Professional Education Requirements: Special Education

• Development (minimum 3 credits). Select the appropriate development course option.
  • Ed Psych 331 Human Development from Childhood through Adolescence, 3. Recommended for all certification levels.
  • Elementary level certification students may take Ed Psych 331 Human Development from Childhood through Adolescence, 3 OR Ed Psych 320 Human Development in Infancy and Childhood, 3 OR Psych 560 Child Psychology, 3.
  • Secondary level certification students may take Ed Psych 331 Human Development from Childhood through Adolescence, 3 OR Ed Psych 321 Human Development in Adolescence, 2-3, OR Psych 561 Psychology of Adolescence, 3.
  • Elementary/Secondary level certification students must take Ed Psych 331 Human Development from Childhood through Adolescence, 3 OR both Ed Psych 320 Human Development in Infancy and Childhood, 3 AND Ed Psych 321 Human Development in Adolescence, 3
• Learning (minimum 3 credits). Ed Psych 301 Human Abilities and Learning, 3.
• Foundations of the Profession (minimum 3 credits). Select one:
• Ed Pol 300 School and Society
• Ed Pol 412 History of American Education (cross-listed as History 412)
• Ed Pol 500 Social Issues in Education
• Ed Pol 648 Sociology of Education may be used only if taken prior to fall, 2000.
• Mathematics for Elementary Teachers. Complete all three courses, 8 credits:
  • Math 130 Arithmetical Problem Solving, 3. Meets Quantitative Reasoning Part A.
  • Math 131 Geometrical Inference and Reasoning, 3
  • Math 132 Mathematical Models, 3. Together with Math 131, meets Quantitative Reasoning Part B.
    Note: Students with college level calculus course work or advanced placement credit should see this site for possible exemptions: http://www.education.wisc.edu/eas/programs/Exemptionsfor130-32.htm. For more detailed information about these courses: http://www.math.wisc.edu/~lempp/ed.html.
• Communicative Disorders. Complete both:
  • Com Dis 240 Language Development in Children and Adolescents, 3
  • Com Dis 440 Child Language Disorders, Assessment and Intervention, 3
• Instructional Computing. Select Curric 514 Instructional Computing in Schools, 3; Comp Sci 132 Using Computers, 4; or an approved substitute.

Multicultural and Human Relations Requirement

This requirement consists of courses, workshops and experiences that broaden understanding of diversity as it relates to the practice of teaching and the field of education. Students meet this requirement in a variety of ways depending on the particular program. Consult the program advisor and the "Multicultural Education" link on the front page of this site for more information. Students will have multiple opportunities to learn about these topics through required course work.

The required Multicultural Education and Human Relations content areas include:

• The history, culture, and tribal sovereignty of American Indian tribes and bands located in Wisconsin
• The history, culture and contributions of women and various racial, cultural, language and economic groups in the United States.
• The philosophical and psychological bases of attitude development and change.
• The psychological and social implications of discrimination, especially racism and sexism in the American society.
• Evaluating and assessing the forces of discrimination, especially racism and sexism on faculty, students, curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the school program.
• Minority group relations through direct involvement with various racial, cultural, language and economic groups in the United States. (This requirement was formerly Code Point 5 of the Human Relations program.)

Special Education students are required to

• attend an Orientation Session on Multicultural Education and Human Relations;
• document completion of a minimum of fifty hours of community or school-based experiences that meet certain guidelines;
• attend a Summary Workshop: Reflecting on School/Community Experiences from Multicultural Perspectives.

Conflict Resolution Requirement

All students pursuing teacher certification must have formal training in conflict resolution. This teacher certification program includes conflict resolution training in its required course work. Students must demonstrate through performance-based assessment that they have successfully met the Conflict Resolution requirement. Students must demonstrate competency in:

• Resolving conflicts between pupils and between pupils and school staff.
• Assisting pupils in learning methods of resolving conflicts between pupils and between pupils and school staff, including training in the use of peer mediation to resolve conflicts between pupils.
• Dealing with crises, including violent, disruptive, potentially violent or potentially disruptive situations that may arise in school or activities supervised by school staff as a result of conflicts between pupils or between pupils and other persons.

Comments or Problems: easinfo@education.wisc.edu.
Site designed by External Relations Office

© Copyright 2006 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System