ECE 217: The Exceptional Learner

Course Description

This is an introductory methods course for students learning to work with young children with disabilities. The course provides an overview of special needs children and their families, including types of disorders, treatments for disorders, and how relationships with parents provide an integral role in ensuring early intervention occurs. Students will learn laws related to special education and how the process for referral works.  By the end of this course, students should understand inclusion and be able to both design classroom environments as well as utilize effective strategies that are supportive of inclusive teaching. Field experience required: 5 hours.  (3 credits)

Prerequisites

• ECE 101: Introduction to Early Childhood Education
• ECE 247: Child Development: Birth to Eight

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

At the Associate of Science level, students will: 

1. Promote Child Development and Learning- understand how young children develop and learn and how to use developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive and challenging learning environments inclusive of all young children (NAEYC, Standard 1).
2. Establish Family and Community Relationships- understand and support diverse family and community characteristics and engage with families and communities through respectful, reciprocal relationships (NAEYC, Standard 2).
3. Observe, document and Assess- utilize a variety of assessment tools to observe and document development and to plan for future instruction respective of each child’s developmental needs (NAEYC, Standard 3).
4. Utilize Developmentally Effective Approaches- develop positive relationships and supportive interactions with young children and using effective strategies and tools for teaching and learning in early education, (NAEYC, Standard 4). NAEYC, Standard 3).
5. Use Content Knowledge to build Meaningful Curriculum- develop experiences within environments that are safe, healthy, inclusionary and culturally pluralistic and reflect understanding of developmentally appropriate practices, (NAEYC, Standard 5).
6. Develop as a Professional- engage in continuous reflective and collaborative learning and identify oneself as an emerging professional within the early childhood field (NAEYC, Standard 6). 7.
7. Engage in Field Experiences to support learning with various age groups and across multiple early childhood settings (NAEYC, Standard 7).

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

Standard 1: Promoting Child Development and Learning: 

• SLO 1: Define inclusion (NAEYC, Standard 1).
• SLO 2: Explain the history as well as current legislation supporting people with disabilities (NAEYC, Standard 1).
• SLO 3: Describe essential elements of inclusive environments for children ages birth – age 8. (NAEYC, Standard 1).
• SLO 4: Describe typical and atypical development. (NAEYC, Standard 1).
• SLO 5: Describe cause and classifications of developmental disabilities. (NAEYC, Standard 1).
• SLO 6: Explain strategies that teachers can use to support children with hearing or vision impairments. (NAEYC, Standard 1).
• SLO 7: Outline practices for working with children with physical disabilities and health problems. (NAEYC, Standard 1).

Standard 2: Building Family and Community Partnerships:

• SLO 8: Identify the various types of learning disabilities and effective interventions for teachers to use in working with children in inclusive settings. (NAEYC, Standard 2).

Standard 3: Observing, Documenting and Assessing to Support Young Children and Families

• SLO 9: Describe family-centered partnerships. (NAEYC, Standard 3).
• SLO 10: List the six steps in the assessment process and describe the differences between the IEP and the IFSP. (NAEYC, Standard 3).

Standard 4: Using Developmentally Effective Approaches

Standard 5: Using Content Knowledge to build Meaningful Curriculum

• SLO 11: Describe characteristics of effective teachers in working with children in inclusive settings. (NAEYC, Standard 4, 5).

• SLO 12: Utilize appropriate strategies for working with children with special learning needs (NAEYC, Standard 4, 5).

• SLO 13: Define key elements in creating an effective learning environment in support of children in inclusive settings. (NAEYC, Standard 4, 5).

• SLO 14: Outline strategies teachers can use to facilitate children’s’ self-care, adaptive and independence skills. (NAEYC, Standard 4, 5).

• SLO 15: Outline strategies that teachers can use to support children’s social development. (NAEYC, Standard 4, 5).

Standard 6: Becoming a Professional

• SLO 16: Apply strategies to support children’s development of language and communication skills. (NAEYC, Standard 6).

• SLO 17: Outline strategies teachers can use to facilitate pre-academic and cognitive learning.

Standard 7: Early Childhood Field Experiences

• SLO 18: Outline strategies teachers can use to deal effectively with children’s challenging behaviors.

• SLO 19: Describe the transition process.

General Education Outcomes (GEOs)

Please check the applicable GEOs for this course, if any, by outcomes at GEO Category Search, or by subject area at GEO Discipline Search.

Course Activities and Grading

Required Textbooks

Available through Charter Oak State College's online bookstore

• Allen, K.E. & Cowdery, G.E., The Exceptional Child: Inclusion in Early Childhood Education - with MindTap Access. 8th ed. Cengage Learning, 2015. ISBN-13: 978-1-337-15003-3  [Looseleaf version]
• Notes: This is a print copy of the text with printed Access code.  It must be purchased “New Only” from the College bookstore to access assignments.
  

Additional Resources

• Students will be able to access the publisher’s website for The Exceptional Child supplemental materials.
• Any additional materials will be available via free resources on the Internet. https://www.reflectcore.org/

Course Schedule

Key Assessments:

Students enrolled in the Associate of Science or Bachelor of Science degree program in Early Childhood Education must successfully complete one assignment in each class that is designed to demonstrate growth in the areas of key competency required of early childhood teachers. The key assessment for this course is the classroom observation assignment. Students will observe a child in an inclusive early learning setting, analyze IEP or IFSP goals and make recommendations for teaching based on the child’s needs as they relate to the goals.

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.