The Master of Professional Education Program in the field of Teaching Students with Exceptionalities will prepare you to think critically about your workplace problems. You will also learn different theories and apply current research – or conduct your own research – to solve these problems.
- Inquiry and research: Students will become familiar with current research, and the application of it to problems of practice. Courses may include the option of conducting applied research (e.g., action research), in order to solve professional problems of practice.
- Students will engage in critical thinking, framing analysis of education problems and practice from multiple perspectives or lenses (see below).
- Students will participate in signature pedagogies, including the use of case studies, inductive teaching methods, and problem-based learning.
- Students will participate in communities of learning and collaborate, in setting such as laboratories of practice.
In coursework, students are expected to apply multiple frames or lenses to the analysis of problems of practice. Lenses are selected to support rich discussion, evoke application of theory and research, and inform practical problem solving. The following are examples of suggested lenses or frames that can be brought to bear on problems of practice, and questions that could be used to elicit discussion of a given problem of practice.
- Ethics and inclusion: How can we support the rights, opportunities, independence, and self-determination of the student? How can we support the inclusion, acceptance, and equity of the student as a member of the school community?
- Model of Disability: How do we use the medical model and the social model to think about the nature of the student’s exceptionality? How do these models inform practice?
- Evidence-based practice: What research is relevant to this problem? What is its extent and quality? How can it inform our practice in this situation?
Important Note
The successful completion of a Master of Professional degree does not lead to certification with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT).
Year 1 Fall
ED 9480 Introduction to Teaching Students with Exceptionalities
This course emphasizes critically understanding various conceptions of education for students with exceptionalities. Examples of historical and regional variations will be examined. Implications for models of delivering services will be considered, including the role of the individual educational plan. Several exceptionalities will be introduced, including learning disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, communication disorders, and intellectual developmental disabilities; gifted and struggling learners will also be considered. Each exceptionality will be considered with respect to the following: Psychological characteristics, assessment, learning needs and strengths, interventions; and program accommodations and modifications. Students will have the opportunity to apply different conceptions to analyze and solve problems of practice.
Year 1 Winter
ED 9481 - Social and Emotional Learning
This course focuses on the interpersonal challenges and well-being of students. Topics include the following: resiliency; belonging; safe and inclusive schools; the role of mental health professionals in the schools; and whole class and individual interventions.
Year 1 Summer - Intersession
ED 9482 Academic Learning for Students with Exceptionalities
In this course, students learn to analyze and address problems of practice concerning the academic learning of struggling learners. Topics covered will include general teaching practices such as strategy instruction, universal design, and differentiated instruction; subject-specific interventions and modifications in decoding, reading comprehension, written composition, mathematics, and content area subjects; and accessing evidence-based instructional resources.
Year 1 Summer - Summer Session
ED 9484 Inquiry and Research for Educating Exceptional Students
This course focuses on the role of research in professional knowledge and practice. Methods of research commonly found in the special education literature will be presented, with an emphasis on critical analysis and classroom application. Methods of research for professional learning, such as action research, will be introduced. Effective strategies for searching research literature and examples of professionally relevant, evidence-based, accessible sources of research will be highlighted.
Year 2 Fall
ED 9483 Positive Classroom Management
This course focuses on positive classroom management. Topics will include the motivational principles underlying student behaviour, school-wide classroom management, safe schools, and externalizing disorders.
Year 2 Fall
ED 9488 Laboratory of Practice for Students with Exceptionalities I
This course is carried out across two terms at a reduced pace (1.5 hours per week). Students will carry out a research project on a problem of professional practice. They will formulate a research question and situate it in a professional and scholarly context, formulate a plan for action, carry out the plan, collect data to evaluate and modify the plan and practice, and write a final report.
Year 2 Winter
ED 9486 Assessment for Teaching Students with Exceptionalities
This course examines assessment as it relates to the professional practice of teachers and school administrators. Topics covered include psycho-educational assessment in the identification of students with exceptionalities, including instruments, procedures, and statistics; and assessment of the classroom learning of students with exceptionalities. Students will learn to critically evaluate various forms of assessment and their results, and to apply knowledge about assessment to analyzing case studies, and solving problems of professional practice.
Year 2 Winter
ED 9489 Laboratory of Practice for Students with Exceptionalities II
This course is carried out across two terms at a reduced pace (1.5 hours per week). Students will carry out a research project on a problem of professional practice. They will formulate a research question and situate it in a professional and scholarly context, formulate a plan for action, carry out the plan, collect data to evaluate and modify the plan and practice, and write a final report.
Year 2 Summer Intersession
ED 9487 Capstone Project for Teaching Students with Exceptionalities
Students will present a final, culminating paper that demonstrates a critical reflection, review and synthesis of the professional program in response to a current issue in teaching students with exceptionalities.
