Overview of Exceptionalities COURSE OUTLINE INSTRUCTOR: De Anne Hutchison OFFICE: 2607A PHONE: 403-342-3315(O) or 403-749-3095(H) OFFICE HOURS: Monday and Wednesday 1:30 to 2:30 or by appointment E-MAIL: EDAS 152 Z EC Blackboard site or Deanne.hutchison@rdc.ab.ca Class Dates: Alternate Tuesdays September 9, 23, October 7, 21, November 4, 25. Time: 8:00 PM 10:00PM Room: Blackboard Live Classroom DESCRIPTION: This course examines definitions, classifications, schemes, prevalence, causes, psychological and behavioral characteristics, and introduces education considerations covering a wide range of exceptionalities. Students are responsible for all materials, including: text, handouts, lecture and discussion information. OBJECTIVES: 1. The student will become aware of the unique individuality of each person in society. 2. The student will become aware of the unique potential and learning ability of all individuals. 3. The student will be able to define the terminology that is relevant to the course. 4. The student will develop an understanding of definitions classifications, prevalence, measurement and causes of a wide range of exceptionalities. 5. The student will be able to identify and list the major characteristics of a wide range of exceptionalities. Course Topics: 1. Introduction of Exceptionalities 2. Intellectual Disabilities 3. Learning Disabilities 4. Gifted and Talented Learners 5. Communication Disorders 6. Autism 7. Hearing impairments 8. Visual impairments 9. Physical/Medical/Health Conditions 10. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder 11. Social/Emotional/Behavioral Disorders Required Textbooks: Exceptional Lives Special Education in Today s School, Seventh Edition, Pearson Ann Turnball, Rud Turnball, Michael Wehmeyer, Karrie Shogren IMPORTANT DATES: August 8, 2014: Last day to PAY FEES September 11, 2014: Last day to ADD/DROP this course December 3, 2014: Final day to withdraw and receive a WD. If you do not formally WD in writing from a course you will receive a letter grade.
EVALUATION AND GRADING ASSIGNMENTS % OF FINAL MARK DATE ASSIGNMENT DUE Quizzes 20% Open for one week prior to LIVE CLASS DUE the MONDAY before the Live class Mid Term Evaluation 20% Open from October 12 October 19 Blogs 20% September 19, October 3, November 14 Journals 20% October 17, November 7, November 28 Disability for a Day 20% December 3, 2014 The final grade in this course will be computed based on the following elements. At all times the Red Deer College final examinations policy will be adhered to. The final grade in this course will be converted to a letter grade in the following manner: Percent Letter Grade 92-100 A 87-92 A- 82-86 B+ 77-81 B 72-76 B- 67-71 C+ 63-66 C 59-62 C- 54-58 D+ 50-53 D 0-49 F According to RDC policy the following grid shows the letter grade to GPA conversion: Grade Point Letter Grade Description 4.0 A+ 4.0 A Excellent Performance 3.7 A- 3.3 B+ 3.0 B Good Performance 2.7 B- 2.0 C Satisfactory Performance 1.7 C- 1.3 D+ 1.0 D Pass 0.0 F Fail Note: A grade of A will generally be the top grade in a course, with A+ being reserved for recognition of exceptional achievement. An A+ grade will only be given at the end of the term to students with outstanding levels of achievement. No A+ grades will be given for assignments, quizzes, and tests during the term. 2
MID-TERM FEEDBACK DATE: Week of October 24 th, Mid-term feedback will be based on Modules 1, 2 and 3. After reviewing their marks, students should make an appointment with the instructor to discuss their progress and concerns if the cumulative total is less than 50%. The instructor is also available prior to this in designated office hours if the student has any concerns. COURSE OUTLINE CHANGES: Changes to this course outline may be made after it commences providing this is done in consultation with the students and reviewed by the Program Chairperson for completeness and consistency with all college policies. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: Please be familiar with what constitutes academic misconduct, as well as the consequences. Plagiarism involves submitting work in a course as if it were the student s own work. Plagiarism may involve the act of submitting work in which some or all of the phrasing, ideas, or line of reasoning are alleged to be the submitter s own but in fact were created by someone else. The complete RDC policy is available at: http://www.rdc.ab.ca/about/standard_practices/documents/student_dispute_appeal_and_ misconduct_ processes_policy.pdf ACADEMIC RESOURCES: Students should be aware that Personal Counselling, Career, Learning and Disability Services are provided by RDC. Inquire about locations at Information Desk. It is the student s responsibility to discuss their specific learning needs with the appropriate service provider. Classroom Learning Resources may be available to students in alternate formats. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES: It is the student s responsibility to be familiar with the information contained in the Course Outline and to clarify any areas of concern with the instructor. Students should refer to the Student Dispute, Appeal and Misconduct Processes Policy and Standard Practice should they have questions or concerns about the Course Outline that cannot be resolved with the instructor. Attendance may take many forms. Lack of attendance may impact the students ability to successfully complete the course. This course may be eligible for Prior Learning Assessment. Students should refer to the RDC Course Calendar for a list of excluded courses. FINAL EXAMINATIONS POLICY: Final Examinations Policy will be followed with respect to final exams. Please review this document to ensure you understand the contents and implications of the policy. 3
