Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Course Syllabus
Course Information
Course number: PSY 3342.021
Course title: Exceptional Children
Term: Summer 2007
Meeting times: TR 10-11:50am, GR 4.428
Course Description
Join me in an exploration of the characteristics of exceptional children and their education, including children with
disabilities (learning, emotional/behavioral, communication and physical), as well as those who are gifted. We will
examine the causes and assessment of exceptionality, along with educational and social policy considerations.
To get the most benefit from your time in this class, read the material to be discussed before we discuss it in class.
You will find classes to be much more interesting and involving if you come prepared to discuss each day's topic.
MAY 22 MAY 24
Ch. 2: Goals for exceptional children and ways to Ch. 3: Diversity Quiz 3
achieve them Quiz 2 Select paper topics today
MAY 29 MAY 31
Ch. 4: Parents and families Quiz 4 10-11:25 EXAM 1: Chs. 1-4
Confirm paper topics today 11:25-11:50 Review exam
JUNE 5 JUNE 7
Ch. 5: Mental retardation Quiz 5 APA style References list & Proposal due (60 points
off if skipped)
Ch. 6: Learning disabilities Quiz 6
JUNE 12 JUNE 14
Ch 7: Attention deficit disorder Quiz 7 Ch. 8: Emotional and behavioral disorders Quiz 8
JUNE 19 JUNE 21
10-11:25 EXAM 2: Chs. 5-8 Ch. 9: Communication disorders Quiz 9
11:25-11:50 Review exam Optional: give me your Research Paper by today for
early feedback
JUNE 26 JUNE 28
Ch. 12: Autism spectrum disorders Quiz 10 Ch. 15: Gifted and talented children Quiz 11
JULY 3 JULY 5
Continued discussion, Supplemental Readings TBA 10-11:25 EXAM 3: Chs. 9, 12, 15, Supplemental
RESEARCH PAPER DUE in class and online— Readings
upload to turnitin.com and print originality 11:25-11:50 Review exam
report—bring paper and report to class
JULY 10 JULY 12
LAST CHANCE: RESEARCH PAPER DUE in Ch. 11: Vision impairments Quiz 13
class with originality report at 10:00 a.m.
Ch. 10: Hearing impairments Quiz 12
JULY 17 JULY 19
Ch. 13: Traumatic brain injury, multiple and severe Ch. 14: Physical disabilities and other health
disabilities Quiz 14 impairment Quiz 15
JULY 24
10-11:25 EXAM 4: Chs. 10-11, 13-14 Course grades will be ready Aug. 3.
11:25-11:50 Review exam
Field Trip Policies Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for
Off-campus Instruction and Course Activities other classes, and from any other source (including your own work
Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are for other past or current classes) is unacceptable and will be dealt
subject to state law and University policies and procedures with under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see general
regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information regarding catalog for details). This course will use the resources (among
these rules and regulations may be found at the website address others) of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible
http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.ht plagiarism and is over 90% effective.
m. Additional information is available from the office of the school
dean. Email Use
No travel and/or risk-related activity is associated with this course. The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and
efficiency of communication between faculty/staff and students
Student Conduct & Discipline through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues
The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email
Dallas have rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient exchange. The university encourages all official student email
conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email
and each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules address and that faculty and staff consider email from students
and regulations that govern student conduct and activities. General official only if it originates from a UTD student account. This
information on student conduct and discipline is contained in the allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the
UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered identity of all individuals corresponding and the security of the
students each academic year. transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free
email account that is to be used in all communication with
The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at
within the procedures of recognized and established due process. U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T.
Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and Regulations, Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.
Board of Regents, The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter Please note that privacy regulations prohibit me from emailing
VI, Section 3, and in Title V, Rules on Student Services and your grades to you. Grades will be returned in class on designated
Activities of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures. days. If you miss one, please come to my office.
Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in
the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are Withdrawal from Class
available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations The administration of this institution has set deadlines for
(SU 1.602, 972/883-6391). withdrawal from any college-level courses. These dates and times
are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration
A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the procedures must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to
responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words, I
federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules, cannot drop or withdraw any student, even though your paperwork
university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are may require my signature. You must do the proper paperwork to
subject to discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if
such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or you choose not to attend the class once you are enrolled.
criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.
Student Grievance Procedures
Academic Integrity Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on
The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility Student Services and Activities, of the university’s Handbook of
and academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree Operating Procedures.
depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the
student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades,
high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work. evaluations, or other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is
the obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to resolve
Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or
acts or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter called
award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work or “the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain primary
material that is not one’s own. As a general rule, scholastic responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter
dishonesty involves one of the following acts: cheating, cannot be resolved at that level, the grievance must be submitted in
plagiarism, collusion, and/or falsifying academic records. Students writing to the respondent with a copy to the respondent’s School
suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response
proceedings. provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written
appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by the
School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to
These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.
NOTE: It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to acquire missed lecture notes, assignments, handouts, and announcements
from a classmate—NOT from me. You are responsible for all information given in class. This includes
any changes to the syllabus, content and format of exams, and details given regarding assignments.
NOTE: This is not an end-of-term paper, but rather a semester-long project. We will communicate about your
progress just about every week. You cannot hand in a paper unless you have previously handed in an
appropriate, approved proposal and references list.
