SPED 173: Initial Practicum in Mild/Moderate and Extensive Support Needs

Course Modality: This is the second of three clinical practice supervision courses in the Preliminary Education Specialist Program. The candidate will be assigned to a clinical practice supervisor (aka University Coach) who will support the candidate during this course. The University Coach is a veteran practitioner with a Professional Clear Credential and expertise in the content area of the clinical practice course. Supervision is held in a placement school classroom

Course Description

SPED 173 is the second of three required supervised clinical practice experiences in the program. Education Specialist candidates will take part in three full days per week, full semester [18 hours per week in classroom; 21 hours per week including ½ hour before and ½ hour after school time included] experience serving culturally and linguistically diverse identified children with mild/moderate and extensive needs, some of whom may also be identified as English learners. This clinical practice experience may take place in any of these settings: grade K- 12 classroom, center-based instruction, special schools, adult transition program for students ages 18-22, inclusive settings, and/or co-teaching in a general education classroom. Candidates will spend time in the field experience completing writing and implementing lesson plans and instructional activities, providing appropriate accommodations to lessons, conducting assessments, developing curriculum and performing other professional duties of the special education teacher. Candidates are required to demonstrate competency in planning, assessment and instructional tasks required of effective special educators while steadily increasing their classroom responsibilities. Candidates will take over some small group and individual student responsibilities from the Mentor Teacher for a period of four or more weeks during the semester.

Diversity Statement: The CSU Fresno student body is one of the most diverse in the nation and proudly reflects the population of the Central Valley of California. The university serves a region with over ninety separate and identifiable ethnic and racial groups. Our students come with a variety of backgrounds, expectations, and levels of preparation. Many are first-generation college students. Many students work either full or part-time in addition to attending the university. Some students have learned English as a second language, and a cluster are international students. The University draws most of its students from the metropolitan area and the surrounding communities in Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Kings and Tulare counties. In order to serve the needs of this large region, classes are held on the main campus, at off-campus locations. To accommodate student needs and serve the rural locations classes are also taught either partially or fully online.

The California State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. The university supports an academic and work environment that protects dignity and promotes the mutual respect of faculty, staff, and students. In the P12 Educational Leadership department diversity is a celebrated component of our program, and is respected, shared and celebrated in our work with each other and is reflected in our work products.

Expectations for understanding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): The definitions listed below can be credited to UC Berkeley Center for Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity and the University of Houston’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion. These definitions are by no means exhaustive. Rather, they are meant to provide a foundational knowledge in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is also easier to embrace something when we understand it.

• Diversity: Includes but is not limited to race, color, ethnicity, nationality, religion, socioeconomic status, veteran status, education, marital status, language, age, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical ability, genetic information, and learning styles.
• Equity: The guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all while striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. The principle of equity acknowledges that there are historically under-served and under-represented populations and that fairness regarding these unbalanced conditions is needed to assist equality in the provision of effective opportunities to all groups.
• Inclusion: Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision/policy making in a way that shares power and ensures equal access to opportunities and resources. Diversity advocate Verna Myers coined the phrase “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”

Required Course Materials

• Candidates will be required to access Canvas for syllabus, assignments, resources, etc. The University provides free email accounts to all students. Internet accounts are available for a fee through unWired Broadband (https://www.unwiredbb.com/).
• Refer to (or download when necessary) the California Department of Education website: http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/fd/
  • Common Core State Standards
  • Next Generation Science Standards
  • Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards
  • Reading/Language Arts Frameworks for California Public Schools, 2000 Revised Edition of Core Curriculum
• Active Tk20 account (can be purchased at fresnostate.Tk20.com)
• Lesson planning
• Fresno Assessment of Student Teachers, FAST
• Education Specialist Clinical Practice Handbook, Calendar and templates from website: https://kremen.fresnostate.edu/teaching-credential/sped/current-students.html

Course Specifics

The learning outcomes are aligned with the Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for Professional Teacher Preparation Programs adopted by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC), Teaching Performance Expectations (TPE), and the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) Standards, and the KSOEHD Dispositions:

Reflection, Critical Thinking, Professional Ethics, Valuing Diversity, Collaboration, and Life-Long Learning.

Student Learning Outcomes

Note: (ESN = Extensive Support Needs TPE, MM= Mild/Moderate TPE, U = Universal TPE)

The following teacher performance expectations (TPEs) are addressed in this course:

TPE 1: Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning

ESN1.11 Facilitate and support students in assuming increasing responsibility for learning and self-advocacy based on individual needs, with appropriate transitions between academic levels in programs and developing skills related to career, college, independent living and community participation.

