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Counseling Psychology and Special Education 400
Winter 2011
Brigham Young University
Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education
Course Title:
Exceptional Students: Principles of Collaboration
Course Credit:
2 semester hours
Instructor:
Katie E. Steed, M.S.
katie_steed@byu.edu
Course Description: This course prepares future classroom teachers to understand how students with
exceptionalities learn, and to use basic strategies for meeting their educational needs. Participants will
identify: the ways individuals differ, the exceptionalities defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, strategies to instruct students with various learning needs, curricular adaptations and accommodations for
students with disabilities, and ways to collaborate with parents and professionals.
Prerequisites: None
Concurrent field experience: Work a minimum of 12 hours with a student with disabilities (or a student who is
at-risk of failure) in a regular school classroom.
Text:


Inclusive Classroom: Strategies for Effective Differential Instruction. Mastropieri & Scruggs
Making Accommodations and Adaptations for Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities: Carter,
Prater & Dyches
IRIS Web Modules:
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/resources.html
Go to the above website and link into the following topics as assigned (if website is down, it may help to
Google “IRIS Modules” and find it that way):
 RTI Part 1 RTI (Part 1): An Overview
 RTI Part 3: Reading Instruction
 Who’s in Charge: Developing a Comprehensive Behavior Management System
 SOS: Helping Students Become Independent Learners
 Addressing Disruptive and Noncompliant Behaviors (Part 1)
For each module please do the following activities: Challenge, Thoughts and Perspectives & Resources and
submit via email your responses to the questions on the Assessment and Wrap Up sections by the day they are
due.
Guiding Framework: As a department, we embrace the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support
Consortium (INTASC) Standards as our guiding framework for preparing teacher candidates.
The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Standards: The INTASC standards
center on five major propositions: (1) Teachers are committed to students and their learning. (2) Teachers
know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to diverse learners. (3) Teachers are responsible
for managing and monitoring student learning. (4) Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn
from experience. (5) Teachers are members of learning communities.
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Course Objectives: This course is designed to meet the requirements needed for a state of Utah teaching
license in Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Special Education and to also meet the standards
of the Council for Exceptional Children
Course Content:
This course is organized into two parts, each of which must be successfully completed to receive a passing
grade for the course. The first part is the Field Experience/Case Study.
Course Assignment Summary
(Detailed descriptions of assignments are available on Blackboard)
Field Experience: For this course, students will spend 12 hours working with a student who is experiencing
difficulty academically (i.e., learning to read, write, or solve mathematic problems). In conjunction with the
field experience, you will complete the following assignment:
1. Learning Disabilities Checklist and Log
Syllabus: Please send me an email indicating you have read and understand the syllabus in its entirety. Please
submit any questions you may have at this time as well.
Reading Assignments/Quizzes: Each week you will have assigned readings (see course calendar below) with
quizzes to accompany these readings. You will go on Blackboard to take these quizzes. The quizzes will be
available 24 hours prior to the due date and will be closed at 11:59pm (Utah time) on the listed due date. You
will have 30 minutes to complete each quiz (as tracked by BB). All quizzes are to be closed note, book, peer,
internet etc. Please plan accordingly.
IRIS Modules: Complete the modules plus the Assessment & Wrap-up questions at the end of the modules by
assigned due dates (see course calendar).
 Response to Intervention (RTI) Part 1
 RTI Part 3: Reading
 Who’s in Charge: Developing a Comprehensive Behavior Management System
 SOS: Helping Students Become Independent Learners OR Addressing Disruptive and Noncompliant
Behaviors (Part 1)
Final Project:
The final for the course is a collaboration project. Students will work with a peer to develop a hypothetical
case study. Directions are on Blackboard. See course calendar for due date.
Late Work: Late work will not be accepted. If you anticipate that you will not be able to submit an
assignment on time, contact the instructor BEFORE the due date passes to make arrangement with the
instructor for submitting the assignment. Submit your work on time via email to the instructor at
katie_steed@byu.edu. Because this is an online course, it is your responsibility to track due dates and ensure
that your assignments are submitted on time. Before you submit assignments, make sure that your email
account is set to retain copies of sent mail. If for some reason I do not receive an email that you sent, you can
forward the copy in the sent file folder to verify that the email was sent on time.
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Your Grade: Your final grade for the course is computed by the evaluation of the following assignments:
Syllabus
Quizzes
IRIS Module Assessments
Learning Disabilities Checklist and
Log
Final Project
TOTAL POINTS
1 @ 5 points
7 @ 5 points each
4 @ 10 points each
1 @ 60 points
5 points
35 points
40 points
60 points
1 @ 100 points
100 points
240 points
Your letter grade for the course will be calculated using the following grade equivalents for your percentage
earned:
A 95 - 100
C+ 77 - 79
D - 60 - 62
AC
90 - 94
73 - 76
B+ 87 - 89
C- 70 - 72
B 83 - 86
D+ 67 - 69
BD
80 - 82
63 - 66
Course Expectations:
1.
