Education of Exceptional Students Core: Content Knowledge (0353)

III. Delivery of Services to Students with Disabilities

1. Background knowledge, including
   1. conceptual approaches underlying service delivery to students with disabilities, including cognitive, constructivist, psychodynamic, behavioral, sociological, ecological, therapeutic (speech/language, physical, and occupational) and medical approaches
   2. placement and program issues such as early intervention; least restrictive environment; inclusion; role of individualized education program (IEP) team; due process guidelines; categorical, non-categorical, and cross-categorical programs; continuum of educational and related services; related services and their integration into the classroom, including roles of other professionals; accommodations, including access to assistive technology; transition of students into and within special education placements; community-based training; postschool transitions
   3. integrating best practices from multidisciplinary research and professional literature into the educational setting

2. Curriculum and instruction and their implementation across the continuum of educational placements, including
   1. the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)/Individualized Education Program (IEP) process
   2. instructional development and implementation; for example: instructional activities, curricular materials and resources, working with classroom and support personnel, tutoring options
   3. teaching strategies and methods; for example: modification of materials and equipment, learning centers, facilitated groups, study skills groups, self-management, cooperative learning, diagnostic-prescriptive method, modeling, skill drill, guided practice, concept generalization, learning strategy instruction, and direct instruction
   4. instructional format and components; for example: small- and large-group instruction, facilitated group strategies, functional academics, general academics with focus on special education, ESL and limited English proficiency, language and literacy acquisition, self-care and daily living skills, prevocational and vocational skills
   5. career development and transition issues as related to curriculum design and implementation for students with disabilities according to the criteria of ultimate functioning
   6. technology for teaching and learning in special education settings; for example: integrating assistive technology into the classroom; computer-assisted instruction; augmentative and alternative communication; adaptive access for microcomputers; positioning and power mobility for students with physical disabilities; accessing and using information technology; use of productivity tools; technology for sensory disabilities; and voice-activated, speech-synthesis, speech-recognition, and word-prediction software

3. Assessment, including
   1. use of assessment for screening, diagnosis, placement, and the making of instructional decisions; for example: how to select and conduct nondiscriminatory and appropriate assessments; how to interpret standardized and specialized assessment results; how to effectively use evaluation results in Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)/Individualized Education Program (IEP); how to prepare written reports and communicate findings
   2. procedures and test materials, both formal and informal, typically used for pre-referral, referral, eligibility, placement, and ongoing program monitoring
   3. how to select, construct, conduct, and modify nondiscriminatory, developmentally and chronologically age-appropriate informal assessments, including teacher-made tests, curriculum-based assessment, and alternatives to norm-referenced testing (including observations, anecdotal records, error analysis, miscue analysis, self-evaluation questionnaires and interviews, journals and learning logs, portfolio assessment)

4. Structuring and managing the learning environment, including
   1. structuring the learning environment; for example: the physical-social environment for learning (expectations, rules, consequences, consistency, attitudes, lighting, acoustic characteristics, seating, access, safety provisions, and strategies for positive interactions); transitions between lessons and activities; grouping of students; integration of related services (occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language therapy)
   2. classroom management techniques; for example: behavioral analysis (identification and definition of antecedents, target behavior, and consequent events); behavioral interventions; functional analysis; data-gathering procedures (such as anecdotal data, frequency methods, and interval methods); self-management strategies and reinforcement; cognitive-behavioral interventions; social skills training
   3. behavior management strategies

5. Professional roles, including
   1. specific roles and responsibilities of teachers; for example: teacher as a collaborator with other teachers, teacher educators, parents, community groups, and outside agencies; teacher as a multidisciplinary team member; maintaining effective and efficient documentation; selecting appropriate environments and services for students; critical evaluation and use of professional literature and organizations; reflecting on one's own teaching; teacher's role in a variety of teaching settings (self-contained classroom, resource room, itinerant, co-teacher in inclusion setting, etc.); and maintaining student confidentiality
   2. influence of teacher attitudes, values and behaviors on the learning of exceptional students
   3. communicating with parents, guardians and appropriate community collaborators; for example: directing parents and guardians to parent-educators or to other groups and resources; writing reports directly to parents; meeting with parents to discuss student concerns, progress, and IEP's; encouraging parent participation; reciprocal communication and training with other service providers