Special Education
Office: 1380 Lawrence Street Center, 701
Telephone: 303-315-6300
E-mail: academicservices@ucdenver.edu
Website: www.ucdenver.edu/education
Overview
The Special Education (SPED) program emphasizes the development of reflective practitioners through trans-disciplinary training, fosters reflective inquiry about teaching and learning, as well as the development of the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary to teach in elementary and secondary classrooms serving students with disAbilities. Reflection and inquiry provide an informed and integrated basis for advocating for all learners.
The Master of Arts (MA) in Special Education offers two degree paths:
- MA in Special Education (Personalized Professional): The customizable 30 credit hour MA path provides the opportunity for you to tailor your coursework to your specific needs as an educator. Students have the flexibility to choose courses from across all SEHD programs for additional learning from the from the Thematic Course Categories list to allow for a more in-depth approach to the field. The Thematic Course Categories is a collection of courses across all SEHD disciplines designed to allow students to expand student learning. This MA does NOT lead to a license or an endorsement.
- MA plus endorsement: The MA plus endorsement allows students to complete an MA, and add a SPED Generalist Ages 5-21 endorsement to their current teaching license. Recommendation for endorsement is made by the SPED Program, but endorsement is granted by the State of Colorado. Individual State requirements vary and may include teaching experience and in addition to a valid teaching credential. Students should consult with the Colorado Department of Education or the state in which they wish to be endorsed for the most updated endorsement requirements.
The time needed to complete the various special education program options varies based on previous experience, coursework, and needs of students. In addition to traditional on-campus offerings, a wide selection of courses are available in remote and online formats. During the academic year, core special education courses are typically scheduled in late afternoons and evenings to avoid conflict with teaching responsibilities. Course formats and offerings are subject to change.
If you are not a teacher and are seeking an initial teaching license in Special Education, please see our Master of Arts in Teaching program.
If you are interested in the Early Childhood Special Education Specialist (Birth-8 years) endorsement, please see the Early Childhood Special Education Specialist Endorsement program.
Faculty
Associate Professors:
Amy Ferrell, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder | Special Education
Clinical Associate Professors:
Caron Westland, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professors:
Jennifer Fox, EdD, University of Colorado Denver | Director of ASPIRE to Teach
Special Education (SPED) Courses
This course introduces Universal Design for Learning (UDL), an important educational philosophy and set of principles & techniques that focuses on strategies and tools to help ALL students by accommodating their differences in inclusive classroom settings. Cross-listed with SPED 4400. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course provides instructional strategies and interventions for students with a wide variety of disabilities. Implications for targeted and intensive interventions and assessment are considered. Cross-listed with SPED 4010. Max hours: 3 Credits
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course provides an overview of special education by examining the history of special education, construction of dis/ability, characteristics of individuals with disabilities, aspects of disproportionality, and introduction to evidence-based instructional practices. Restriction: Restricted to graduate students in the SEHD or Teacher Education minors. Cross-listed with SPED 4030. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to graduate students in the SEHD or Teacher Education minors.
Students learn to gather and use assessment results within a strengths-based framework to advocate for appropriate programming, placement, instruction, and ongoing progress monitoring of multilingual students. Special attention is paid to linguistic and cultural bias in the field of assessment. Cross-listed with CLDE 5050. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course explores both theoretical and practical aspects of educating students with special needs. Students will examine the nature of disability, the history and legal basis for special education programming in American schools, as well as contemporary law governing the education of persons with disabilities. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Using a variety of assessment tools, students will focus on the educational assessment methods and procedures used in decision making and program planning for students with exceptional learning needs, with attention to pervasive issues pertaining to students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Cross-listed with SPED 4140. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course works to transform perspectives and practices related to supporting student behavior in classrooms. Students will learn important considerations related to culture, race, gender and socioeconomic status, as they intersect with behavior and social emotional development. Cross-listed with SPED 4151. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course is designed to provide a foundational understanding of behaviors commonly witnessed in the classroom. It will provide strategies for assessment and guidance on legal processes which guide the development of individualized education and behavior plans. Specialize instructional methods and current events impacting the social emotional educations of students will also be discussed. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Focuses on the development of competencies in consultation and collaboration. The overall purpose is to encourage the development of understanding and skills that enhance a teacher's ability to work and communicate effectively with school personnel, including paraprofessionals and parents. The goal of collaboration is to support and determine together the instructional scenarios that best meet the needs of students. Specific competencies include problem solving, conflict resolution, data collection or observation skills, conferencing, facilitating meetings, and interacting with others while respecting diverse discourses and multicultural backgrounds. Cross-listed with SPED 4300. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Designed to allow an opportunity for special educators to compare and contrast the service delivery, funding mechanisms, professional ethics, and underlying assumptions of special and regular education. Trends in the field of special education are examined through review of current research. Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
