Overview
In the unit "Students with Special Needs", pre-service teachers gain awareness of their professional obligations, roles and responsibilities in relation to the Disability Standards for Education and the way that these standards inform policy and procedures for meeting the needs of students with disabilities in inclusive school settings. They build knowledge of the definitions and criteria used to categorise disabilities in educational environments and explore the concept of “person first” approaches to meeting the needs of learners with disability in the middle years of schooling. Students take an holistic view of supporting the access and participation of learners with special needs and evaluate specific differentiation, accommodation and management strategies to make recommendations that support inclusion, wellbeing, safety and learning of all students in inclusive mainstream settings. They research and document examples of good practice for consulting with students, parents, specialist services and wider community support agencies and demonstrate knowledge of how to access and facilitate partnerships that improve the educational outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite:- EDED11457
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2017
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student feedback
The content was relevant to disability studies and added to knowledge of catering to students with special needs.
Keep the current focus with the content.
Feedback from Student feedback
More explicit message regarding the use of the same textbook from a previous course
Reminder to students to keep the textbook from EDED11457
Feedback from Student feedback
Collaborate presentation - did not like speaking style
Deliver content in a more lecture-type format
- Appraise the roles and responsibilities of educational stakeholders under legislation and policy for students with disabilities.
- Propose processes that overcome barriers to successful inclusion of students with disabilities.
- Evaluate strategies that support the psychological wellbeing, behaviour, accessibility and learning of students with special needs within whole class groups.
- Explain the rationale for accommodations and modifications that support the learning and social needs of students with disability.
- Interpret research literature and primary data sources to make recommendations that support the needs of students with disabilities.
Successful completion of the unit Students with Special Needs provides opportunities for students to demonstrate the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers focus areas of 1.1, 1.5, 1.6, 2.6, 3.7, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 6.2, 6.4, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4. Assessment tasks for this unit may be included in a portfolio as evidence of meeting these standards at Graduate career stage. Further aspects of the ICT elaborations of these standards can also be demonstrated through assessment in this unit.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 50% | |||||
| 2 - Presentation - 50% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||||
| 5 - Team Work | |||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Presentation - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Distance students = microphone and headset for Collaborate sessions
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
k.higgins@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Topic 1: Terminology
Chapter
Readings consist of documents within the topic
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 2: Disability Standards for Education
Chapter
Review chapter two of text - Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement by Hyde, Carpenter & Conway (2014)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 3: Case studies
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 4: Identification of disability
Chapter
Linked readings within topic
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 5: Assessment of disability categories
Chapter
Review Chapter ten, chapter eleven, chapter twelve, chapter thirteen and chapter fifteen of Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement by Hyde, Carpenter & Conway (2014)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 6: Communication issues
Chapter
Chapter nine of text - Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement by Hyde, Carpenter & Conway (2014)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 7: Educational Adjustment Program
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 8: Adjustments
Chapter
Readings from unit resources online
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 9: Instructional practices
Chapter
Reading from unit resources online
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 10: Assistive technology
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 11: Collaboration with social support professionals
Chapter
Linked readings within topic
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Review of the unit
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
Assessment one: Examining the Disability Standards for Education
Your written assignment of no more than 2000 words is a response to careful reading of the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (C'wealth of Australia) and addresses the following points:
- Define each of the following key terms used in the Standards: “on the same basis”, “consultation”, “unjustifiable hardship” and “reasonable adjustment” and provide an example of each key term.
- What are the rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders under the Disability Standards?
- Describe the obligations of teachers under the Standards.
- How does the Disability Standards legislation work to overcome barriers to inclusion?
Week 5 Monday (7 Aug 2017) 9:00 am AEST
Assignments are due by 9am on Monday 7th August 2017
Assignment are returned once the moderation process has been completed.
Assessment will be marked against the following criteria:
- Knowledge and understanding of specific key concepts relating to the Disability Standards legislation
- Understanding of potential issues related to the rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders
- Knowledge and understanding of the Disability Standards legislation
- Critical understanding of the obligation of teachers under the legislation
- Standard of academic writing and use of academic materials
- Appraise the roles and responsibilities of educational stakeholders under legislation and policy for students with disabilities.
- Propose processes that overcome barriers to successful inclusion of students with disabilities.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Ethical practice
2 Presentation
Assessment two: Case study of a child with disability
This task involves developing a case study of one student for the purposes of providing detailed information in relation to the child, catering for their educational and social needs, to another teacher who will be teaching this student in the future. The case study consists of three parts:
Part One:
Choose a specific child with disability: you could use one of the case studies presented in this unit or a child that is known to you personally (please remember to apply pseudonyms to all identifying information - this student must NOT be identifiable). Document detailed demographic data about the student that includes:
Part two:
The body of your assignment discusses your student in relation to the following aspects:
- personal details such as age, gender, socio-economic status, ethnic background, language, family background and context and geographical details (but not a specific address)
- any medical history
- description of the specific disability
- a review of current literature related to the education of students with disability in general and your student's disability in particular.
- the potential impact of your student's disability on learning, access to and participation in a mainstream classroom.
- recommendations for communication strategies for consulting with the student, other students in the classroom, parents/ carers, specialist and community support services that form the student's support network.
- recommendations for the use of technological aides and accommodations and modifications to learning, assessment and the learning environment to promote your student’s learning, social participation and well-being, safety, health and personal care in a mainstream educational setting that would be used by the next teacher in this student's educational journey.
Part three: Appendix containing:
All learning and behavioural/engagement plans for your student.Week 12 Friday (6 Oct 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Assignments are due by 5pm on Friday October 6th, 2017
Assignment are returned once the moderation process has been completed.
Assessment will be marked against the following criteria:
- Knowledge and understanding of case study development
- Knowledge of chosen disability
- Understanding of the impacts of disability on learning and social participation for the child with disability
- Understanding of accommodations and modification to learning, assessment and participation for the child with disability
- Knowledge and understanding of relevant technology aids and other resources to promote learning, engagement and social participation
- Application of communication strategies with all stakeholders
- Standard of academic writing and use of academic materials
- Appraise the roles and responsibilities of educational stakeholders under legislation and policy for students with disabilities.
- Propose processes that overcome barriers to successful inclusion of students with disabilities.
- Evaluate strategies that support the psychological wellbeing, behaviour, accessibility and learning of students with special needs within whole class groups.
- Explain the rationale for accommodations and modifications that support the learning and social needs of students with disability.
- Interpret research literature and primary data sources to make recommendations that support the needs of students with disabilities.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
