Program Information
The Integrated Elementary and Special Education program prepares candidates to provide educational services to students with and without special needs in urban, suburban and other diverse settings. The program prepares candidates to provide individually designed, systematically implemented, and cautiously evaluated instruction to students in general classrooms, resource classrooms, and other educational settings. Candidates are provided with an in-depth understanding of developmental, cognitive, academic, and social needs of students. The program is committed to provide high quality instruction designed to promote knowledge and understanding of theories and skills of diagnosis, curricular planning, instructional design, and evaluation of student performance.
These skills are developed through a sequence of course work paired with clinical experiences including practica, and student teaching experiences in both elementary and special education settings.
Clinical experiences are incorporated into most of the professional education courses, and are an important component of our commitment to support students as they put theory into action. The first clinical experience begins in a student’s first semester in the elementary education program.
Upon successful completion of the program and specified subject area assessments, candidates are recommended for the Connecticut Teacher Certification in both Special Education (Comprehensive K-12) and Elementary Education (1-6).