MM1.1 Demonstrate the ability to collaboratively develop and implement Individualized Education Programs (IEP), including instructional goals that ensure access to the California Common Core State Standards and/or California Preschool Learning Foundations, as appropriate, that lead to effective inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education core curriculum.

MM1.3 Demonstrate knowledge of students’ language development across disabilities and the life span, including typical and atypical language development, communication skills, social pragmatics, language skills (e.g., executive functioning) and/or vocabulary/semantic development as they relate to the acquisition of academic knowledge and skills. (U1.6)

U1.7 Provide students with opportunities to access the curriculum by incorporating the visual and performing arts, as appropriate to the content and context of learning.

TPE 2 Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning

MM2.3 Demonstrate the ability to address functional limitations of movement and/or sensation for students with orthopedic impairments who may have a co-existing health impairment and/or intellectual disability and have difficulty accessing their education due to physical limitations.

MM2.4 Collaborate with families and appropriate related services personnel to support access to optimal learning experiences for students with mild to moderate support needs in a wide variety of general education and specialized academic instructional settings, including but not limited to the home, natural environments, educational settings in hospitals and treatment centers, and classroom and/or itinerant instructional delivery and/or consultation in public/nonpublic school programs.

MM2.5 Demonstrate knowledge of the communicative intent of students’ behavior as well as the ability to help students develop positive communication skills and systems to replace negative behavior. (U2.1/2.6)

MM2.6 Demonstrate the ability to identify if a student’s behavior is a manifestation of his or her disability and, if so, to develop positive behavior intervention plans inclusive of the types of interventions and multi-tiered systems of supports that may be needed to address these behavior issues. (U2.6)

MM2.8 Apply and collaboratively implement supports needed to establish and maintain student success in the least restrictive environment, according to students’ unique needs.

MM2.9 Demonstrate the skills required to ensure that interventions and/or instructional environments are appropriate to the student’s chronological age, developmental levels, and disability-specific needs, including community-based instructional environments. (U2.5)

U2.3 Establish, maintain, and monitor inclusive learning environments that are physically, mentally, intellectually, and emotionally healthy and safe to enable all students to learn, and recognize and appropriately address instances of intolerance and harassment among students, such as bullying, racism, and sexism.

U2.4 Collaborate with families and appropriate related services personnel to support access to, and optimal learning experiences for, students with extensive support needs in a wide variety of general education and specialized instructional settings, included but not limited to the home, natural environments, educational settings in hospitals and treatment centers, and classroom or itinerant instructional delivery and/or consultation in public/nonpublic school programs.

U2.5 Maintain high expectations for learning with appropriate support for the full range of students in the classroom.

U2.6 Establish and maintain clear expectations for positive classroom behavior and for student-to-student and student-to-teacher interactions by communicating classroom routines, procedures, and norms to students and families.

TPE 3: Understanding and Organizing Subject Matter for Student Learning

ESN3.5 Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of atypical development associated with various disabilities and risk conditions (e.g., orthopedic impairment, autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy), as well as resilience and protective factors (e.g., attachment, temperament), and their implications for learning.

MM3.1 Effectively adapt, modify, accommodate and/or differentiate the instruction of students with identified disabilities in order to facilitate access to the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). (U3.5)

MM3.2 Demonstrate knowledge of disabilities and their effects on learning, skills development, social-emotional development, mental health, and behavior, and how to access and use related services and additional supports to organize and support effective instruction. (U3.2)

TPE 4: Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students

ESN4.7 Coordinate, collaborate, co-teach and communicate effectively with other service providers, including paraprofessionals, general education teachers, parents, students, and community agencies for instructional planning and planning for successful student transitions. (U4.6)

MM4.3 Demonstrate the ability to identify and use behaviorally based teaching strategies with the understanding that behaviors are communicative and serve a function.

U4.8 Use digital tools and learning technologies across learning environments as appropriate to create new content and provide personalized and integrated technology-rich lessons to engage students in learning, promote digital literacy, and offer students multiple means to demonstrate their learning.

TPE 5: Assessing Student Learning

U5.6 Work with specialists to interpret assessment results from formative and summative assessments to distinguish between students whose first language is English, English learners, Standard English learners, and students with language or other disabilities.

