Special Education

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Overview

Program Faculty

Professor: Walter H.Kimball
Associate Professor: Rachel Brown
Assistant Professor: Sarah Wilkinson
Part-Time Lecturers: Amanda Buckley, David Chidsey, William Corcoran, Ajay Das, Jennifer Doucette, Patti Drapeau, Katie Kolbe-Holden, Jennifer Libby, Trish Merrill, Sandy Prince, Roger (Ron) Robert,  Danielle Williams

The Special Education Program is designed for people seeking or holding special or general education teacher certification who wish to study student exceptionalities, including students with disabilities. There are three concentrations in the Master of Science in Special Education. The Special Education program provides experiences across several disciplines looking beyond just understanding. Students apply learning through projects and assignments that are practical and connected to their professional fields.

Courses offered are fully online, synchronously or asynchronously. For student convenience, courses meet synchronously.

Special Education currently offers some undergraduate courses: (1) SED 235 Students with Exceptionalities in General Education (state approved Exceptionality course and Diversity Core course), and (2) SED 300 Ethics and Youth with Exceptionalities (core course in Ethical Inquiry, Social Responsibility, and Citizenship).

The Special Education Department offers the Master of Science (MS) in Special Education program with four different concentrations that are designed to meet the needs of educators at different career levels. In addition, the Department offers a Certificate of Graduate Study in Gifted and Talented Education.:

1.  MS in Special Education - Data Directed Student Progress in Special Education

The Master of Science in Special Education concentration in Data Directed Student Progress in Special Education concentration is designed for practicing teachers who are already certified or licensed. It includes coursework for individuals seeking to enhance knowledge and skills in providing evidence-based services for students with suspected and identified disabilities.  This degree program is offered fully online with accelerated 7-week courses. The courses include principles of systematic and explicit instruction and assessment, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Multi-Tiered Systems of Student Support (MTSS), and assistive technology.  The concentration offers individuals licensed in other educational services,  (e.g., - such as school psychology, or social work), and individuals with experience with agencies and programs serving students with mild to moderate disabilities, and advanced knowledge and skills about special education services. This program does not lead to certification.

2.  M.S. in Special Education: Teaching Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities (certification)

This pre-service concentration includes the coursework for an initial special education teaching certificate in teacher of students with disabilities K-8 and 7-12 (Maine 282). Maine initial special education teacher certification requires student teaching. Student teaching is available through current employment at a school setting or arranged through USM as a placement. The program has two outcomes: (1) USM Master of Science in Special Education, and 2) recommendation for K-8 or 7-12 (282) teacher of students with disabilities. The program has rolling admissions with options to complete toward recommendation for certification in 3, 6 or more semesters and finishing with the Master’s courses. Advising allows for customization of course sequencing to meet individual needs.

Interested USM undergraduates can complete some of the courses in this concentration during their bachelor’s degree program of study through an Accelerated Graduate Pathway (AGP) and then apply to enter the M.S. degree program in their senior year. Upon admission to the M.S. degree, AGP students complete the remaining M.S. courses during one year of study and earn the M.S. degree.

Special Education Department Core Values:

• Special Educators interact with others based on a belief in the infinite possibilities of and for human growth and development; all youth have the potential to learn and express knowledge through their unique styles of acquiring and demonstrating knowledge.
• Special Educators are responsible for supporting and guiding each student on their journey from potentials to performances through personally meaningful, respectful, and accessible pathways.
• Special Educators create learning opportunities that honor and enhance the gifts and talents of each individual and make possible the contributions of each student to self and to society.
• Special Educators create learning environments where every child feels welcomed and accepted for their unique attributes, including their cultural background, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Special Educators always use person-first language and thinking; everyone is valued and viewed as a whole person, not strictly by a label or one characteristic.
• Special Educators use scientifically-based instructional practices to improve the academic achievement and functional performance of children with disabilities (IDEA, Section 1400)
• Special Educators use multiple assessments and evaluations when measuring students’ successes and abilities and in understanding their needs.
• Special Educators are collaborative, respectful, and supportive with all educators they come in direct and indirect contact with, including parents, maintenance workers, and administrative assistants.
• Special Educators base all of their behaviors on the belief that each individual has intrinsic and global value to the evolution of humankind.

Programs

• Gifted and Talented Education, Certificate of Graduate Study
• Special Education, Data Directed Student Progress in Special Education, M.S. (non-certification)
• Special Education, Integrated General Education and Special Education Initial Teacher Certification, M.S.
• Special Education, Teaching Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities, M.S. (certification)

Courses

• SED 501 - Variability in Human Development
• SED 518 - Targeted and Individualized Instructional Strategies for Students with Disabilities
• SED 540 - Students with Exceptionalities in General Education
• SED 550 - Teaching Students who are Gifted in the Regular Classroom
• SED 586 - Integrated Internship for General Education and Special Education
• SED 604 - Behavioral Principles to Analyze Learning, Teaching, and Assessment
• SED 615 - Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
• SED 617 - Data-Driven Student Behavior Support
• SED 625 - Multi-Tier Mathematics Instruction and Assessment
• SED 626 - Data-Driven Math Instruction
• SED 627 - Multi-Tier Reading Instruction and Assessment
• SED 628 - Data-Driven Reading Instruction
• SED 653 - Assessment of Academic Achievement
• SED 654 - Assessment in Special Education
• SED 662 - Creative Intelligence and the Learners who are Gifted
• SED 666 - Models of Education for Students who are Gifted and Talented
• SED 667 - Social/Emotional Needs of Students who are Gifted/Talented
• SED 668 - Differentiation of Instruction: Practical Strategies
• SED 669 - Critical and Creative Thinking in the Classroom
• SED 682 - Special Education Regulations, Procedures, and IEP Team
• SED 687 - Technology for Learning and Communicating
• SED 688 - Internship in Special Education for Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities
• SED 693 - Transitions Among Agency, School, and Community
• SED 699 - Special Education Research Capstone
• SPY 501 - Variability in Human Development

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