The purpose of this assignment is to help you to get started on your term paper early in the semester and to help me
to guide you in writing it. PLEASE NOTE: ALL ASSIGNMENTS, INCLUDING YOUR PAPER
PROPOSAL AND REFERENCES LIST, MUST BE TYPED.
1. Title page with working title—give an overall preview of the topic you selected. The title should describe
your topic.
EXAMPLE:
Bad title: Inclusion
Good title: The impact of inclusion practices on friendship formation between typically
developing children and children with Down’s syndrome.
2. Objective and outline—explain very clearly and simply where you are heading and why you decided to go
in that direction. What is the purpose of your paper? What are the main ideas you want to argue by
presenting research evidence that supports them? For example, you might want to argue that cooperative
learning assignments encourage friendships between typically developing children and children with
Down’s syndrome. What research can you find that gives evidence that this is so?
3. Preliminary List of References—using APA style, list every source you have found so far. You might not
use all of them, and you might find more, but let me know what you have to work with. I might be able to
suggest sources that will help your paper, or steer you away from inappropriate sources.
Algozzine, B., & White, R. (2002). Preventing problem behaviors using schoolwide discipline.
In B. Algozzine, & P. Kay (Eds.), Preventing problem behaviors (pp. 85-103). Thousand
Kauffman, J. M., Bantz, J., & McCullough, J. (2002). Separate and better: A special public
school class for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Exceptionality, 10,
149-170.
Lewis, T. J., Chard, D., & Scott, T. M. (1994). Full inclusion and the education of children and
Shapiro, E. S., Miller, D. N., Sawka, K., Gardill, M. C., & Handler, M. W. (1999). Facilitating
the inclusion of students with EBD into general education classrooms. Journal of
These reminders are intended to help you in the preparation and organization of your research paper. Again,
remember that I am trying to help you to get started on your term paper early in the semester and to help you help
me to guide you in writing it. PLEASE NOTE: ALL ASSIGNMENTS, INCLUDING YOUR PAPER
PROPOSAL, MUST BE TYPED.
You should complete a typed, 4- to 6-page research paper. This will include a title, introduction, literature review,
application/discussion section (as appropriate), summary/conclusion, recommendations (as appropriate), and a list of
references (4-8, at least 4 of which will be journal articles). You should not need to use subheadings (e.g.,
“Introduction,” “Literature Review,” “Summary”) in this paper.
BE SURE TO CITE YOUR SOURCES throughout your paper. Always paraphrase and never use quotations—be
sure to indicate where you are getting your information. Use APA style for your citations and for your references
page.
The title should describe the particular area covered by the paper. A good title will summarize the main idea of the
paper. It should be fully explanatory when standing alone. Your title page will include the title of your paper, your
name, course name, my name, semester and year.
The introduction should present the main topic of the paper, a clarification of the topic and why it is important.
The literature review should include a more detailed description of the topic area and an organized presentation of
the pertinent psychological issues. This section will describe what research has been done in this area (i.e., what do
we know about this issue?)
The application/discussion section allows you to evaluate and interpret the implications of the findings you
presented in the previous section. You may wish to qualify or criticize the results of the research studies and draw
inferences from their findings. This section could include a review of current treatments (if applicable) and a
discussion of how the information that you presented on the topic can benefit professionals in the appropriate field
(e.g., health care, education, psychology, human services, counseling, etc.).
The summary/conclusion should clarify the major points covered in the paper, and conclusions based upon the
research presented. Depending on the way in which you organize your paper, you may wish to use this section to
answer the question of why this issue is important for professionals in your field. It often works well to put your
summary and/or conclusions before your recommendations because you can present it as "this is what we know so
far, so where should we go from here?" (but don't use those exact words).
Recommendations should be a thoughtful consideration of the future direction of research on the topic. Possible
recommendations should be listed with appropriate justifications for each. What don't we know about this area?
What has been neglected in previous research?
All references should be typed on a separate page at the end of the outline, according to the APA style format. You
must have a reference for every source you cite, and your reference list should include only those articles that you
cite. Be sure to use recent articles—those published since 1991. Use of any articles older than that should be done
for purposes of historical comparison only.
Please notice in particular that the quality of your writing DOES COUNT. Please use correct grammar and
punctuation, and a clear, coherent writing style. More details about grading criteria will be discussed in class. The
following rubric serves as a useful guideline:
The Graduate TA for this class will administer and score all exams, including makeup exams. If you, tragically, will
need to take a makeup exam, you will first get approval from me and then contact the graduate TA to arrange a
makeup exam at her convenience. Exams must be made up within one week, so be sure to make these arrangements
right away.
Email: ______________________________________________________
It is your responsibility to keep track of your grades, so that you know where you stand at all times. Feel free to
verify your grades with me, at my office, any time.
Quiz grades:
1: Ch. 1 ____ 9: Ch. 9 ____
2: Ch. 2 ____ 10: Ch. 12____
3: Ch. 3 ____ 11: Ch. 15____
4: Ch. 4 ____
12: Ch. 10____
5: Ch. 5 ____ 13: Ch. 11____
6: Ch. 6 ____ 14: Ch. 13____
7: Ch. 7 ____ 15: Ch. 14____
8: Ch. 8 ____