Special Education Major (BS)
College: College of Social Sciences & Professional Studies
The special education major is designed for UW-Parkside students who wish to teach special education in an elementary/middle school or middle/high school. The content courses provide students with a solid theoretical base and the methods necessary to be successful special education teachers of elementary, middle, and high school teacher candidates.
Students must choose a concentration from the areas of:
- specific learning disabilities (SLD),
- emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD), or
- intellectual disability (ID; also referred to as DDA, or developmental disabilities and autism, in the CEC standards).
Autism is combined with DD in the standards and referred to as ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder. As a program, we will be addressing all three concentrations throughout. The definition of ‘concentration’ in this catalog section is consistent with DPI licensure requirement; it is not an academic concentration under UW-Parkside’s definition.
(67-70 credits and 230 clinical hours)
Middle Childhood – Early Adolescence Licensure: ages 6-12, grades 1-8
Early Adolescence – Adolescence Licensure: ages 10-21, grades 6-12
Requirements for the Special Education Major
Recommended General Education Courses
The teacher education program is committed to supporting the liberal arts education at UW-Parkside through the general education program. The teacher education program recommends the following courses that meet both the university general education requirements as well as content knowledge policy requirements. Students should consult with the teacher education advisor each semester to ensure that they understand and are meeting requirements of the program’s content knowledge policy.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Humanities and the Arts | ||
COMM 105 | Public Speaking for the 21st Century | 3 |
ENGL 167 | Introduction to Literature | 3 |
Choose any two courses from the Humanities and the Arts general education list | 6 | |
Humanities and the Arts Subtotal | 12 | |
Social and Behavioral Science | ||
HIST 101 | The United States: Origins to Reconstruction | 3 |
or HIST 102 | The United States: Reconstruction to Recent Times | |
HIST 119 | Western Civilization II: The Middle Ages to 1815 | 3 |
or HIST 128 | World History III: From 1800 to the Present | |
Select one of the following: | 3 | |
Geography of American Ethnicity and Race | ||
Contemporary Human Geography | ||
Introduction to Geography: World Regions | ||
Select one of the following: | 3 | |
The American Economy | ||
American Politics | ||
Introduction to Politics | ||
Introduction to Sociology | ||
Social and Behavioral Science Subtotal | 12 | |
Natural and Health Sciences | ||
Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
Nature of Life | ||
Bioscience | ||
Human Biology | ||
Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
Physical Geography and the Environment | ||
Earth in Perspective | ||
Introduction to Astronomy | ||
Astronomy of Native America | ||
Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
The World of Chemistry | ||
General Chemistry I | ||
Principles of Physics | ||
Choose one course from the Natural Sciences general education list to complete the required 12 credits (if needed) | 3-4 | |
Natural and Health Sciences Subtotal | 12-16 | |
Total Credits | 36-40 |
Required Major Courses
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Pre-Professional Sequence | ||
EDU 100 | Introduction to the Teaching Profession | 1 |
EDU 101 | Introduction to Disability | 3 |
EDU 200 | Teaching the Whole Child | 1 |
EDU 210 | Exploring Equity In Education | 1 |
EDU 211 | Child and Adolescent Development | 3 |
EDU 212 | Mathematics for Elementary and Middle School Teachers I | 3 |
Pre-Professional Sequence Subtotal | 12 | |
Developing Expertise Sequence | ||
EDU 300 | Creating Effective Learning Environments | 1 |
EDU 304 | Context and Culture In Learning Environments | 3 |
EDU 310 | Family, School, and Community Partnerships | 1 |
EDU 322 | Teaching Exceptional Learners | 3 |
EDU 324 | Individual Learning Design and Technology | 3 |
EDU 326 | Behavioral and Psychosocial Models | 3 |
EDU 332 | Foundations of Literacy | 2 |
EDU 333 | Children's and Adolescent Literature and New Literacies | 3 |
EDU 335 | ESL Methods | 3 |
Developing Expertise Sequence Subtotal | 22 | |
Demonstrating Expertise in Practice Sequence | ||
EDU 430 | Using Action Research to Improve Instruction | 2 |
EDU 437 | Academic and Behavioral Assessment | 3 |
EDU 439 | Transition and Self-Determination | 2 |
EDU 440 | Teacher Preparation Portfolio Design | 2 |
EDU 442 | Teaching Developmental Mathematics, Grades 3-9 | 3 |
EDU 443 | Teaching Developmental Literacy, Grades 3-9 | 3 |
EDU 447 | Case Management and Developing Individualized Plans | 3 |
Demonstrating Expertise in Practice Sequence Subtotal | 18 | |
The Residency | ||
EDU 420 | Residency Seminar | 2 |
EDU 425 | Residency (Student Teaching) | 10 |
The Residency Subtotal | 12 | |
Required Concentration/Licensure Area | ||
Choose one Concentration/Licensure Area below | 3-6 | |
Required Concentration/Licensure Subtotal | 3-6 | |
Total Credits | 67-70 |
Concentration/Licensure Area Options
Middle Childhood – Early Adolescence Concentration
Licensure: Grades 1-8
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
EDU 431 | Teaching Developmental Mathematics, Grades K-3 | 3 |
EDU 432 | Teaching Developmental Literacy, Grades K-3 | 3 |
Total Credits | 6 |
Early Adolescence – Adolescence Concentration
Licensure: Grades 6-12
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
EDU 412 | Literacy Development | 3 |
Total Credits | 3 |
Requirements for a Double Major in Elementary Education and Special Education
(84-91 credits)
Students may satisfy graduation requirements for both elementary education and special education by completing all required courses for elementary education, together with the following special education courses:
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Required Elementary Education Courses | ||
Required courses | 67-74 | |
Required Elementary Education Courses Subtotal | 67-74 | |
Required Special Education Courses | ||
EDU 101 | Introduction to Disability | 3 |
EDU 324 | Individual Learning Design and Technology | 3 |
EDU 326 | Behavioral and Psychosocial Models | 3 |
EDU 437 | Academic and Behavioral Assessment | 3 |
EDU 439 | Transition and Self-Determination | 2 |
EDU 447 | Case Management and Developing Individualized Plans | 3 |
Required Special Education Courses Subtotal | 17 | |
Total Credits | 84-91 |
General University Degree Requirements (Bachelor's Degree)
In addition to individual program requirements, students must also fulfill the following requirements:
Requirement | Credits |
---|---|
Skills | 7-8 |
General Education | 36 |
Foreign Language** | 6-8 |
Ethnic Diversity | 3 |
Total | 52-55 |
** Transfer students in sustainable management, and health information management and technology collaborative, online degree-completion programs, the business management online degree-completion program, and the flexible option degree-completion program will be exempt from the university’s foreign language requirement. See appropriate academic section for further information.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Reading and Writing | ||
ENGL 101 | Composition and Reading | 3 |
Computational Skills | ||
Select one of the following: | 4-5 | |
Survey of Mathematics | ||
Elementary Statistics | ||
Quantitative Reasoning | ||
College Algebra I | ||
Total Credits | 7-8 |
Degree Requirements
Requirement | Credits |
---|---|
Minimum Total Credits | 120 |
Upper Level Credits (300 level or above) | 36 |
Residency | 30 |
Cumulative Degree GPA: 2.0 minimum