Honor Code: Students are expected to adhere to the BYU Honor Code, and dress/grooming standards.
2.
Written Work: Written work is expected to be professional. Your work should be typed and be free of
spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors. Reports should be written in American Psychological
Association 6th Edition style.
3.
Assignments: All assignments are due by 11:59pm Utah time on the day they are due (see course
calendar below). It is expected that all written work reflects the efforts of the individual student
(except for cooperative learning group projects). Identical work submitted by two or more students
will be regarded as plagiarism.
4.
Personal Responsibility: You are expected to check the online course information and/or the course
syllabus for clarification regarding assignments. If you have questions, please contact the instructor.
5.
Course Work: Following university standards, students are expected to spend approximately 2-3 hours
of out-of-class work per semester hour for a course. For a 2-credit class the expectation for out of
class work is therefore 4 to 6 hours per week (please remember this semester long course was
condensed to 7 weeks to accommodate your travelling schedule).
6.
Online Submission of Work: Submit all work electronically via email to the instructor at
katie_steed@byu.edu (Quizzes will be done on Blackboard)
Honor Code Standards: In keeping with the principles of the BYU Honor Code, students are expected to be
honest in all of their academic work. Academic honesty means, most fundamentally, that any work you
present as your own must in fact be your own work and not that of another. Violations of this principle may
result in a failing grade in the course and additional disciplinary action by the university. Students are also
expected to adhere to the Dress and Grooming Standards. Adherence demonstrates respect for yourself and
others and ensures an effective learning and working environment. It is the university’s expectation, and my
own expectation in class, that each student will abide by all Honor Code standards. Please call the Honor Code
Office at 422-2847 if you have questions about those standards.
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Preventing Sexual Harassment: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination
against any participant in an educational program or activity that receives federal funds. The act is intended to
eliminate sex discrimination in education. Title IX covers discrimination in programs, admissions, activities,
and student-to-student sexual harassment. BYU’s policy against sexual harassment extends not only to
employees of the university but to students as well. If you encounter unlawful sexual harassment or gender
based discrimination, please talk to your professor; contact the Equal Employment Office at 422-5895 or 3675689 (24 hours); or contact the Honor Code Office at 422-2847.
Students With Disabilities: Brigham Young University is committed to providing a working and learning
atmosphere which reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disability
which may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the University Accessibility
Center (422-2767). Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified
documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the University
Accessibility Center. If you need assistance or if you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against on
the basis of disability, you may seek resolution through established grievance policy and procedures. You
should contact the Equal Employment Office at 422- 5895, D-282 ASB.
Statement on Diversity: The McKay School of Education and Brigham Young University are committed to
preparing students to serve effectively in a diverse society. In this course students will learn methods and
material that may be adapted to various settings and contexts. Students are expected to demonstrate the
knowledge, skills and dispositions to effectively apply the course content when working individuals and groups
with varying abilities and background.
Mission Statement of the BYU Special Education Programs:
We maximize the potential of diverse learners with individualized educational needs to elevate their quality of
life. We accomplish this by supporting the mission and aims of a BYU education as we integrate teaching,
research, and service. We specifically:
 Prepare competent and moral educators who select, implement, and evaluate research-based
effective teaching practices and appropriate curriculum for learners with special needs.
 Prepare master special educators who provide collaborative leadership to foster the moral
development and improve learning and social competence of exceptional children with challenging
behaviors.
 Add to the knowledge base of special education and related disciplines through research.
 Serve and advocate for learners with individualized educational needs and others who support them.
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Course Calendar:
Topic/Readings
Inclusion/Collaboration
Inclusive Education chapters 1 & 2
High Incidence Disabilities/Other
Special Learning Needs
Inclusive Education chapters 3 & 5
Low Incidence Disabilities/Improving
Attention and Memory
Inclusive Education chapters 4 & 10
Making Accommodations and
Adaptation for Students with Mild to
Moderate Disabilities text
Improving Classroom
Behaviors/Enhancing Motivation
Inclusive Education chapters 7 & 9
Assessment
Inclusive Education chapter 12
Assignment
-Syllabus email
-Quiz 1
-Iris Module: RTI Part 1 RTI (Part 1): An Overview
-Quiz 2
- Iris Module: RTI Part 3: Reading
Due Date
2/17/10
-Quiz 3
-Iris Module: Who’s in Charge: Developing a
Comprehensive Behavior Management System
-Quiz 4
-Quiz 5
3/3/10
-Quiz 6
-Iris Module:
SOS: Helping Students Become Independent Learners
OR
Addressing Disruptive and Noncompliant Behaviors
(Part 1)
-Quiz 7
-Learning Disabilities Checklist and Log
FINAL Submitted-Case Study
3/17/10
2/24/10
3/10/10
3/24/10
3/30/10