Because you’ve enrolled in our EDS mild to moderate program, you can add a teaching field to your current license which will allow you to teach students with moderate to intensive disabilities. This 13.5 quarter credit hour program prepares you to work with students who have a wide range of disabilities and/or needs in public, community, or private schools in Ohio (grades K-12).

Students are able to obtain this second teaching field after taking only three additional courses. There is not an additional Praxis test and you are not required to do a second student teaching placement.

This teaching field, when added to the Mild/Moderate license, will make you very marketable when seeking employment, as you will be licensed to teach students at any grade level in specific special education classrooms (e.g., LD, DH, MD, MH, EBD, etc.) as well as in cross-categorical settings.

Moderate to Intensive License Courses -Returning EDS Alumni – 3 classes – 13.5 credits

These courses will be offered at least twice a year. One MI course will be offered each quarter. All three courses will be offered every summer.

EDS561 – Alternative Assessment for Students with Moderate to Intensive Needs – 4.5 credits
The purpose of this class is to develop an understanding of how assessment and evaluation guide the development and implementation of instruction for students with moderate to intensive needs. This course will emphasize the following areas: screening and evaluation techniques; analysis and use of assessment and evaluation in identification and teaching; collaborative development of academic, social, behavioral, vocational, and other goals as appropriate for students with intensive needs; creating behavioral intervention plans; and understanding and applying appropriate terminology for formal and informal assessment practices. In addition, candidates will investigate how to conduct alternative assessments and functional behavior assessments.

EDS562 – Instructional Methods for Students with Moderate to Intensive Needs – 4.5 credits
Candidates will learn how to develop skills in individualizing instruction for individuals with moderate to intensive special needs from ages 2.5 to 22. Topics will include life-skills curriculum, instructional material selection, how to make instructional decisions based on best practice methods identified in current research, and promoting positive results in the special education curricula. Candidates will investigate programmed curricula designed for students with intensive needs and assistive technologies that can assist in increasing student achievement. In addition, candidates will explore opportunities to instruct in vocational settings and in the community to increase functional, life-skills for their students with specialized needs. Candidates will demonstrate how to use reflective practice to study the art and science of their own teaching experiences. Additional topics will include the role of state, local, and federal agencies on curriculum and instructional issues, including statewide assessments (testing, HQT, NCLB).

EDS563 – Behavior Management for Students with Moderate to Intensive Needs – 4.5 credits
The course will examine the different views of learning, including information processing, behaviorism, multiple intelligences and social learning theories, as they pertain to student with moderate to intensive learning needs. Candidates will investigate and demonstrate an understanding of the unique characteristics of the classroom environment for students with moderate to severe disabilities. Candidates will investigate the behavioral challenges that can occur with students who exhibit intensive behaviors, including insubordination, physical aggression, self-injurious behavior, off-task behaviors, tantrums, and echolalia. Other topics will include how to teach social, problem solving, and self-advocacy skills, and how to manage instructional aides and para-professionals in the moderate to intensive classroom.

Program Features

Integrated Curriculum
Consistent with the best practices in education, you will learn through classes conducted in a seminar format and with course work organized in modules. Courses integrate varied learning styles and multiple intelligences.

Technology Oriented to the Educator
You will use Internet technologies to learn, teach, and facilitate networking and communication with your cohort members and your faculty.

Experienced Faculty
Faculty members have extensive experience in K-12 classrooms and higher education. These experiences make the faculty uniquely qualified to combine theory with the reality of practice and provide you with a rich and highly applicable learning experience.

Student Centered, Non-Graded Alternative Evaluation
Your progress is evaluated based on predetermined competencies that must be met in order to receive course credit. In addition, you will produce portfolios that promote self-reflection and serve as valuable ongoing resources as you enter the teaching profession.

Only evaluations equivalent to the traditional letter grades of “A”  or “B” will receive credit for the course. Students who require letter grades for tuition reimbursement or employer approval are asked to complete a letter grade equivalency form available from the program office.

Benefits

School districts in Ohio and across the nation are in desperate need of intervention specialists who are licensed to teach students with moderate to intensive needs. An example of this can be seen on the Dayton Schools Consortium website, which lists vacant teaching positions; almost all of the intervention specialist positions listed are for MH (multi-handicapped), MD (multiple disabilities), or ED (emotional/behavioral disorders) classrooms. All three of these categories fall under the moderate to intensive category, according to the Council for Exceptional Children.

There is not an additional Praxis test and you are not required to do a second student teaching placement.
Only three additional courses are necessary to add this second teaching field to your current Ohio Mild to Moderate Intervention Specialist license if you are a graduate of AUM.

Requirements

• Complete the required coursework and program requirements for Mild to Moderate Specialist licensure program
• Complete the additional three classes for Moderate to Intensive Specialist licensure