Become a Licensed Special Education Teacher in Indiana

This course provides special education teacher candidates with a foundational understanding of the professional standards associated with high performing teaching knowledge, skills, and dispositions; Council for Exceptional Children preparation standards, the Model Code of Ethics; special education procedural safeguards, and Indiana new teacher tools, resources and professional certification information. Candidates will use foundational knowledge of the field and their professional ethical principles and practice standards to inform special education practice, to foster lifelong learning, and to advance the profession. Special education teacher candidates will also develop a foundational understanding of the laws and procedures that are required in the process of determining eligibility and delivery of special education services, the roles of participants in the ‘Admissions and Release Committee’, and the order of events in the special education process as determined by federal and state law and procedures.

Clinical Requirements: 10 hours of observation in a special education classroom (5 hours in elementary and 5 hours in secondary (middle/high school).

This course provides special education teacher candidates with a foundational understanding of basic facts and theories used to understand human development with a focus on infancy through adulthood; and the interdependent sequences of development in the social, emotional, cognitive, moral, and physical domains as well as the impact of culture and context related to teaching and learning. Teacher candidates will survey the etiologies, characteristics, and learning styles of children and youth with mild disabilities, develop a foundational understanding of state and federal definitions for each category of disability, and understand thresholds/categories of disabilities.

This course is anchored in the assumption that effective teachers of exceptional children critically consider what to teach, how to teach, and how to assess student progress and learning. The learning activities in this course will help special education teacher candidates conceptualize and develop a method of monitoring progress, analyzing, and interpreting evaluation data for all types of students with exceptionalities in various school settings and grade levels. This course provides instruction which leads to demonstrated competence with instruments utilized in assessment and programming for students with mild disabilities. Teacher candidates will develop foundational understanding of multiple methods of assessment, data sources, and intervention strategies required to make data-informed educational decisions. 

Clinical Requirements:  10 hours of observation in a special education classroom (5 hours in elementary and 5 hours in secondary (middle/high school).

This course is designed to give special education teacher candidates a foundational knowledge of the Science of Reading, language & literacy development, teaching reading & writing to children with exceptionalities, and components of  high-quality reading instruction. This course will provide a critical examination of how children learn to read and write.  Candidates will have opportunities to examine a variety of issues related to teaching literacy to young children, including oral/written language development, early literacy/biliteracy, reading fluency, reading comprehension, phonics and vocabulary development, early writing acquisition, differentiation of instruction, children’s literature, assessment in early literacy, effective reading/writing strategies, parental involvement, and reading-writing connections. Special teacher candidates will also develop a foundational understanding of  theories and philosophies regarding children’s language/literacy development, developmentally appropriate practices, the five essential components of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension), and explicit hands-on instruction in print concepts, oral language, phonological development, letter knowledge, phonics, linguistics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.  

Clinical Requirements: 12 hours of teaching experience in inclusive classrooms over a minimum of 4 weeks.

This course is designed to provide special education teacher candidates with a foundational understanding of the theoretical foundations of reading/writing development, effective reading instruction grounded in scientifically-based reading research, formal and informal assessments, pre/post assessments, progress monitoring, evidence-based reading interventions, and how reading, literacy and cognitive processes are developed for students with exceptional needs. Special education teacher candidates will learn how to select, adapt, and use a repertoire of evidence-based instructional strategies to advance the learning of individuals with exceptionalities. 

Clinical Requirements: 12 hours of student tutoring over a minimum of 4 weeks.

This course provides special education teacher candidates with a foundational understanding of instructional techniques necessary for the development of an individualized educational program (IEP) for children and youth with mild disabilities. Specific methods, media and materials in the areas of reading, writing, math and problem solving will be examined. Special education teacher candidates will learn to develop a sequence of instruction from the student’s present level of performance to annual goals matching instruction to the student’s learning style.  Special education teacher candidates will use knowledge of general and specialized curricula to individualize learning for individuals with exceptionalities. The development of  skills necessary to collaborate with other professionals regarding the design and implementation of educational programs for students with mild disabilities will be essential to this course. 

Clinical Requirements: 8 hours of observations with a special education teacher over a minimum of (2) weeks. 

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The course provides special education teachers with a foundational understanding of best practice strategies for analyzing student behavior, providing positive support techniques for students and determining appropriate behavioral interventions. Topics will include classroom and behavior management, training strategies, implementation, data-based programming, and field-based teacher research methods.   

Clinical Requirements: 8 hours of observations with a special education teacher over a minimum of (2) weeks.

Contemporary Issues in Educational Policies and Practices provides special education teacher candidates with a foundational understanding of the current federal and state legal policy and practice updates for students with exceptionalities, artificial intelligence and educational technologies for personalization, promotion of teachers and the education profession, equity in learning experiences for marginalized student populations, and impact of family/community partnerships. This course will also provide special education teacher candidates with current legislation for determining a child’s eligibility for special education and the development of an individual education program for a qualifying child.  These contemporary issues will be researched, reviewed, and reflected upon by teacher candidates in this course. 

Clinical Requirements: Four (4) hours of teacher observations with a special education teacher over a minimum of (1) week.

As a pre-service teacher candidate, you will apply what you have learned in your Foundational Courses and Elementary-specific coursework to a classroom setting. You will work closely with a mentor and supervisor in a teaching situation, for a minimum of twelve (12) full weeks of instruction. A Road2Teach Intern Supervisor will guide you throughout this process to achieve the internship goals, which include: