Special Education, (BA)

The purpose of Tusculum University’s special education program is to prepare teacher candidates for a career of service to K-12 students. The dual-licensure special education Interventionist K-8 and Comprehensive K-12 is based upon the premise that teachers with Interventionist K-8 and Comprehensive K-12 licensure must have a solid foundation in three areas: (a) content pedagogy for academic areas taught in the classroom, (b) content and pedagogy knowledge specific to serving as an interventionist or comprehensive K-12 specialist, and (c) professional education knowledge.

The goals of the program are to prepare prospective Interventionist K-8 and Comprehensive K-12 special education teachers with the knowledge and skills to be able to perform the following:

• Demonstrate knowledge of learning styles, strengths, and needs of students served through individualized education programs (IEPs).
• Demonstrate skill in designing and delivering instruction and instructional interventions based on the learning styles, strengths, and needs of students with IEPs.
• Demonstrate knowledge and skills to provide an intensive intervention to address deficits in skill specific areas to close the achievement gaps for students who are served through IEPs.
• Develop a broad knowledge of the field of special education including a study of various areas of disabilities.
• Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively with general education teachers to incorporate differentiation, scaffolding, and appropriate accommodations so students with IEPs may access the core curriculum in a least restrictive environment.
• Demonstrate skill in communicating effectively with students, peers, administrators, and parents as a means to positively influence the education of all children.
• Demonstrate skill in teaching in a variety of regular and special education environments.

In addition to college classroom course experiences, the Interventionist K-8 and Comprehensive K-12 program includes multiple clinical experiences. As part of program completion, Interventionist K-8/Comprehensive K-12 candidates complete one student teaching placement in grades K-8 special education interventionist setting (typically a general education setting or resource room setting) and another placement in a grades K-12 comprehensive special education setting (typically a self-contained special education classroom setting). The courses in the program with a SPED prefix are offered 100% online.

The mission of the College of Education at Tusculum University is to prepare teachers who are committed to excellence in education and who are confident in their abilities to assume leadership as educators and citizens in the communities where they live and work. The program continues the University’s focus on civic and intellectual development of students, while fostering the skills, knowledge, and habits of character vital to those involved in the education of the nation’s next generation of citizens.

Education programs at Tusculum University adhere to the requirements and guidelines established by the Tennessee State Board of Education (TSBE) and the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). Modifications in initial and advanced education programs and curriculum may occur as the result of TSBE or TDOE actions and regulations. Tusculum University reserves the right to revise academic programs as deemed necessary to meet accrediting and approval criteria.

Degree Requirements: 120 Credits