Effective Programming for Student Teachers in Special Education.

Overview & Synopsis

Existing four-year teacher preparation programs for special education teachers can be improved in several ways through adjustments to the current curricular and experiential requirements. General and liberal education courses should be required and spread out over the entire undergraduate years (rather than concentrating such courses into the freshman year). During the freshman year, students should take courses in study skills, how to read research studies, and categories of exceptionalities. During the sophomore year, students must begin taking courses in their subject specialization, and then take curriculum and methods courses along with theory courses during the junior year. Adding more courses to an already overcrowded curriculum is not effective, but restructuring present courses may be. Mini-courses within a large course could be arranged for intensive study of a certain topic. In terms of teaching experience, freshman year students should begin visiting both regular and special education classes, and should begin participating in classroom teaching by their sophomore year. Simulation laboratories would provide good experience for the student teachers, who should be supervised by competent faculty and classroom teachers. Student competence must be measured throughout the teacher preparation program. (CB)