Special and Inclusive Education Course

Lesson 1 • Roles and Responsibilities in Inclusive Schools

Defines the shared responsibilities of educators, specialists, administrators, and families. Establishes collaborative accountability as a structural feature of inclusive schools.

Lesson 2 • Defining Disability and Difference

Examines medical, social, and biopsychosocial models of disability. Grounds learners in frameworks that shape how educators interpret and respond to learner differences.

Lesson 3 • Historical Roots of Special Education

Traces the shift from exclusion to inclusion across educational history. Provides context for understanding current inclusive practices and policy directions.

Lesson 4 • Global Policy Frameworks for Inclusion

Surveys international declarations and conventions that mandate inclusive education. Learners connect policy intent to classroom-level obligations.

Lesson 1 • Autism Spectrum and Neurodiversity

Examines autism characteristics and the broader neurodiversity paradigm. Learners learn to design environments that affirm neurological variation.

Lesson 2 • Functional Assessment of Learner Needs

Introduces informal and formal tools for profiling individual learner strengths and barriers. Bridges diagnostic information to actionable instructional decisions.

Lesson 3 • Gifted Learners and Twice-Exceptionality

Explores giftedness alongside co-occurring disabilities in twice-exceptional learners. Learners recognise masking behaviours and design appropriately challenging support.

Lesson 4 • Language and Communication Differences

Addresses speech-language disorders, multilingual learners, and AAC needs. Learners distinguish language difference from language disorder.

Lesson 1 • Dispute Resolution and Family Rights

Covers mediation, due process, and complaint procedures available to families. Learners learn to prevent disputes through proactive communication and documentation.

Lesson 2 • Individualised Education Programme Essentials

Breaks down required IEP components and the team process for developing them. Learners draft compliant, meaningful IEP goals grounded in assessment data.

Lesson 3 • Section 504 and Accommodation Plans

Distinguishes 504 plans from IEPs and identifies learners who qualify under disability access law. Learners design reasonable accommodations for eligible learners.

Lesson 4 • Ethical Decision-Making in Special Education

Applies professional ethics codes to dilemmas involving confidentiality, consent, and advocacy. Learners use structured frameworks to resolve competing obligations.

Lesson 1 • UDL Lesson Planning and Audit

Guides learners through a systematic UDL audit of existing curriculum materials. Learners produce revised lesson plans that demonstrate all three UDL principles.

Lesson 2 • Multiple Means of Action and Expression

Explores flexible response options that allow learners to demonstrate knowledge in varied ways. Learners design assessments that separate content mastery from mode of response.

Lesson 3 • Multiple Means of Engagement

Addresses motivation, self-regulation, and sustained effort through purposeful design choices. Learners embed engagement supports into lesson structures rather than adding them reactively.

Lesson 4 • Multiple Means of Representation

Teaches strategies for presenting content through varied formats, modalities, and languages. Learners redesign existing lessons to reduce perceptual and comprehension barriers.

Lesson 1 • Tiered Assignments and Tasks

Teaches construction of tiered tasks that address the same standard at varied complexity levels. Learners build three-tier task sets aligned to grade-level learning goals.

Lesson 2 • Scaffolding Academic Content

Introduces instructional scaffolds that temporarily support learners toward independence. Learners select and fade scaffolds based on ongoing formative data.

Lesson 3 • Flexible Grouping Structures

Examines whole-class, small-group, partner, and independent structures for differentiated delivery. Learners plan purposeful group rotations based on instructional goals.

Lesson 4 • Foundations of Differentiated Instruction

Defines differentiation and distinguishes it from individualisation and tracking. Establishes readiness, interest, and learning profile as the three drivers of differentiation.

Lesson 1 • Trauma-Informed Behaviour Support

Applies trauma-informed principles to behaviour interpretation and response in inclusive settings. Learners adapt behaviour supports to account for adverse childhood experiences.

Lesson 2 • Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports

Introduces the three-tier PBIS framework for school-wide and individual behaviour support. Learners implement universal prevention strategies before escalating to targeted interventions.

Lesson 3 • Functional Behaviour Assessment

Teaches indirect, direct, and experimental methods for identifying behaviour function. Learners conduct a complete FBA using multiple data sources.

Lesson 4 • Behaviour Intervention Plan Development

Guides construction of a BIP that includes antecedent modifications, replacement behaviours, and consequence strategies. Learners align BIP components directly to FBA findings.

Lesson 1 • Multidisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Teams

Compares multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary teaming models. Learners facilitate team meetings that produce integrated, learner-centred plans.

Lesson 2 • Family and Community Collaboration

Builds skills for authentic family partnership beyond compliance-driven communication. Learners design engagement strategies that honour cultural and linguistic diversity.

Lesson 3 • Co-Planning for Shared Instruction

Establishes protocols for efficient co-planning that distributes instructional responsibility equitably. Learners produce a co-planned unit with clearly defined roles.

Lesson 4 • Paraprofessional Supervision and Collaboration

Addresses the educator's legal and ethical responsibility to direct paraprofessional support. Learners design paraprofessional roles that promote learner independence.

Lesson 1 • Interagency Collaboration for Transition

Maps adult service agencies and their roles in supporting post-school outcomes. Learners build interagency agreements and referral processes into transition plans.

Lesson 2 • Foundations of Transition Planning

Defines legally required transition planning and its connection to post-school outcome data. Learners identify the age-appropriate transition assessment tools that drive planning.

Lesson 3 • Employment Preparation and Vocational Skills

Covers work-based learning, job coaching, and vocational assessment for learners with disabilities. Learners design employment preparation sequences aligned to individual career interests.

Lesson 4 • Independent Living and Self-Determination

Teaches self-determination skills including goal setting, self-advocacy, and decision-making. Learners embed self-determination instruction into academic and transition curricula.