Course Syllabus

Contact Information

Dr. Mary Barczak

Assistant Professor

Department of Educational Psychology

Office Hours: TBA

Office Phone: 405-325-3574 

Email: mary.barczak@ou.edu

Live Session: Monday & Wednesday, 1:30-2:45

Zoom link: https://oklahoma.zoom.us/j/91934320414?pwd=Y0NRaUpJeGN1a2ZQUDN1T2k1dTlzZz09

Meeting ID: 919 3432 0414

Passcode: 06228905

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Course Details

For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.

Course Prerequisites 

Prerequisites for this course include EDSP 3053 (Understanding and Accommodating Exceptional Learners), EDSP 4013 (Fundamental Academic Instructional Strategies), and EDSP 4033 (Intensifying Mathematics Interventions for Students with Disabilities). Corequisites include EDSP 4043 (Classroom Management in Special Education), EDSP 4053 (Language, Literacy, and Communication Strategies), and EDSP 4072 (Introduction to Practicum in Special Education). 

Course Materials

Required Textbooks: 

There are no required textbooks for this class. All required readings will be posted on Canvas. 

Other Required Materials:

1. Device capable of high-quality video recording and means to fix device to optimal position
    (e.g., smartphone with tripod, laptop, camcorder with tripod, tablet with stand, etc.)

2. School supplies for conducting lessons (e.g., notecards, markers, highlighters)

Grades

Scale

A = 90-100%   

B = 80 – 89%   

C = 70 – 79%   

D = 60 – 69%  

F = <59%         

Course activities and grades listed for each activity

Activity	Description
Quizzes	Students will take weekly quizzes that cover content from readings and lectures
AFIRM/EdPuzzle Modules	Students will complete modules that review implementation of evidence-based practices prior to engaging in in-class practice.
Lesson Plans	Students will create and implement 2 lesson plans to demonstrate proficiency with planning and implementing evidence-based instruction.
Video and Self-Evaluations	Students will record themselves implementing evidence-based instruction, evaluate their own performance, and share the recording with peers to receive feedback.
Lesson Reflections	For each lesson plan, students will complete a reflection. Reflections will be completed using a reflection matrix found on Canvas. The reflection matrix will be reviewed in class prior to the due date for the first reflection.
Practice Assignments	Students will independently practice implementing evidence-based practices. Students will produce a permanent product that shows their mastery of the practice.
Video Reports on Low-Incidence Disabilities	This is a group assignment. Students will complete 2 low-incident disability reports that an overview of a particular disability, discuss implications for teachers, and provide a list of resources from the community for families
SAFMEDS	Say All Fast Minute Each Day Shuffled (SAFMEDS) are a study strategy designed to help students become familiar with and fluent in  basic definitions, concepts, and/or terms, thus making learning more complex material less difficult. Students will receive credit both for graphing their progress and for master of terms/definitions/concepts.
In-Class Participation	Students will engage in in-class activities designed to help them learn to implement evidence-based practices with fidelity.

Course Components

Quizzes

There will be weekly quizzes taken through canvas that cover content from that week’s reading and lectures. Quizzes will be taken through Canvas. Quizzes will consist of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, true and false, and/or short answer questions. 

Retake Policy: Students will have the opportunity to improve quiz grades by retaking their quizzes. Each quiz will be open for retake approximately one week after the original due date. Students will have as many opportunities as needed to retake quizzes between the time they are reopened and the final day of classes.

Scoring Disagreements: If you believe an answer is correct and it is marked as incorrect, provide the following via email:

• • Full question, including what was marked incorrect
  • What you believe the correct answer is
  • Justification, including text reference/page number/slide where you found correct answer
  • Submit within 48 hours of correct answers being available. 

Lesson Plans

Students will create lesson plans to implement with students with intensive support needs to demonstrate proficiency with planning and implementing evidence-based instruction. Each lesson plan will include the initial plan to submit before implementing the plan with a student with intensive support needs and a reflection submitted after the lesson is implemented. Rubrics and templates for lesson plans can be found on Canvas.

Lesson Plan 1: Teaching a Discrete Skill Using Systematic Prompting 

This lesson will focus on 10 discrete targets that the student has not yet mastered. This skill should be selected in conjunction with the student’s special education teacher. Students must choose a skill to teach from the following list unless they receive permission from the instructor to teach an alternative skill: identifying sight words, identifying letter names, identifying letter sounds, identifying numerals, identifying colors, identifying shapes, basic math facts, content vocabulary. Students will continue to deliver instruction each week until the student demonstrates mastery. Lessons should take 5-10 minutes to implement.

Lesson Plan 2: Teaching a Chained Skill Using an Evidence-based Practice

This lesson will focus on a chained (multi-step) skill. The skill must be an academic skill (e.g., addition with a number line) or daily living skill (e.g., buttoning a shirt) and should be selected in conjunction with the student’s special education teacher. Students will deliver instruction each week until the student demonstrates mastery. Lessons should take about 5-10 minutes to implement.

Lesson Reflections

For each lesson plan, students will complete a reflection. Reflections will be completed using a reflection matrix found on Canvas. Using the matrix, students will describe what happened by detailing the specific teaching choice they made, analyze by explaining the reasons why they made the teaching choice, judge the success of specific decisions by noticing the effects on a portion of the lesson or the lesson overall, and apply insights to create a plan for extending effective practices or changing ineffective practices in future lessons. The reflection matrix will be reviewed in class prior to the due date for the first reflection. 

Video and Self-Evaluation

Students will record themselves implementing evidence-based instruction with students with intensive support needs and will complete a self-evaluation of their performance using a structured implementation checklist. Students will share the video instruction with the instructor and their peers to receive constructive feedback and learn from watching their peers providing instruction. 

Module Completion

Throughout the course, students will be assigned AFIRM or EdPuzzle modules that review implementation of different evidence-based practices (see schedule for individual due dates). Students must upload completion certificates for each module prior to the class for which they are assigned.

Practice Assignments

Following the introduction of a new evidence-based practice, students will practice the evidence-based practice independently. Students will produce a permanent product that shows their mastery of the practice. Permanent products may include video recordings of students engaged in evidence-based practices. For practice assignments, students do not have to complete the assignment with an individual with an intensive support need. Each assignment will be accompanied by a brief reflection.

Preference Assessment Practice (Video)

Students will conduct a preference assessment (paired choice, MSW, or MSWO) and video record their implementation. Additional information is available on Canvas, and the assignment will be discussed in class.

Task Analysis Practice

Students will complete a task analysis for one of the following daily living skills: washing hands, brushing teeth, buttoning a shirt, tying a shoe, cooking a basic recipe/cooking in microwave, laundry, washing dishes/lauding a dishwasher, washing a table/counter/etc., cleaning a toilet, making the bed, using a search engine, sending an email, sending a text. Students can also choose an alternate skill with instructor approval. Additional information is available on Canvas, and the assignment will be discussed in class.

Prompting Practice (Video)

Students will use record a video of themselves using systematic prompting strategies to teach another person South American and Central American national flags. Additional information is available on Canvas, and the assignment will be discussed in class.

Video Prompting Practice (Video)

Students will create a series of videos to use for video prompting. Students can create a video for either a chained academic or daily living skill. Students must have their skill approved by the instructor. Additional information is available on Canvas, and the assignment will be discussed in class.

Visual Support Practice

Students will create a visual support for a student. Visual supports can include a visual schedule, visual task analysis, illustrated social narrative, power card, or other visual support approved by the instructor. Additional information is available on Canvas, and the assignment will be discussed in class.

Social Skills Practice

Students will plan a social skills lesson and develop lesson materials for one of the following topics: taking turns/sharing, initiating play, joining an ongoing activity, asking for help, introducing yourself/other people, giving and accepting compliments, apologizing, greeting others, calming strategies, teamwork or other topic improved by the instructor. Additional information is available on Canvas, and the assignment will be discussed in class.

Video Reports on Low-Incidence Disabilities (Midterm and Final Exam Assignment)

This is a group assignment. Students will complete two low-incidence disability reports this semester. This report consists of a video presentation that will be played for the class and a set of guided notes to accompany the video. The presentation should include (1) an overview disability (causes, characteristics, prevalence rate, etc.); (2) implications for teachers; (3) a list of resources/professional organizations that would be appropriate for other practitioners or parents and a brief description of each; and (4) the references that you used to gather information.

The purpose of this assignment is 1) to provide you with the research skills of investigating low-incidence disabilities for when these skills are needed in the future and 2) to provide you with information on some low-incidence disabilities for future use.

Videos should be 4-8 minutes in length. More information about the project is available on Canvas.

