Frederick Community College ED 203 – Foundations of Special Education SUMMER 2011
Class begins: 6/6/2011	Class ends: 8/1/2011	Last Day to Withdraw: 7/13/2011

Instructor Information:
Name: Cathy Hull	Office: n/a
E-mail: mhull@frederick.edu	Phone Number: 301-846-2507
Contact Hours: via email and by appointment	Campus Mail Box #: 988

Course Information:
Credits: 3
On-campus Meetings: 0	On-campus Exams: 1 (final week)
Prerequisites: EN 50A and EN 52 or ESL 95 and ESL 99. It is strongly recommended that student pass ED 102 or ECD 101, if applicable, prior to taking this course.	Co-requisites: n/a

Course Description:

Provides an overview of critical issues and strategies related to educating students who have been identified as exceptional. The course content focuses on historical and legal foundations of special education, inclusive education, developmental characteristics of exceptional students, and strategies for accommodating students. (This course satisfies the Maryland State Department of Education professional education course work in inclusion of special populations.)

Core Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course students will:

1. Identify the educational provisions serving children with disabilities from the legislation and litigation that created special education as it exists today in American education;

2. Determine fair and accurate assessment criteria for identification, retention and appropriate placement of children with disabilities;

3. Discriminate the recognized categories of disability, their specific definitions, identification and eligibility criteria;

4. Analyze the major data components associated with providing education and related services in the least restrictive environment; and

5. Integrate the skills needed by professionals to serve children with disabilities, and assess the effectiveness of their service.

Instructional Methods:

This is an online course.  All course activities will be conducted via the FCC Blackboard site (www.frederick.blackboard.com) Active, informed discussion and respectful interaction are emphasized in this course via the discussion board. Quizzes, newspaper articles, videos, case studies and websites are incorporated into this course.  Your final exam will be conducted in the Testing Center on the FCC campus during the last week of the semester.
Note that 10 hours of a service learning project working with children who have disabilities is a requirement for this course. Students need to plan their time accordingly and should be prepared to provide verification of these observations.

 Course Organization:

This course is organized by the week. Each week new material is made available to the course users. Assignments are expected to be completed by the end of each week, unless otherwise denoted. Each week begins on Monday and ends on the following Sunday. This course is NOT self paced. You are expected to complete the assignments in the week they are released. The dates for each week can be found on blackboard under About the Course.

Text(s) and Course Materials:

Hallahan, D., Kauffman, J., & Pullen, P. (2009). Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education. Boston: Pearson. (11^th Edition).

 Hallahan, D., Kauffman, J., & Pullen, P. (2009). Cases for Reflection and Analysis for Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education. Boston: Pearson. (11^th Edition).

 Additional readings will be distributed online.

Progress Report:
By the end of the fourth week of the semester, you will have an opportunity to evaluate your progress in this course and decide if you need to make any adjustments (additional study, tutoring, conference with instructor) to assure your success in this course. Grades are available to students via Blackboard throughout the course of the class.
Evaluation Methods: Note that 10 hours of service learning/observation are required as part of this course in order to meet state guidelines and help students connect theoretical and practical knowledge. Failure to satisfactorily complete all observation hours and related assignments will result in a grade of "I" (incomplete) for the course, regardless of scores on other work. Completion of observation hours is subject to the availability of appropriate placements and may be at the discretion of the instructor. If observation-related work is not completed satisfactorily in the prescribed time outlined in the college catalog, the course grade will automatically become an "F." Late Assignments: Assignments will only be accepted up to one week late. Late assignments will be reduced by one letter grade.
Tests / Papers / Projects / Participation	Percentage Value	Final Grade Scale
Assignments Discussion Board (Participation) Service Learning Project Exams/Quizzes	50% 10% 20% 20%	100%-90%= A 89%-80%= B 79%-70%= C 69%-60%= D 59% and below = F
If the graded performance for online assignments differs significantly from the grade average for proctored assignments, the instructor reserves the right to administer additional tests.

Student Services

A variety of services are available to assist students in succeeding at FCC. Students can learn more about these services by visiting the Student Services web page: http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/index.aspx.

Students with disabilities who are in need of accommodations or who have questions related to disabilities services should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office at 301-846-2408. Students can learn more about these services by visiting the Services for Students with Disabilities web page:

http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/disability.aspx.

Participation Policy:

Participation in this course is measured by completing the discussion board requirement each week. Instructions for completing discussions are found on the discussion board. Attendance will be measured through login tracking on Blackboard.

In case of serious illness, emergency, religious holidays, or participation in official college functions, students remain responsible for completing the requirements of the course. FCC has computers available for student use; home computer problems will not result in a deadline extension.

Email Policy:

With the exception of MOL students, all FCC students will receive and are expected to use their FCC email address for correspondence with faculty and staff at the college. Students can establish and access their FCC email accounts at https://myfcc.frederick.edu.

Email is an instructional tool essential to student-instructor and student-student communication. In the Blackboard environment by default, your email address is available to all students in this course. However, students are permitted to use email addresses of other students in this course only for the purpose and the duration of this course. The instructor can be expected to respond to regular student email inquiries (grades, posted assignments, and tests excluded) within the time frame of 24 to 48 hours.

*Assignments will NOT be accepted via email unless specifically requested by the instructor

Academic Integrity:

Work in this course is subject to the provisions of the FCC Code of Academic Integrity. Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated. As a student, it is your job to practice academic honesty at ALL times. Make sure that all sources, particularly Internet sources, get proper credit for quotations, paraphrases, and ideas. More information about this and the Student Conduct Code are available at http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/studentpolicies.aspx

You must send your Academic Integrity Pledge to the instructor. The form is available at http://courses.frederick.edu/_utilities/regform.htm

Topical Outline (ONLINE COURSES)

Week	SUBJECT	CONTENT
Week 1	Ch 1 - Exceptionality and Special Education Ch – 2 Integration, Inclusion, and Support of Positive Outcomes	Chapter 1 Activities Chapter 2 Activities
Week 2	Ch 3 - Multicultural and Bilingual Aspects of Special Education Ch 4 - Parents and Families	Chapter 3 Activities Chapter 4 Activities
Week 3	Ch 5 – Learners with Intellectual Disabilities Ch 6 – Learners with ADHD	· Chapter 5 Activities · Chapter 6 Activities
Week 4	Ch 7 – Learners with Learning Disabilities Ch 8 – Learners with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders	Chapter 7 Activities Chapter 8 Activities
Week 5	Ch 9- Learners with Communication Disorders Ch 10- The Deaf and Learners who are Hard of Hearing	Chapter 9 Activities Chapter 10 Activities
Week 6	Ch 11 – Learners with Blindness and Low Vision Ch 12 – Learners with Autism	Chapter 11 Activities Chapter 12 Activities
Week 7	Ch 13 – Learners with Multiple, Severe, Low Incidence Disabilities Ch 14 – Learners with Physical Disabilities and OHI	Chapter 13 Activities Chapter 14 Activities
Week 8	Ch 15 – Learners with Special Gifts and Talents	Chapter 15 Activities Final Exam

NOTE: Your instructor reserves the right to make changes to this outline as needed.