MM5.1 Apply knowledge of the purposes, characteristics, and appropriate uses of different types of assessments used to determine special education eligibility, progress monitoring, placement in LRE, and services. Candidates also apply knowledge of when and how to use assessment sources that integrate alternative statewide assessments, formative assessments, and formal/informal assessment results as appropriate, based on students’ needs. (U5.1/5.2)

MM5.2 Each candidate utilizes assessment data to: 1) identify effective intervention and support techniques, 2) develop needed augmentative and alternative systems, 3) implement instruction of communication and social skills, 4) create and facilitate opportunities for interaction; 5) develop communication methods to demonstrate student academic knowledge; and 6) address the unique learning, sensory and access needs of students with physical/orthopedic disabilities, other health impairments, and multiple disabilities.

MM5.6 Know how to appropriately administer assessments according to the established protocols for each assessment. Candidates also understand how to implement appropriate accommodations on assessments for students with disabilities that do not fundamentally alter the nature and/or content of what is being tested, and how to use AAC appropriately for facilitating the participation in the assessment of students with complex communications needs. (U5.2/5.4)

TPE 6: Developing as a Professional Educator

MM6.1 Demonstrate the ability to coordinate and collaborate effectively with paraprofessionals and other adults in the classroom. (U6.4)

Expectations To Align with the TPEs:

• Teacher Candidates will develop and maintain clear expectations for academic and social behavior and create a positive environment for learning (TPE 1).
• Teacher Candidates will demonstrate specific pedagogical skills for the instruction of reading, language arts, math, and science, visual and performing arts (TPE 1).
• Teacher Candidates will allocate instructional time to maximize student learning (TPE 2).
• Teacher Candidates will monitor student learning during instruction (TPE 2)
• Teacher Candidates will interpret and use assessments for planning instruction (TPE 3)
• Teacher Candidates will make content accessible (TPE 4)
• Teacher Candidates will engage students in the learning process (TPE 5)
• Teacher Candidates will utilize developmentally appropriate teaching practices (TPE 6)
• Teacher Candidates will exhibit appropriate ethical and legal behavior (TPE 6)
• Teacher Candidates will evaluate and reflect upon their own teaching practices for the purpose of improvement (TPE 6).

Major Assignments

1. Attend weekly meetings called by the University Coach.
2. Pre-Disposition Survey and Post-Disposition Survey. Developing dispositions essential to becoming a professional educator is required of the Multiple Subject Credential Program. Teacher candidates are required to:
   1. Complete the pre-disposition survey during week 1 or 2 of the semester.
   2. Discuss the results with your University Coach and set a goal for an area of growth.
   3. Complete the post-disposition survey during week 15 or 16 of the semester.
3. Clinical Practice Agreement. This agreement is to be reviewed at the first triad meeting with the Teacher Candidate (TC), Mentor Teacher (MT) and University Clinical Practice Coach (CC). It is intended to assist with clarifying responsibilities as well as individualizing the gradual release plan for the TC. This is a working document that can be adjusted as needed.
   1. The weeks shown are estimates and do not necessarily match the actual weeks of the semester. Remember that exploring and engaging with the Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs) must remain central to TC learning and development. This agreement is to be uploaded into the Teacher Candidate’s Tk20 binder after the triad meeting.
4. Clinical Practice Experience and Logging Clinical Hours. Teacher Candidates are required to participate in a minimum of 21 hours per week in clinical placement aiming to log approximately 240-280 hours during this course.
   1. Teacher Candidate assume responsibility for all morning routines on a daily basis.
   2. Clinical activities may include: walking the students to the classroom, taking attendance, collecting and correcting homework, and morning review, calendar, lesson planning, co-teaching strategies, reviewing assessment data, attending professional learning community at school site, attending professional learning approved by Fresno State, attending parent-teacher conferences, attending district board meetings, etc.
5. Class Profile. Information must include a class summary of (a) English proficiency levels, (b) identified needs (IEP, 504, behavioral plans), (c) ethnicity, and (d) reading/writing proficiency (with the source of your information). In addition, the candidate will identify other information about individual students. The information gathered should directly inform your planning and instruction to ensure all students have access to the curriculum.
   1. This information may include academic strengths and challenges, cultural background, interests, social interactions, attitude, language proficiency, health needs, etc.
   2. A review of IEP goals, 504 plans, or behavior plans should be part of this process. Interest surveys, observations of interactions and behavior, and conversations are good sources of information.
6. Assuming Classroom Routines. The Teacher Candidate assumes responsibility of the morning routine on a daily basis as documented by the University Coach/ Mentor Teacher observation. Activities may include walking the students to the classroom, taking attendance, collecting and correcting homework, and morning review, calendar etc. Each week after the morning routine is assumed, the candidate will assume responsibility for another classroom routine.
7. Lesson Planning. Every week you will participate in the development of the weekly lesson plans with your Mentor Teacher and you will observe and ask questions about how a unit of study is put together. Each candidate will develop one standards-based weekly lesson plan and have them approved by your University Coach and/or Mentor Teacher 36 hours before each lesson is taught.
8. Six or More Successful Formal Lessons with Debrief. The candidate will develop and teach or co-teach a minimum of six formal lessons to address standards-based content taught in the classroom. Each lesson will be taught, recorded while teaching, and should last at least 15-20 minutes or more. Submit the lesson plan to the Mentor Teacher and University Coach for feedback and approval at least 36 hours before the lesson is to be taught. Following the teaching of the lesson, the candidate will meet with the University Coach to debrief. Following each lesson, the Teacher Candidate will write a reflection on the lesson’s strengths and challenges using the Tk20 template. The specific lessons to be taught must include the following:

