Course Syllabus

Fall 2024 | EDU-1270-VO04 - Supporting Young Children with Diverse Abilities

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Elizabeth Brown
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Philip Crossman

Course Description

This course introduces students to the history, philosophy, legislation, and recommended practices for supporting children with diverse abilities from birth through age 8. The course will provide an overview of typical and atypical development and explore impacts of congenital and environmental factors on children with diverse abilities. Course topics will include family-centered practice, early intervention, at-risk populations, inclusion, referrals, and partnerships with special education and health professionals. Prerequisite: a child development course.

Essential Objectives

1. Describe, explain, and analyze historical, legal, and philosophical foundations of early intervention and early childhood special education and explain the impact of past concepts on present theories, recommended best practice, legislation, and attitudes.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of typical and atypical physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and linguistic development of children prenatal through age 8.
3. Explain how diverse and complex factors, including environment, culture, language, socio-economic conditions, and adverse childhood experiences, can impact the development of children with diverse abilities.
4. Discuss and employ a variety of strategies to observe and report on children's development and explain how and when to make referrals.
5. Describe evidence-based practices and adaptations in early childhood and school settings, including universal design, to create healthy, respectful, and inclusive learning environments for all children.
6. Explain and analyze effective approaches for collaborating with families with children of diverse abilities.
7. Identify and describe state systems, processes, and legal frameworks for supporting children and families with diverse abilities.
8. Describe the roles and services provided by early intervention professionals such as speech pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc.
9. Describe and analyze processes to prepare and implement Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs) and Individual Education Program (IEP) plans.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a low cost ($50 or less) textbook or resource class. ***

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations.

Fall 2024 textbook details will be available on 2024-05-20. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

EDU-1270-VO04 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Integrated: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges the use of AI is an essential skill in today's world. By using genAI for specific purposes, students become equipped with relevant skills and tools necessary to thrive in a technology-driven society. Emphasizing the mastery of generative AI should empower you to harness its potential, enhancing your problem-solving abilities and preparing you for future challenges and opportunities. Be aware, however, that any time generative AI is used at any point in the assignment without attribution it may be considered a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

Methods

For this course we will be using the following methods of teaching:

• Textbook readings and reflection
• TedTalks/video and reflection
• Text and or video questions to be answered
• Other reading articles relevant to the content
• Discussion posts and responses to peers
• Interview with a provider who works with children with diverse abilities
• Essay (mid semester)
• Final project

Evaluation Criteria

In an effort to provide a balanced learning experience in this course I will be providing the class with a multitude of ways to demonstrate the knowledge you have gained.

Activity	Percentage
Discussion Forums (Topic and Reflection)	30%
Participation	15%
Assignments	30%
Final Project	25%

*A note about Discussion Forums (Topic and Reflection)- You will be assigned only one discussion a week (with the first week being an exception) it will be EITHER a topic discussion form or a reflection discussion forum.

Topic Discussion Forums

These discussion forums are used to support your understanding of the content we are exploring. In these discussion forums I will pose specific (content related) questions. Your answers to these questions will be pulled from the course content and demonstrate your comprehension of what we have been learning. They help your instructor assess your learning in specific content areas and ensure that you are meeting the course objectives.

Reflection Discussion Forums

These discussion forums are used to encourage critical thinking about the content you are learning in the course and extend your learning by reflecting upon what you have learned. The goal is for you as the learner to take time to think about specific topics or idea of particular importance and ask questions or add to the content we are exploring. In these forums, your will be asked to use one outside source to support your perspective, thought or idea or extend what you have learned.

Participation

Your participation grade is based on your engagement during each week. Please see the participation policy for more information about how this is assessed.

Assignments

Assignments are assigned as individual work that will be used to demonstrate your thoughts, insight and wonders about the content we are exploring together. They will most often be papers that dive into the content we are exploring and support extending the student’s knowledge.

Final Project

For the final project students will be able to demonstrate what they have learned through three different options. These options include: Interview with an ECE Special Educator and reflection paper, Research paper on a topic of choice from the course, A presentation/project to share what you have learned with others. All final projects will utilize sources from the course and outside the course to support reflection, research and presentation/project.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Participation Expectations:

Active participation in any course is important, but in an online course, it is imperative and it allows you to share what you are learning, ask questions, expand your knowledge/understanding of the content, and connect with your classmates through discussion and regular engagement.