SAFMEDS

SAFMEDS is a flashcard procedure designed to help students become fluent in basic concepts and definitions. This procedure will be explained and modeled in class. Download SAFMEDS materials from Canvas and create flashcards by the second class session. Students will track their data on a data collection sheet and graph their data on an excel spreadsheet or printed graph. The data collection sheet and graph will be due to Canvas on the first day of exam week. Students will be graded on the following:

1. Five graphed data points per week
2. Mastery of the material (the ability to correctly name 45 terms in 60 seconds)

Course Policies

Attendance

This course is part of your professional training. As such, professional behavior is expected throughout the semester. You are expected to participate in class every session, as appropriate. A significant amount of learning takes place in the classroom through interactions between classmates; to not miss out on this opportunity, it is within your best interests to attend every class. If you need to be absent from class you should reach out to me (Dr. Barczak) as soon as possible to discuss missed content or assignments. 

There may be times during the semester that you will need to attend class via Zoom instead of in person. This is a perfectly legitimate way to attend class, and anyone who needs to attend class via Zoom can do so without asking previous instructor permission. 

ZOOM Attendance: You will need to keep your video on at all times. Please do not put a picture in your place or turn your video off for an extended period of time. A brief time (e.g., 1-2 minutes) turning off your video to move between rooms or to block visual distractions is fine.  You will be asked to mute yourself when you are not directly speaking, but your active engagement is expected. You need to treat your time online in class just as you would if you were in person on campus.

While expectations are high regarding academic work and your participation during class, I am willing to answer any and all questions you might have about an assignment and to work with you in developing your ideas. The primary goal is that you think about the issues presented in class and leave the course with knowledge and skills you can apply in your future roles as teachers and service providers. Never hesitate to ask a question.

Grading

Grades will be posted to Canvas each week. All written work will be graded and returned within two weeks after the due date.

Make-up Work & Late Assignments 

If you must be absent for any reason, you are responsible for reaching out to the instructor to obtain information from any missed class period and find out about any missing assignments from class. If students are not able to make up an assignment from class, they may be asked to complete an alternative assignment to display mastery of the content. 

Assignments should be handed in via Canvas by the day/time they are due in the format requested.  The assignments assigned in this class are intended to evaluate your ability to apply what you learn in class to an actual academic situation. Meeting deadlines helps me to be able to respond to assignments in a timely manner. However, there are times when students are not able to meet deadlines and will need an extension for an assignment in order to do their best work. It is recommended that students ask for extensions BEFORE assignments are due, however this is not required. The following policy is applied to late work in this class:

1. Students have 48 hours after a due date to turn in an assignment.
2. If a student does not turn in an assignment within 48 hours of the due date, and they have not contacted me to ask for an extension, I will contact them with an email stating that the assignment is missing and informing them that a zero (0) will be entered into Canvas gradebook as a placeholder until the assignment is turned in. At this point, a late penalty of -1% of the total grade for the assignment will be added for each additional day late. For example, a student who turns in an assignment 5 days after the due date (48 hours plus 3 days late) would only be able to receive a maximum grade of 97% on the assignment. 
3. If a student has still not responded within one week of the due date, they will receive an email requiring them to attend office hours to work with me to develop a schedule for turning in the missing assignment. Both the student and I will complete a form stating the schedule for the assignment and the consequences for not meeting the schedule, which will be filed in my office.
4. If a student is late turning in a second assignment, even if they turn it in within one week of the deadline, they will also be required to schedule a meeting with me to discuss the remaining course requirements and determine a plan of action for completing future assignments on time. Both the student and I will complete a form which will be filed in my office.

Incomplete Grades

Incompletes will be given at the instructor’s discretion only in serious circumstances, and not because a student could not finish the work required in this course. In general, the following guidelines will be followed (a) a passing grade must be earned at the time the request is made; (b) the student must make the request before the last day of class; and (c) the instructor and student establish a contract governing the completion of the course

Assignment Formatting

Research evidence shows that performance feedback improves teacher performance. In order to give you the best and most immediate feedback, it is important that you format all assignments to meet written formatting guidelines so that the instructor can efficiently evaluate your work. Assignments that do not meet formatting guidelines will be returned ungraded, and subsequent revisions will be counted as late assignments.

