teachers but seek initial teaching certification in LBD. Advanced traditional certification is designed for individuals who are certified in another area may seek an “add-on” certification in LBD. When successful graduates are employed as teachers in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, they are classified and compensated as Rank II.
The MASPE program is founded on personal student support, high expectations, relevant and practical experiences, and distance learning technology. From the beginning, candidates are monitored in how to succeed in an electronic educational environment and they are provided 24/7/365 support in accessing course content, instructors, and colleagues from wherever internet service is available.
The MASPE program consists of a series of carefully designed, interactive accelerated coursework and field experiences. Each semester of coursework consists of two eight-week sessions that are delivered utilizing a variety of instructional electronic modalities. The online program requires 200 hours of field experiences prior to the final clinical experience. The only difference in requirements for students with varying experiential backgrounds is the final clinical course.
All students except option 6 candidates are required to complete a practicum/student teaching experience (ESP 574 or ESP 575). Each experience must be in an accredited public school classroom which contains students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) in the area of Learning and Behavior Disorders (LBD). Each student must apply for permission to enroll in the Practicum/Student Teaching course and be approved by the Teacher Education Committee (TEC). Applications for Practicum/Student Teaching, including all supporting evidence, must be submitted to the School of Education in Hathaway Hall Room 108 by the deadline of the semester prior to the semester he or she wishes to complete the practicum experience (Fall Deadline: October 15th; Spring Deadline: March 15th). The following courses are required:
ESP 502: Legal and Parental Issues in Special Education
ESP 504: Theories of Reading and Educational Practices P-12
ESP 505: Teaching Mathematics to Children and Youth with Learning and Behavior Disorders
ESP 507: Introduction to Special Education
ESP 510: Curriculum and Methods in Learning and Behavior Disorders
ESP 511: Methods and Strategies in Behavior Management
ESP 515: Research in Special Education
ESP 523: The Individual with LD: Learning and Development through the Lifespan
ESP 524: Instructional Assessment Methods
ESP 525: Inclusion, Collaboration, and Advocacy
ESP 526: Prescriptive Teaching
ESP 573: Practicum in Special Education OR
ESP 574: Supervised Teaching in Special Education OR
ESP 575: Supervised Student Teaching in Special Education
ESP 501: Special Topics in Education (Elective)
Students in the Master of Arts in Special Education (LBD P-12) program must begin by gaining admission through the Office of Graduate Studies. Those students with interest in earning the Master of Arts in Special Education Degree are then screened for admission into the program by the School of Education Graduate Committee. The students' progression through the MASPE program is guided by four distinct checkpoints.
Check Point I: Admission to Graduate Studies and Master of Arts in Special Education
A completed official graduate school application packet to Graduate Studies;
A bachelor's degree or advanced degree awarded by a regionally accredited college or university with a cumulative grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale; or A grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale on the last thirty (30) hours of credit completed, including undergraduate and graduate coursework; AND
Successful completion of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) administered by the Education Testing Services or the Core Academic Skills for Educators skills assessments of basic knowledge administered by the Educational Testing Service with the corresponding minimum score:
Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
Verbal Reasoning: 150; Quantitative Reasoning: 143; Analytic Writing: 4.0
The University
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