ARC 007: Preschool and Kindergarten Special Needs and Assessment

Course Description

This course relates to issues in special needs and will take approximately 30 contact hours to complete. The following topics are addressed: environmental and biological risk factors, effects of common disabilities, special healthcare needs, support strategies and accommodations (e.g., scaffolding and modeling, response cueing, wait time, developmentally appropriate goals, environmental arrangement for accessibility, positioning and handling, and low tech and high tech assistive technology), requirements for educational services under IDEA, including parent rights, timelines, and LRE, and specific CT policies and programs. In addition, this course provides a broad overview of assessments of and for young children ages 3-6. Students will have the opportunity to observe children across all developmental domains as well as to develop learning prescriptions to enhance the growth and development of preschoolers and kindergartners.

Prerequisite

• Acceptance into Program

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

The ECE ARC program goals are:

1. To increase the content knowledge of experienced professionals and expand their ability to provide learning environments in a manner consistent with state and national standards for excellence in the field. (NAEYC, Standard 1)
2. To increase their ability to provide instruction and classroom management in relation to a range of more specialized pedagogy and content such as early literacy, children with special needs, behavioral challenges, culturally responsive curriculum, evidence-based practice, working with families, and professional leadership and ethics.
3. To provide field experiences which encourage them to further develop and reflect upon their practice.
4. To encourage development of dispositions for teaching which are necessary for success in the classroom.
5. To provide access to experts in the field that will model, present, and provide mentorship in current practices in early childhood education.
6. To provide candidates with the skills to become active participants and leaders in the early childhood profession.
7. To develop open-minded and reflective practitioners that become life-long learners.
8. To become advocates for children.
9. To create a cadre of learners that appreciate and model an appreciation for all learners and learning styles, especially those with special needs.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. Discuss the Autism Spectrum and a variety of teaching methods.
2. Discuss supports for inclusion.
3. Discuss educational effects of developmental disabilities on the preschool/kindergarten child.
4. Identify and understand the 14 categories of disabilities that qualify a child for special services under IDEA.
5. Describe a variety of classroom supports for children with wide-ranging disabilities.
6. Understand the components of the IEP Process.
7. Understand the SRBI process and its application.
8. Discuss different methods of observation, recording and assessment for preschool/kindergarten across developmental domains.
9. Describe screening techniques for preschool/kindergarten children.
10. Discuss culturally appropriate assessments.
11. Conduct a developmental assessment with a child aged 3-5 years. Observe and record specific student actions to show progress along the developmental continuum.
12. Design an assessment plan which will measure a child's competence toward meeting a specific set of objectives.
13. Interpret, analyze and draw conclusions on what the child needs next based on these assessment results.
14. Use assessments and observations as a guide to develop learning goals and to enhance and/or improve instruction to insure this child's progress.

Standards Addressed

• NAEYC: 4a, 4b ,4c
• CEC/DEC: Knowledge: 2.3, 2.4, 3.2, 5.4
• CEC/DEC: Skills: 4.1, 4.6, 4.7, 7.1

Course Activities and Grading

Required Texts

• Noonan, Mary J. and Linda McCormick. Young Children with Disabilities in Natural Environments-Methods and Procedures. 2nd ed. Brookes Publishing Company, 2013. ISBN-13: 9781598572568

• Beaty, Janice. Observing Development of the Young Child. 8th edition. Pearson, Merrill, Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. ISBN: 0-13-286756-7

Course Schedule

Please note that Week’s 1-7 will be completed prior to start of the semester as students will use the time to observe selected students.

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.