Psychology (PSYC) 470
Consultation and Collaboration for Students with Special Needs (Revision 3)

Revision 3 closed September 2005, replaced by current version.

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>> Overview | Outline | Evaluation | Course Materials | Course Fees | Course Availability

Overview

This is a three-credit, senior level course designed to increase awareness of the framework and rationale for collaboration, the facilitating factors involved, and strategies for implementation. The main emphasis of the course is on understanding collaborative consultation as a process that enables people with diverse expertise to work together to generate solutions for educating students with special education needs in regular public school classrooms.

Topics to be covered include:

• Key elements in consultation and collaboration
• Theoretical basis of school consultation
• Structures for school consultation
• Consultant competencies
• Evaluation and support of consultation and collaboration
• Identification of consultation, collaboration, and team roles
• Benefits of collaborative school consultation
• Consultation process and context in the school system
• Obstacles to consultation and collaboration
• Problem solving strategies
• Communication skills for effective school relationships
• Techniques for meetings, intervention, and observation
• Strategies for implementation
• Parents and personnel as partners in school consultation
• Assessing and evaluating consultation

Outline

Part 1 - Context and Foundations

• Unit 1 Working Together in the Schools
• Unit 2 Foundations and Frameworks for Collaborative School Consultation
• Unit 3 Diversity in Collaborative School Environments

Part 2 - Facilitating Factors

• Unit 4 Family-Focused Home-School Collaboration
• Unit 5 Communication and Problem Solving
• Unit 6 Management Strategies
• Unit 7 Professional Development

Part 3 - Implementation

• Unit 8 Assessment and Evaluation
• Unit 9 Co-Planning and Co-Teaching for Inclusion
• Unit 10 Related-Services and Support Personnel
• Unit 11 The Future of Consultation and Collaboration

Evaluation

The final grade in Psychology 470 is based on performance on three quizzes, the completion of the course project, and the final exam. To receive credit for this course you must achieve a grade of 50 percent or better on the final exam and on the course project, as well as an overall course grade of at least "D" (50 percent).

Quizzes	Course Project	Final Exam	Total
20%	40%	40%	100%

Course Materials

Textbook

Dettmer, P. A., Dyck, N. T., and Thurston, L. P. (2002). Consultation, Collaboration, and Teamwork for Students with Special Needs. (4th ed.) Toronto: Allyn and Bacon.

Other Material

The course materials include a study guide, a student manual, an assignment manual, and a book of readings.