LEARNING ACTIVITIES: Teaching in this course is comprised of lectures, discussions, activity-based learning and group work. Students can expect to engage in small group work at times during all components of the course. LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY: Assignments are due on the date specified. Assignments that come in after the due date will be deducted 5% a day to a maximum of 1 week at which time you will receive a zero. If you are having difficulty getting an assignment completed, please contact me prior to the due date to have a discussion. Note: Every attempt will be made to return the assignments with feedback within two weeks of due date. Formal Feedback will be given as outlined in the Red Deer College Calendar. Note: Blogs, e-mail, journals and submitted assignments, or any part thereof, will not be used or viewed beyond this course offering. BLOG ASSIGNMENTS The purpose of this activity is to assist you in understanding your and others opinions on the ideas and values presented in this course. There should be three clear components in your discussion postings: 1. Identify the issue 2. Reflect on the issue 3. Respond to a peer s blog. 3 2 1 0 Blog posted on time. Posting is clear, reflective and includes the required information. Student has responded to another classmate s blog in a reflective manner or with constructive feedback. Blog posted. Posting includes some of the required information. Requires more reflection and/or clarity. Student has responded to another classmate s blog in a reflective manner or with constructive feedback. Blog posted. Significant problems with content, clarity. Student s response to classmate s blog lacks reflection or critical thinking. No blog posted 4
Description: BUILDING BLOCKS JOURNAL You will need to complete 3 journals over this semester. The journal will should reflect what you learned by reading, listening and/or participating in a class on the exceptionality. This is a less structured assignment, but it is intended to help you focus on both the information and your own reflections or reactions to it. As you attend each class and participate in the readings and discussion, your journals should continue to include knowledge that you are applying from different exceptionalities. Format: This should be written in paragraph form. This should contain no more than 5 paragraphs. This assignment will be submitted via Blackboard in the textbox provided. GRADING RUBRIC Journal Each Journal = 12 marks Total of 36 marks Identified what was learned. Identified challenges in working with exceptionality. Previous topic knowledge and application Identified what needs to be learned Struggled to identify any learning. Struggled to identify challenges. 1 2 3 Indicated some things learned about exceptionality. and included Struggled to connect topic to previous knowledge and application Struggled to identify any new learning needed. Indicated some challenges. Indicated a connection to a previous topic and/or was able to apply knowledge. Indicated what needs to be learned. Clearly described what was learned about exceptionality Clearly described challenges in working with exceptionality and will have incorporated challenges from other course topics. Clearly made connections to previous learning and was able to apply knowledge. Clearly identified and was insightful and reflective in what the student needs to learn. 5
ASSIGNMENT 1 Disability For a Day Total = 24 Marks Throughout this course we will be discussing various disabilities. We will be discussing characteristics of the disability, advocacy for the disability, how easy learned helplessness can occur and how to encourage self-determination. Choose a disability to have for a 24 hour period. This cannot be a disability that you already have. For example: If you have a hearing impairment, then you need to pick another disability. In a DEAR DIARY style format - tell me about your day. Start from when you woke up to going to bed and any highlights that impacted you through the day. Then REFLECT on how having this disability for the day impacted you emotionally and physically. Did it affect others that are around you? How? And then identify what you will consider now, when working with students with a disability. This reflection should include course concepts covered in class and through the textbook. Background Information Please provide the following background information and hand in with your assignment on a separate page. This information is to provide a brief look into what a day may consist of in your life. This will help me mark your assignment based on the answers that you provide. (This information will not be used past the offering of this course.) QUESTIONS: 1. Do you live with anyone? 2. Do you have children or dependents? 3. Do you work? How often? 4. Daily responsibilities Please list. 5. Anything else you feel that would be beneficial for me to know. Structure of Assignment This assignment should be written in a paragraph style format. It should be double spaced, Times New Roman 11 font and include subheadings. Double spaced minimum 4 pages to maximum 8 pages (including checklist). 6
Grading Rubric 4 3 2 1 or less Content of the day Reflection EA Application and Reflection Student identifies all Student considers Student considers components of the course topics and is course topics and is assignment and has reflective in their reflective in how this incorporated the analysis of how this assignment will impact necessary topics assignment was them as they work with content required to meaningful and students with complete impacted them. exceptionalities. assignment in a thoughtful and meaningful way. Student identifies a few components needed to complete the assignment. Student struggles to identify the components needed to complete this assignment in a meaningful way. Student does not provide the necessary content to complete the assignment. Student identifies some components needed to complete the assignment. Student struggles to reflect on the content. Student identifies 1 or 2 components needed to complete the assignment. Student struggles to reflect on the content. Student struggles to identify any type of reflection in completing this assignment Student identifies some course topics and is reflective on some of the content. Student identifies 1 or 2 course topics, but does not reflect on them in a meaningful manner. Student struggles to identify any course topics that will impact them as they work with students with exceptionalities. Clarity, Grammar and Mechanics Students writing demonstrates thoughtfulness, clarity, conciseness, and correctness. Subheadings are used. No grammatical or spelling errors. Students writing is difficult to follow, lacks clarity, no subheadings and contains a number of errors. Checklist Checklist is submitted with assignment and completed. Checklist is submitted with assignment, but is not full completed. 0 - Checklist is not submitted TOTAL = 18 Marks 7