This course is designed to teach you ethical and professional conduct considerations in applied behavior analysis. We will review behavior change systems and implementation issues in the conduct of applied behavior analysis. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course will introduce the history and basics of ABA with a focus on its related terminology. In addition, ABA benefits will be discussed, and emphasis placed on ethical considerations required for practicing ABA as a board Certified Behavior Analyst. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course will provide a framework for the natural science of behavior. It will provide students with a systematic approach to understanding and precisely describing the behavior of individuals, and its relationship to environmental determinants. Prereq: SPED 5450. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Student will learn to use standard celeration charts and make data-driven decisions to write appropriate behavioral plans. They will also learn to use ABA strategies to enhance communication, to support individuals with ASD, and to benefit from systems supports. Prereq: SPED 5450, 5460, 5470. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course will provide students with the knowledge necessary to implement recommended, evidence-based practices with young children with autism. The course will provide information on the etiology of autism, diagnostic procedures, evidence-based practices, and how to support families who have a young child diagnosed on the spectrum. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Students will learn how to apply basic behavioral principles to either novel client populations or using nuanced behavioral theories, like behavioral momentum theory or behavior economics. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course provides school leaders and practitioner with an understanding of the special education transition process as specified by federal and state guidelines, as well as effective teaching and learning strategies for secondary youth with disabilities. Cross-listed with SPED 4500. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
This course investigates the relationship between language and literacy acquisition. In the context of first and second language acquisition across the lifespan, the course focuses on bilingual and second language development, and on the acquisition of literacy by young children. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Designed for school leaders and professionals to understand special education law and compare and contrast service delivery options . Cross-listed with SPED 4600. Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
This course provides a foundational understanding of the complex intersections between literacy, culture, language, learning, and students with (dis)abilities. A primary goal is to address the particular needs of culturally and linguistically diverse learners with exceptionalities, while also exploring the distinctions between language development and learning disabilities. Cross-listed with SPED 4740. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Provides the practitioner with an understanding of research-validated approaches, strategies, assessment tools and issues related to effective literacy instruction for students performing significantly below grade level. Practitioners can expect to be able to conduct thorough literacy assessments as well as be able to develop, implement, and evaluate individual reading and writing programs for individual students with the most challenging literacy needs. Cross-listed with SPED 4780. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Repeatable. Max Hours: 4 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 4.
The purpose of this practicum is to provide additional learning opportunities in the areas of working directly with clients / consumers, implementing evidence-based treatments to address behaviors of social significance, implementing treatment plans, and monitoring and analyzing data to make data-based decisions. Students must complete 1000 hours to meet BCBA requirements and 670 hours for BCaBA requirements. 100 hours is equivalent to 1 credit. Max hours: 10 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade with IP
Repeatable. Max Credits: 10.
Supervised field experience with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst for time spent directly working with individuals who require behavioral support. Students must complete 750 hours to meet BCBA requirements and 500 hours for BCaBA requirements. 75 hours is equivalent to 1 credit. Repeatable. Max Hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Special education teacher candidates engage in systematic observation of, participation in, design of and reflection on inclusive curricular, instruction and management practices. Graduated learning activities for each internship and time requirements are specified in the School Internship handbook and the Special Education Guidelines. In partner school, the site coordinator and site professor are responsible for coaching, supervision and site seminars. In internship outside partner school settings, cooperating teachers, district coordinators and/or university professors work with teacher candidates in the classroom and in seminars. Max hours: 2 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Special education teacher candidates engage in systematic observation of, participation in, design of and reflection on inclusive curricular, instruction and management practices. Graduated learning activities for each internship and time requirements are specified in the School Internship handbook and the Special Education Guidelines. In partner school, the site coordinator and site professor are responsible for coaching, supervision and site seminars. In internship outside partner school settings, cooperating teachers, district coordinators and/or university professors work with teacher candidates in the classroom and in seminars. Repeatable. Max Hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Special education teacher candidates engage in systematic observation of, participation in, design of and reflection on inclusive curricular, instruction and management practices. Graduated learning activities for each internship and time requirements are specified in the School Internship handbook and the Special Education Guidelines. In partner school, the site coordinator and site professor are responsible for coaching, supervision and site seminars. In internship outside partner school settings, cooperating teachers, district coordinators and/or university professors work with teacher candidates in the classroom and in seminars. Repeatable. Max Hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Special education teacher candidates engage in systematic observation of, participation in, design of and reflection on inclusive curricular, instruction and management practices. Graduated learning activities for each internship and time requirements are specified in the School Internship handbook and the Special Education Guidelines. In partner school, the site coordinator and site professor are responsible for coaching, supervision and site seminars. In internship outside partner school settings, cooperating teachers, district coordinators and/or university professors work with teachers, and candidates in the classroom and in seminars. Repeatable. Max Hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Teacher candidates seeking Special Education licensure engage in systematic observation of, participation in, design of, and reflection on curricular, instructional, and management practices across the full range of educational programs within a school. Additionally, they participate in the activities of a professional learning community. Repeatable. Cross-listed with SPED 4934. Max hours: 8 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 8.
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring.
Repeatable. Max hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.