9. Reflections. Six reflections are due during weeks 3 - 14 in the semester. Each reflection should be no longer than 300 words in length. Topics for the reflections will be provided in the course timeline.
10. Formal Assessment and IEP Team Meeting. The candidate conducts or co-conducts a formal assessment of a student and reflects on the process in writing. He/She/They then develop or co-develop the draft IEP and facilitate or co-facilitate the team meeting.
11. Develop a Parent Communication Plan. Each candidate will develop or co-develop a communication plan for parents and families that provides regular communication with parents and families on the progress of their child and the classroom themes. This plan will be evaluated by the University Coach and Mentor Teacher.
12. Develop a Data Collection System. Each candidate will develop or co-develop a data collection system to communicate the child’s progress to the parents at the IEP Team meeting. Data will be collected on one child, the plan analyzed by the candidate and then shared with the Mentor Teacher and University Coach for evaluation.
13. Mid-Semester and Final-Semester Performance Review. During week 7 or 8, the University Coach will help schedule a meeting with the Teacher Candidate and Mentor Teacher to review the candidate’s progress and to set learning goals for areas of improvement for the second half of the semester. During week 15 or 16, the University Coach will schedule a meeting with the Teacher Candidate and Mentor Teacher to review the candidate’s final progress and to set learning goals for areas of improvement for the clinical practice course.

CO-TEACHING REQUIREMENTS

The goal of co-teaching is for all students to get high-quality instruction. Co-teaching can support teachers in implementing IEP and 504 plan goals in a general education classroom. The following outlines five co-teaching strategies. You are required to write and implement one co-taught lesson using one of the strategies below. The lesson may be co-taught with your Mentor Teacher, General Education teacher, Instructional Assistant, or other personnel, as approved by your University Coach.

Co-Teaching Strategies:

• Station Teaching
• Team Teaching
• Parallel Teaching
• Supplemental Teaching
• Alternative Teaching

ASSIGNMENT AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

*Consult with your University Coach for scheduling observations

Credit for SPED 173

To receive credit for SPED 173, candidates must receive a grade of “A” or “B”. If a grade of ‘C’ or lower is earned, the Teacher Candidate will need to repeat the course.

• Grade A = All clinical practice assignments are completed on time and exceed expectations. In addition, candidates must keep all assignments current in the Tk20 binder.
• Grade B = 90% of the clinical practice assignments are completed on time and exceed or meet expectations. In addition, candidates must keep all assignments current in the Tk20 binder.

Course Policies & Safety Issues

The following sections regarding COVID are subject to change given changing circumstances on-campus and in the community. Please check the COVID website for the most up-to-date information at: https://covid.fresnostate.edu/cases/index.html

Vaccination: All Students who access Campus/Programs must be Fully Vaccinated (including the booster dose when eligible to receive it) in order to participate in any in-person course-related activities (either on-campus or off-campus). Students may select that they will not be participating in any in-person activities (which includes use of the Library, Student Union and/or Student Health & Counseling Center) and/or may attest to a Medical or Religious Exemption from the vaccine policy requirement in accordance with CSU and campus procedures. Students should go to the Student Portal to update their COVID self-certification form and vaccine documentation. Requests for exemptions can be found there. You are not to come to campus if any of the following are true:

• You are not considered fully vaccinated, and you have not attested to a medical or religious exemption.
• You have attested to an exemption, but you have not completed your mandatory weekly COVID-19 test.

