonstrate
evidence of applying
INTASC standards as
well as all information
gained in coursework.
Candidates engage fully
in the planning,
implementing, assessing
(e.g., student learning),
and evaluating of the
effectiveness of their
teaching. Demonstrate
evidence of applying
INTASC standards as
well as all information
gained in coursework.