Special Education, Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities (PreK-2) Concentration, BSE

The Teacher for Students with Moderate Disabilities (Prek-2) Concentration qualifies candidates with Department of Elementary and Secondary Education licensure with a focus on early literacy and early childhood education for students with moderate disabilities. The program is designed for candidates that want to support the literacy and academic challenges of young students with moderate disabilities as well as promote their participation in inclusive settings. Pedagogy for early childhood students with specific learning disabilities, autism, behavioral challenges, and moderate intellectual disabilities is emphasized.

Admission Requirements

Students must meet the College of Education and Health Sciences Professional Education Program admission requirements prior to enrolling in SPED 300- or 400- level course work. Those requirements include, but are not limited to:

passage of the Communication and Literacy portion of the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure® (MTEL)
a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.8
completion of ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 with a minimum grade of “C+”
A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8 is required for acceptance into the professional education program, and it must be maintained throughout the program

Grade Requirement

A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8 must be maintained throughout the program.

Course Requirements

Licensure course requirements (45 credits)

SPED 203 - Cultural Diversity Issues in School and Society *
SPED 208 - Child and Adolescent Development and Special Education *
SPED 211 - The Early Childhood Learner with Special Needs *
SPED 302 - Behavior Management and Interventions *
SPED 303 - Principles and Procedures of Assessment of Students with Special Needs
SPED 304 - Children with Reading Disability: Diagnosis and Teaching Strategies
SPED 365 - Teaching Mathematics to Struggling Learners
SPED 401 - Professional Practices for Beginning Special Educators CWRM
SPED 431 - Student Teaching Practicum: Moderate Disabilities (PreK-8) **
* Must be completed prior to admission to professional education and enrollment in upper-division education courses.
** Prior to the student teaching experience, students must submit evidence that they have passed Foundations of Reading MTEL and the Early Childhood MTEL®.

Cognate courses (12 credits)

Total Minimum credits: 57

Core Curriculum Requirements

A minimum of 120 earned credit hours is required for graduation. These earned hours include the Core Curriculum Requirements as specified in the Core Curriculum section of this catalog and at the Core Curriculum website, www.bridgew.edu/corecurriculum. For additional graduation requirements, see the Undergraduate Academic Policies and Procedures section of this catalog.