Program Description

Mild/Moderate Special Education Distance Education Program

This Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation distance education program offers students undergraduate coursework leading to a B.S. degree in special education with an endorsement in teaching students with mild/moderate disabilities in grades K-12. Students with degrees can also complete the program to receive a second bachelor's degree and/or a special education mild/moderate endorsement. Courses are delivered through the Utah Education Network (UEN) by an interactive audio/video system to remote sites throughout the state of Utah, with extensive use of the Internet for delivering course materials, readings, assignments, student feedback, and class projects. It also includes remote supervision via interactive audio-video technology. Students complete the program as members of a two-year cohort group at previously designated sites throughout Utah. The next group starts in January 2007.

In addition, students can obtain a dual major degree and endorsement with the Department of Elementary Education. Students completing the dual major degree/endorsement can teach in regular and special education programs.

This undergraduate program is designed to provide students with firsthand experiences teaching pupils with disabilities through practica. Practica experiences enable students to teach pupils of various ages and abilities for approximately one hour per day. In each practicum, students learn new teaching techniques and have the opportunity to teach several subjects over a period of time. Students are required to teach in both secondary and elementary placements during their practica and student teaching experiences.

Along with the practica experiences, students participate in didactic courses each semester. These courses are designed to complement the practica, as well as provide the student with a broader understanding of the field of special education (see diagram below). Didactic courses cover subjects such as behavior analysis, effective instruction techniques, legal aspects of special education, curriculum, and effective communication and coordination between educators and parents.

Students who complete the program will be eligible to receive a Utah teaching license issued by the Utah State Office of Education, allowing them to teach in public school special education programs for students with disabilities from kindergarten to twelfth grade.

Utah State University
Mild/Moderate Special Education Distance Education Program
2865 Old Main Hill
Logan, Utah 84322-2865
Phone: 435.797.7575 Fax: 435.797.3572