Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 2 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Changing social attitudes towards individuals with disabilities across the past three decades have resulted in fundamental shifts within society especially with regard to access to education. Classroom teachers are now expected to provide an inclusive educational program that meets the needs of all learners in their classrooms. In this unit, you will develop your knowledge of a range of disabilities experienced by children in schools and you will become familiar with ways in which you can work collaboratively with parent and specialists to meet the educational and social needs of these children in an inclusive classroom.

Aims

The aim of this unit is to provide you with opportunities to develop an understanding of the philosophy, policies and procedures, pedagogical requirements, and practical issues involved in teaching and supporting children with disabilities in inclusive schools and classrooms.

Objectives

Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of educational and social needs of children with diabilities including those with chronic health impairments [QCT Standard 6]

2. Demonstrate an understanding of the services available within schools and communities to support the development of children with disabilities [QCT Standard 6]

3. Demonstrate an ability to design and evaluate differentiated and individualised instructional activities for children with disabilities in inclusive classrooms [QCT Standards 1 & 3]

4. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of working collaboratively with parents and with specialists to support the development of children with disabilities [QCT Standards 8 & 9]

Content

This unit includes the following topics:

1. The nature of children's disabilities (e.g., intellectual impairment, physical, hearing and visual impairments, speech and language impairment, Autism Spectrum disorders, and chronic health impariments such as asthma and diabetes).

2. The implications of these disabilities for children's educational and social development.

3. Approaches to teaching students with disabilities in inclusive settings e.g. Differentiated Instruction, Universal Design for Learning and Response to Intervention

4. The provision of additional individualised instruction and support for children with disabilities (e.g., oral-motor exercises, feeding, and personal care).

5. The assessment for learning and development of children with disabilities including reference to the Individual Educational Plan (IEP) and the Education Adjustment Profile (EAP) and how these link to teacher unit planning.

6. School-based and community-based support services and organisations

7. Consultation and collaboration with parents, support staff, and specialist teams

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

Teaching and learning approaches in this unit involve direct instruction and constructivist learning activities. Students will be required to actively engage in lectures, tutorials, discussions, and presentations as well as collaborative and individual problem-solving tasks. Attendance and participation in all activities are regarded as essential.
The unit's Blackboard site will be used to ensure that all students have access to examples of presentations and written assignments as well as required resources.

Assessment

You will be required to complete two assessment items addressing both theoretical and applied components of the unit outcomes.Assessment for this unit is both summative and formative. Formative assessment will be provided through opportunity for reflection, discussion and feedback in lecture and tutorial sessions. Summative assessment is provided through a group presentation, creation of a professional reflective journal and a critical essay.

Assessment name: Group Presentation
Description: Formative and Summative assessment

In a small group you will review a particular category of disability or health problems and present an interactive 40 minute seminar/workshop on the educational implications of the disability and the advantages of collaboration with specialist teachers and parents and why this is important.
Each student will also develop a reflective resource containing information gleaned from each group's presentation as well as relevant material from institutional and educational websites (e.g., Education Queensland's Inclusive Education statement) that will assist them in supporting children with disabilities in their future teaching practice.

Length: 1500 words or equivalent
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, & 3
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group with Individual Component
Due date: Final class

Assessment name: Essay
Description: You will present a critical discussion about a particular approach to teaching students with disabilities. The approach you choose has to reflect principles of inclusive education. Your response will include a description of the approach; a critique of the approach and an annotated list of resources to support a teacher using this approach.
You will present an abstract of your proposed essay for review by peers during the semester.

Length: 2000 - 2500 words
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3 & 4
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: End-Semester

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

There is no required text for this unit. Recommended texts include:

Foreman, P. (Ed). (2008). Inclusion in action. Sydney: Thomson/Nelson

Vaughn, S., Bos. C.S., & Schumm, J.S. (2006). Teaching exceptional, diverse and at-risk students in the general education classroom (3^rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Westwood, P. (2007). Commonsense methods for children with special educational needs (5^th ed.).London: Routledge.

Other relevant resource materials will be provided on the unit's Blackboard site.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with the general conduct of this unit. Workplace health and safety protocols in relation to computer use will apply.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 31-Oct-2012