Catalog 2007-2008
Graduate School of Education and Counseling
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Special Educator Endorsement and Master of Education
The Special Educator Endorsement Program was developed to help teachers, special educators, and administrators work more effectively with students who are eligible for special education, Educators who hold a current Oregon teaching license and who complete the 18-semester-hour program and the required Praxis test may apply to Oregon's TSPC for the Special Educator Endorsement. This work can also include the requirements for the Oregon Continuing Teaching License, thus allowing the teacher to simultaneously earn the Special Educator Endorsement and Continuing License. Teachers who hold a Basic or Standard Oregon Teaching License may complete the Handicapped Learner I Endorsement with the same 18-semester-hour program; however, within six years they must also complete an additional 12 semester hours to earn their Standard Handicapped Learner I Endorsement.
Coursework for the endorsement may be incorporated into the master of education degree. Students who select this option enroll in a total of 37 semester hours designed collaboratively with their adviser.
All courses are also available to educators not enrolled in the endorsement program who seek professional development in working with students with special needs. Please contact the Special Education Program director before enrolling.
Special educators require skills in adapting the general education curriculum to make it accessible to students with disabilities. Building on the teaching skills required to create democratic classrooms and facilitate the inclusion of students with a broad spectrum of special needs, special educators develop instructional strategies to help students learn-how-to-learn. Program participants examine issues of cultural bias and sensitivity in courses dealing with topics such as classroom management, language acquisition, assessment, instructional adaptation, and working with families. The program emphasizes knowledge and skills for working with students experiencing a variety of learning and emotional needs, at grade level K-12. Participants in the program work with leaders in the field to examine current research in best-accepted and promising practices for helping students improve their academic achievement and increase socially acceptable behaviors, through action research in a special education setting and reflective practice.
Note: Students may work with an adviser to incorporate ESOL and reading courses into their Master of Education and Special Educator Endorsement. Students may petition to waive required courses based on previous coursework or competency. All waivers must be approved by the student's adviser. In the master's degree program, waived courses must be replaced by coursework with equivalent credit.
LA 500/634 Language Acquisition and Development, 3 semester hours including practicum
SPED 510/626* Educating Students With Special Needs: Learning and Legal Issues, 3 semester hours
SPED 511/629* Behavior Change Interventions for Students With Serious Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 2 semester hours
SPED 512/631 School-Based Consultation, 2 semester hours
SPED 513/632* Assessment and Diagnosis, 4 semester hours including 1-semester-hour practicum
SPED 514/633* Curriculum and Instruction for Students With Special Needs, 3 semester hours including concurrent practicum
SPED 516/628* Interventions for Severely Challenged Students, 2 semester hours
SPED 520/620 Advanced Instructional Decision Making, 3 semester hours
SPED 521/621 Effective Program Development for Students With Serious Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 3 semester hours
SPED 522/622 Program Development for Severely Challenged Students, 2 semester hours
SPED 523/623 Special Topics Seminar, 2 semester hours
SPED 535/635* Current Issues in Special Education, 1 semester hour
SPED 544/644* Practicum, 1 semester hour Fall, 1 semester hour Spring