Participation in this course is important as it counts for 10 percent of your total grade.

• All initial posts must be completed no later than Friday at 11:59pm. While Fridayis the deadline, getting started early is ideal and will allow me ample time to grade posts in a timely manner. If I find that most students are completing posts at the end of the week, I may change the deadline to ensure I am not inundated with grading all at the end of the week.
• Our week begins on Tuesdays and ends on Mondays, so once the discussion topics are posted you should take some time to organize yourself and set a timeline for the completion of the work. No credit will be given for discussion responses posted three days after they are due. This means that after Monday at 11:59 pm, no credit will be given.
• In every discussion you will be asked to respond to your classmates. These responses should be completed no later than Sunday at 11:59 pm to allow for back-and-forth engagement or expansion of your response to your classmates.
• You should respond to at least two classmates' posts per discussion post assignment.To get full credit for discussion assignments you must post an initial discussion post AND respond to your classmates by the above-mentioned deadlines.
• All discussions should be seen as a virtual “conversation” where you share your thoughts, ideas, answer questions or share wonders and I will respond back to you based on what you share.
• Postings should be clear and concise and answer the questions/assignment completely. Please take a moment to read your post before posting it to ensure it makes sense and addresses the discussion topic fully.
• Posting and participation should occur on at least two separate days during the week to demonstrate you are present and engaging with the weekly module and discussions.
• Assignments are due by Monday at 11:59 pm. Late submissions will receive 10% deduction up to three days past the due date (including a day grace period)which is Friday by or before 11:59 pmAssignments turned in after Friday at 11:59 pm from the week before, will not receive credit. Students may have a "second chance" toturn in the assignment (up to two) during the makeup week for credit.

A few additional reminders:

• Each course module occurs over a week. You should plan to respond throughout the week as opposed to turning everything in early or turning everything in right at the deadline. You will get the most out of this course if you check in regularly to see how classmates and I are responding and answer any questions we may have.
• A great way to show that you are present and attending regularly is when you check in regularly and respond to the feedback/questions your classmates of I have posed.
• Take time to read all of your classmates' responses. You can learn quite a bit from others' perspectives, questions, and ideas!

Missing & Late Work Policy

Missing and Late Work Policy:

Missing and Late Work policies are in place to help students manage their time appropriately for both the pace and complexities of the course and to give students appropriate recognition for completing their assignments in a timely manner (in turn maximizing their engagement in the course).

Please plan accordingly to ensure that all assignments are turned in on time, below please see the late policy for this course:

Discussions

• Initial posts must be posted no later than Friday at 11:59pm. Responses to classmates and to any question or feedback on your posts are due Sunday at 11:59pm.
• Due to the time-sensitive nature of discussion forums, they must be posted on time to receive full credit. For each day late of posting (up to three days) a deduction of 10% will be applied. After Wednesday (of the new week)at 11:59pm any additional posts from the week before will not receive credit.

Assignments

• Assignments that are submitted to me directly are due no later than Monday at 11:59pm of the Tuesday-Monday week. I will provide a 1 day grace period for assignments, therefore after Tuesday at 11:59 pmyou will receive a 10% deduction per day (up to two days) after the due date. After Friday at 11:59 pmyou will not receive credit for the assignment.
• Each semester there is a re-do/make-up day where you can either make up an assignment you did not complete or turn in or turn in a re-do of an assignment you received reduced points in due to the assignment being late or an assignment you would like to have a second chance to re-do (up to two assignments from the semester). The re-do/make-up day happens during the second to last week of the semester.

Extensions

On or (ideally before) the end of the due date day (before 11:59 pm) a student can contact me to request an extension. The extension must be in writing and must include the following:

• Extenuating circumstance for why you are unable to complete the assignment on time.
• Plan for the future to avoid (if possible) assignments being turned in late
• Proposed plan for getting the assignment completed (including timeline)

Experiential Learning Expectations

Hours: 1-5

For this course you will need to interview a current practicioner in your community who works with children with diverse learning abilities. The interview will include pre-prepared interview questions that you are to ask and document the professional's responses. Ideally you would complete the interview in person at their place of work, but if that is not feasible, please reach out to make a plan with your instructor.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity