La Salle’s Graduate Education department prepares 21st century educators through project-based, problem-based service learning and community engagement grounded in Lasallian values. The program offers unique alternatives to the traditional school-as-factory model that views each child as an individual learner with needs that often can’t be met through an industrialized approach to education. La Salle-educated teachers command a comprehensive understanding of the child or adolescent as a very individual learner. They know how to keep the differences of their students in mind and they know how to develop state-of-the-art instruction that works in the “real world” of the school.
Using a schedule that accommodates those already employed as teachers, this program is designed to be responsive to requirements set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (Division of Teacher Education-Bureau of Teacher Certification and Preparation) requiring that special education teachers be certified according to specific competencies set forth in the regulations. Upon successful completion of this program, candidates are certified to teach PreK-12 Special Education.
Why Study Special Education at La Salle?
La Salle-educated teachers are grounded in analytic techniques that promote their ability to analyze the meaning and effects of educational institutions, develop critical understanding of educational thought and practice, and provide resources for the development of educational policy-making skills.
La Salle’s Graduate Education department offers in-service continuing education for practicing teachers; dual certification in elementary, middle level, secondary and special education; certification in most secondary teaching areas: and add-on certifications in Instructional Coaching, Autism Spectrum Disorders and Special Education.
Highlighted Courses
EDC 510 – Human Exceptionalities
This course introduces human exceptionalities and surveys the psychological, medical, legal, and social forces influencing the provision of services for exceptional people. Clarifies perceptions of exceptionalities, defines and describes key terms and concepts, and identifies major trends that affect the scope and nature of service to exceptional people.
EDC 619 – Literacy Difficulties: Diagnosis and Instruction for Reading Specialists and Classroom Teachers
The major goal of this course is to help future and practicing teachers understand how reading and writing ability develop, why some students have difficulty learning to read/or write, how to diagnose and address reading and writing problems, why a variety of assessment and teaching techniques must be used to identify students’ strengths and needs, and how to use the results to design appropriate instruction. The premise for this goal is that both understanding why and knowing how are necessary for a teacher to make informed decisions that impact reading and writing instruction.
EDC 644 – Assessing the Abilities of all Learners
This course provides an overview of norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, curriculum-based, and authentic assessments used in the evaluation of students with and without disabilities. Classroom-based practices using differentiated assessments are also emphasized in this course. Students will be engaged in evaluating a focus child and writing a report containing Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) goals to meet the needs of the student.
Meet the Faculty
Designed to enhance classroom instruction, all courses are taught by veteran educators with years of experience in elementary, middle school, and secondary settings.