Health Screening: Please do not come to campus or off-campus learning site if any of the following is true:

• If you have experienced COVID-19 symptoms (vaccinated or not).
• If you have tested positive within the past 10 days.

Please complete the campus online reporting form (https://covid.fresnostate.edu/cases/reporting.html), and you will then receive further guidance.

Safety Measures: While masks will no longer be required, we strongly encourage their use, as face coverings are still a valuable tool in the fight against COVID-19, especially in large group settings. We fully support and respect those who wish to continue wearing face coverings.

Individuals can pick up face coverings, provided at no cost, at any of the following locations:

• Library
• University Student Union
• Student Health and Counseling Center
• Student Housing Atrium
• COVID Testing Site – check the below website for location

Please see university website for the most updated information: www.fresnostate.edu/coronavirus

Please remember that the same student conduct rules that are used for in-person classroom instruction also apply for virtual/online classrooms. Students are prohibited from any unauthorized recording, dissemination, or publication of any academic presentation, including any online classroom instruction, for any commercial purpose. In addition, students may not record or use virtual/online instruction in any manner that would violate copyright law. Students are to use all online/virtual instruction exclusively for the educational purpose of the online class in which the instruction is being provided. Students may not re-record any online recordings or post any online recordings in any other format (e.g., electronic, video, social media, audio recording, web page, internet, hard paper copy, etc.) for any purpose without the explicit written permission of the faculty member providing the instruction. Exceptions for disability-related accommodations will be addressed by Student Disability Services working in conjunction with the student and faculty member.

Plagiarism Detection: The campus subscribes to Turnitin, a plagiarism prevention service, through Canvas. You will need to submit written assignments to Turnitin. Student work will be used for plagiarism detection and for no other purpose. The student may indicate in writing to the instructor that he/she refuses to participate in the plagiarism detection process, in which case the instructor can use other electronic means to verify the originality of their work.

Dispute Resolution: If there are questions or concerns that you have about this course that you and I are not able to resolve, please feel free to contact the Chair of the department to discuss the matter.

Chair’s name: Dr. Imelda Basurto
Department name: Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education
Chair’s email: ibasurto@csufresno.edu
Department phone number: 559.278.0285

Intellectual Property: All course materials, including but not limited to the syllabus, readings, quiz questions, exam questions, and assignments prepared by the instructor are property of the instructor and University. Students are prohibited from posting course materials online (e.g., Course Hero) and from selling course materials to or being paid for providing materials to any person or commercial firm without the express written permission of the professor teaching this course. Doing so will constitute both an academic integrity violation and a copyright violation. Audio and video recordings of class lectures are prohibited unless I give you explicit permission in advance. Students with an official letter from the Services for Students with Disabilities office may record the class if SSD has approved that service. Otherwise, recordings of lectures are included in the intellectual property notice described above.

Student Ratings of Instruction: In the final weeks of the semester, you will be asked to complete a short survey to provide feedback about this class. The primary goal of student ratings is to help your instructor improve the class. Feedback will also be reviewed by the department chair and the college dean. You will be given 15 minutes of class time to complete student ratings. Please offer feedback honestly and thoughtfully. Your participation is appreciated. You can access your student rating surveys and get more information at: https://sites.google.com/mail.fresnostate.edu/fresno-state-sri/fssri-for-students.

University Policies

Students with Disabilities: Upon identifying themselves to the instructor and the university, students with disabilities will receive reasonable accommodation for learning and evaluation. For more information, contact Services to Students with Disabilities in the Henry Madden Library, Room 1202 (278-2811).

The following University policies can be found on the web at:

• Adding and Dropping Classes
• Cheating and Plagiarism
• Computers
• Copyright Policy
• Disruptive Classroom Behavior
• Honor Code
• Title IX

The following University services can be found on the web at:

• Associated Students, Inc.

Subject to Change Statement

THIS SYLLABUS AND SCHEDULE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE IN THE EVENT OF EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.

Tentative Course Schedule

Please refer to SPED 173 Clinical Practice Agreement on the Fresno State Education Specialist website for a detailed schedule of activities and deadlines.

Download the PDF

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