Communicating with the Instructor about Assignments

Although I have designed rubrics to clarify expectations for all assignments, it is natural that students will have questions. Therefore, I have designated multiple opportunities for students to ask these kinds of questions. First, I will review the rubric(s) for any upcoming assignment(s) during class. Students are strongly encouraged to ask questions at this time. Second, students are invited to talk with me immediately before or after class. I will be present before class and after class for up to a half hour to communicate with students. Third, students are invited to come to office hours. The time of office hours will be determined during the first class meeting so that we can identify the best time without conflicts for the instructor and as many students as possible. If a student would like to meet with me, but the student has a conflict with office hours that cannot be resolved, the student may send an email to request and alternate meeting time. Finally, there are two discussion boards that students can use to ask questions about assignments. The first is the COURSE HELP BOARD. The course help board is reserved for questions about the administrative functioning of the course that may be relevant to the whole class. You can also share resources or post helpful tips or strategies. I will check the board daily to respond to your questions, but your classmates may get you an answer even faster. The second is the ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK BOARD. The assignment feedback board is a place for you to receive feedback on assignments from me or your classmates. I will also check this board daily. 

Questions about assignment due dates and class logistics will not be answered via email. I do this for two reasons. One, the discussion boards provide a permanent product for the entire class to refer to. Two, I often get the same emails from multiple students asking the same questions. Answering the same question multiple times via email is a waste of time both for me and the students writing the emails. 

If you have specific questions about your grades, need to ask for an extension, or have a question about feedback that I provided on an assignment, you may contact me individually through OU email or Canvas messenger. Depending on the question, I may ask you to schedule a time to meet with me in person/over Zoom to discuss your question. 

Technology in Class

Students will be asked to bring laptop computers or tablets to class in to share video footage of their implementation of instructional strategies with students with intensive support needs. In addition, students are encouraged to use laptops or tablets for purposes of note-taking or other class-related activities. However, once a student demonstrates that they intend to use a laptop or tablet for purposes that are unrelated to class (e.g., checking e-mail, social networking, surfing the Internet), they will lose this privilege. If students suspect they will have difficulty refraining from computer activity that is unrelated to class, they may wish to disable the wireless function on their device to diminish this temptation. With the exception of scheduled class breaks or permission of the instructor, phones should never be visible during class.

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University Academic Policies and Student Support

Course Catalog 

Search the OU Course Catalogue.

Student Handbook

Please familiarize yourself with the OU Student Handbook.

Online Library

Access digital materials and other resources at OU Libraries.

Academic Misconduct

In addition to the course conduct policies outlined by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Student Handbook. 

It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the definitions, policies, and procedures concerning academic misconduct. The Student Code is available from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and is contained in the Student's Guide to Academic Integrity.

This site also defines misconduct, provides examples of prohibited conduct, and explains the sanctions available for those found guilty of misconduct.

Plagiarism 

Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism. 

For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.

Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities

The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course should contact their professor as early in the semester as possible.

Students with disabilities must be registered with the Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations in this course.

If you have a disability and you would like to make a request for reasonable accommodation, please see the Student Handbook or get in touch with the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center.

Adjustments for Pregnancy/Childbirth Related Issues

Should you need modifications or adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss your options. Generally, modifications will be made where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary disability.  Learn more about the rights of pregnant and parenting students by consulting the FAQ sheets provided by the Institutional Equity Office.

Title IX Resources  

For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24/7, counseling services, mutual no contact orders, scheduling adjustments, and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. Please contact the Sexual Misconduct Office at 405-325-2215 (8-5, M-F) or OU Advocates at 405-615-0013 (24/7) to learn more or to report an incident. 

Religious Holidays

It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays without penalty. It is the responsibility of the student to make alternate arrangements with the instructor at least one week prior to the actual date of the religious holiday.

Copyright Policy

It is illegal to download, upload, reproduce, or distribute any copyrighted material, in any form and in any fashion, without permission from the copyright holder or his/her authorized agent. The University of Oklahoma expects all members of its community to comply fully with federal copyright laws. If such laws appear to have been violated by any user, the university reserves the right (1) to terminate that user’s access to some or all of the university’s computer systems and information resources and (2) to take additional disciplinary actions as deemed necessary or appropriate. Repeat offenders will be sanctioned and their privileges terminated.

Registration and Withdrawal

If you choose to withdraw from this course, you must complete the appropriate University form and turn the form in before the deadline. If you stop attending the course and doing the coursework without doing the required paperwork, your grade will be calculated with missed homework and examination grades entered as zero. This could result in receiving a grade of F in the course. Deadlines are shown in the Academic Calendar, which is available from the Office of the Registrar.

Student Grievances

In addition to any policies outlined related to submitting an informal or formal grievance by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Student Handbook for more information about the process of submitting a formal grievance.