Teaching Students with Significant Disabilities
Required Courses
Courses in this program have both synchronous and asynchronous components, including online (Zoom) class sessions. Any synchronous sessions are in Mountain Time (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). Dates and times are determined by the course instructor.
These are graduate-level, credit courses, requiring between five and ten hours of coursework per week in the fall and winter terms (13 weeks). This includes time spent on readings, assignments, presentations (group and individual), and writing papers.
Note: you must take a course in the term for which you apply. Course offerings are dependent upon sufficient enrollment.
Fall Term I
EDU 595 Learning Factor Foundations ★3
This course will provide an overview of instructional practices that guide teaching and learning for students with complex communication needs. The course builds on the principles of Universal Design for Learning and the research literature in teaching students with complex communication needs. The course provides an overview of: (1) teaching approaches that support inclusive education for students with complex communication needs, (2) assessment practices and tools that are appropriate for students with complex communication needs, (3) how to use local educational standards to guide goal setting and instruction.
Winter Term I
EDU 595 Access to Language in Alternate Forms ★3
This course introduces classroom teachers and educational professionals to the practices, issues and importance of providing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies and supports to students with complex communication needs. The course will focus on implementing AAC systems to support students’ communication, language and literacy development, and meaningful participation in all aspects of learning experiences.
Fall Term II
EDU 595 Emergent Literacy for Students with Severe Disabilities ★3
This course will focus on quality, comprehensive literacy instruction for students with complex communication needs. The course will emphasize using symbol-supported communication systems and intentionally designed instruction that includes daily opportunities for developing communication and interaction skills, oral language understanding, alphabet and phonological awareness, understanding of concepts about print, and a positive disposition toward literacy. The course will also focus on using CCN symbol and text-based communication systems and systematically designed instruction that includes daily opportunities for moving from emergent to conventional literacy skills by focusing on instruction in word reading (decoding and automatic word identification), text comprehension, silent reading fluency, and writing.
Winter Term II
EDU 595 Accessing Mathematical Learning ★3
This course focuses on quality instruction in mathematics (including numeracy) for students with complex communication needs. The course will emphasize the use of symbol and text-based communication systems and systematically designed instruction to support understandings of number sense, spatial reasoning, principles of geometry, measurement, data, and analytic procedures, and mathematical problem solving including algebra.