Special Education
The department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences offers master's degrees in Special Education. The Special Education program at NC State prepares students for excellence in teaching, assessment, curriculum development, classroom and behavior management, teaching students with high incidence disabilities, evaluation and professional leadership, as well as other areas of service to students with disabilities and to schools and agencies. Our nationally recognized faculty provides excellent teaching, leadership opportunities, and high standards of performance.
The NC Department of Public Instruction has conferred accreditation to the graduate programs in Teacher Education and Learning Sciences. The College of Education is approved any the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
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Admission Requirements
Special Education: A 500-800 word statement describing professional goals is required, along with transcripts and reference letters. Some areas of study require that applicants be qualified to hold a baccalaureate-level teaching license or have teaching experience. A match to resources and faculty areas of interest and expertise is necessary, since the program is competitive. The Graduate School requires a 3.0 in the undergraduate program.
Applicant Information
- Delivery Method: On-Campus
- Entrance Exam: None
- Interview Required: Yes
Application Deadlines
- Fall: April 1
- Spring: December 1
- Summer 1 and 2: April 1
Faculty
Full Professors
- Cathy L. Crossland
- Edward J. Sabornie
Associate Professors
- Jessica Heather Hunt
Assistant Professors
- Jamie Nicole Pearson
Practice/Research/Teaching Professors
- Valerie Ness Faulkner
- Kristin Hofmann
Emeritus Faculty
- Douglas A. Cullinan
- Susan Sinclair Osborne
Courses
Methods and materials for teaching students with disabilities in elementary and secondary school. Focus on research-supported instructional strategies for teaching academic skills, Universal Design for Learning, implementation of appropriate academic interventions, and evaluation of instructional outcomes within the context of Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Systems of Supports.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing
Typically offered in Spring only
Resource teaching in area of special education, with emphasis on resource teaching with students with special needs. Types of resource programs, establishment and maintenance of a program, selection of students, curriculum and materials.
Prerequisite: ECI 585
Typically offered in Summer only
Concepts and procedures involved in design and implementation of techniques for managing the behavior of students in classroom setting. Focus on methods for defining, measuring, increasing, decreasing, maintaining, and generalizing classroom behaviors in all learners. An exploration of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, and Positive Behavior Intervention and Support in school settings.
Typically offered in Fall only
Methods of instruction and materials related to teaching children and persons with mild-moderate levels of disability are emphasized. Effective general pedagogical approaches are stressed, as well as the teaching of functional academic skills, curricula used in instructions, teaching social and adaptive behavior as well as daily living skills, and transition-related skills necessary for independent adult life. Multi-tiered Systems of Support as well as Positive Behavior Intervention and Support are also discussed.
Typically offered in Spring only
This course explores the concepts and practices of educational assessment and diagnosis of students with disabilities, including examination of formal and informal diagnostic procedures currently used in special education.
Prerequisite: ECI 585
Typically offered in Fall and Spring
This course is designed to provide instruction in how to understand and implement culturally-responsive curriculum materials, instructional strategies, and techniques to PK-12 students who demonstrate interfering behaviors in the classroom. Content includes Tier 2 and Tier 3 small group and individualized instruction, group process, organization and evaluation of classroom programs, parent involvement, and community resources within a Positive Behavior Inventions and Supports framework.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Typically offered in Spring only
Introduction to field of special education. Focus on historical overview, definitions and terminology in basic areas of exceptionality; etiological factors in exceptionality; developmental and learning characteristics of each area of exceptionality;and educational settings and strategies employed in special education including Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and Positive Behavior Intervention and Support. Review of current educational laws and policies affecting special education.
Prerequisite: 9 hours of ED or PSY
Typically offered in Fall and Spring
Supervised opportunities for advanced professional development in contexts concerned with special education.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Col. of ED and PSY
Typically offered in Fall and Spring
A case study approach is used in the seminar that requires the application of assessment techniques and instructional intervention methodologies in literacy for K-12 students with disabilities. Assigned activities require access to and experience in schools and/or related settings.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Typically offered in Fall and Spring
This course focuses on how to effectively assess and teach mathematics to students with learning differences. You will explore disabilities as learner variability and diversity (as opposed to deficits). Instruction and intervention are not a means of "fixing" students; rather, we utilize instruction to create experiences that provide access and support for students to advance their knowledge of mathematics. We will experience, design, and facilitate tasks, high leverage routines, and intervention that support the development of a robust mathematics.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Typically offered in Spring only
Thesis research.
Prerequisite: Master's student
Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer