Welcome to Week Six ESE645! This is the last week of this course and you are progressing rapidly through this program! Please be sure to review the Week Six homepage for this course to see:

· The specific learning outcomes for the week

· The schedule overview

· The required and recommended resources

· The introduction to the week

· A listing of the assessments

Next, be sure to read this entire Instructor Guidance page.

Overview

Last week we focused on the concept of differentiation and how this applies to designing individualized instruction that is relevant and supportive the various needs of all students. We also discovered various strategies to differentiate the content based on student readiness, interests and learning profiles. You have been prompted in all five of the previous weeks to review the upcoming weekly homepages for this course and to plan ahead. You were also reminded that Week Six involved the Final Project for this class – the time is now! This week is the culminating project, which involves building your lesson plan portfolio.

Intellectual Elaboration

Careers in Special Education Some of you may already be certificated or credentialed teachers having previous experience in the classroom. Others may be working in early education settings such as preschools or day care facilities. Yet others may be completely new to the profession of education. No matter where you are currently working or at what point you may be at in your own career, you are probably seeking options as you move forward and complete the Master of Arts, Special Education (MASE) program. Good for you! One of the required websites that you will visit in this week’s learning will be The National Center to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Qualified Personnel for Children with Disabilities also know as the Personnel Improvement Center. This is an informative site that provides the many options that you may consider in using your MASE degree to work with infants, children and youth with disabilities and of course, their families. You will find this information to be helpful in your discussions this week and also in future preparation for interviews and career preparation. In fact, this website may be one to consider adding to your link-library that you have been keeping throughout your classes. Another resource for your review and consideration is the Council for Exceptional Children. Here, a variety of positions are described in detail as well as the work environment, education and training requirements, and licensure and certification explanation. The job outlook for those who aspire to become a special education teacher is favorable and the need is expected to gradually increase due to the numbers of students requiring specialized supports and instruction. Many school districts report difficulty finding qualified teachers and paraprofessionals to meet this growing demand. Accomplishments

Figure 12. Quote from Thomas Carlyle. Source: http://www.quotesvalley.com/nothing-builds-self-esteem-like-accomplishment-thomas-carlyle-3/ (Links to an external site.)

As we move through the last week of this course, it is important to look back over the past five weeks to consider all that you have accomplished in a short amount of time. As you know, each course in this program has prescribed Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) that are directly aligned to the goals of the program. Each assignment, discussion, and reading that you have completed in this course specifically, is explicitly design to directly address your mastery of these outcomes. As you may recall, the following are the CLOs: This week students will:

1. Develop accommodations or modifications for lesson plans in alignment with selected CCSS.

2. Develop accommodations or modifications for lesson plans in accordance with an IEP.

3. Develop strategies for monitoring student progress in lesson plans.

4. Develop lesson plans that incorporate evidence-based strategies for teaching students with mild to moderate disabilities with goals aligned to the current performance level of students with an identified area of need.

5. Incorporate self-determination skills into lesson plans using evidence-based strategies appropriate for students with mild to moderate disabilities.

6. Develop lesson plans for students with mild to moderate disabilities that include differentiated instructional strategies.

7. Develop lesson plans that incorporate Common Core State Standards (CCSS), individualized education plan (IEP) goals, effective assessment practices, and evidence-based strategies for promoting self-determination skills for a variety of classroom settings serving students with mild to moderate disabilities.

In a sense, these are similar to the lesson design parameters that you use as you have created your own lessons in this course. Essentially, these are the “goals” that students should be able to perform at the end of the course. As you prepare for the discussion this week and the Final Project, keep these CLOs in mind and feel good about your accomplishments!

Assessment Guidance

This section includes additional specific assistance for excelling in the discussions for Week Six beyond what is given with the instructions for the discussions. If you have questions about what is expected on any discussion for Week Six, contact your instructor using the Ask Your Instructor discussion before the due date. Discussion 1: Course and Career Reflection The Week Six discussion is a continuation of the career-based discussion we completed in Week One. You have a chance to share valuable resources that you have found during the past six weeks of your course. Here is another example of collaboration! You will review a particular website and summarize your career plans with the MASE degree. In this discussion you will also incorporate the CLOs and explain how they have influences your career plans since the previous discussion in Week One. The guided response required in Discussion One is for you to reply to at least two peers in order to provide additional resources such as websites, blogs, or articles from the Ashford library. Provide ideas for the careers plans identified in their initial posts. Be sure to closely follow the directions. Be sure to access the Ashford Library, as there are many additional sources beyond your textbook. Final Project – Lesson Plan Portfolio This assignment assesses your ability to develop lesson plans that incorporate evidence-based strategies with goals that are aligned to the current performance levels of a particular student. This assignment supports your mastery of all of the course-learning outcomes listed above. This final assignment builds from all prior course assessments thus far. You will access the explicit feedback provided from both your peers and your instructor pertaining to each of your lesson designs. It is essential that you closely review the requirements for this assignment. Also, be sure to follow the guidelines for both content and written expectations so that you are able to meet the distinguished levels on the grading rubric. As an educator, you will find that each time you present a lesson, you will have the chance to adjust it to the needs of your students as well as your own teaching style and preference. Often educators are required to submit their lesson plans to their principal or other site administrator for review often receiving input or suggestions just as you have in this class. Bridging this real life experience with the theories of instruction in the virtual course environment, this assignment mirrors a career building experience. As stated before, APA format is required on this narrative section of your paper. Be sure that you include the proper format for in-text citations to support your position. Any literature that is referenced in the body of your text must be included in your list of references. If you have questions about APA format, please contact the Ashford Writing Center as they have a host of available resources on this and many other valuable topics.

References

Job Profiles in Special Education (Links to an external site.). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cec.sped.org/Professional-Development/Job-Profiles-in-Special-Education Personnel Center (Links to an external site.). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://personnelcenter.org/choose.cfm