Course Schedule
The CTSCCN includes five online courses that are taken as a cohort in sequence. Summer courses run for 3 weeks; Fall and Winter courses for 13 weeks; and the Spring course for 6 weeks.
Summer Term I
EDU 482: Teaching Students with Complex Communication Needs: Augmentative and Alternative Communication ★3
This course will introduce classroom teachers and educational professionals to the practices, issues and importance of providing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies and supports to students with complex communication needs. The course will focus on implementation of AAC systems to support students' communication, language development and meaningful participation in all aspects of learning experiences.
Fall Term
EDU 481: Teaching Students with Complex Communication Needs: Instructional Design and Methods ★3
This course builds on the principles of Universal Design for Learning and provides an overview of (1) teaching approaches that support inclusive education for students with complex communication needs, (2) assessment practices and tools that are appropriate for students with complex communication needs, (3) how to use local educational standards documents to guide goal setting and instruction.
Winter Term
EDU 483: Teaching Students with Complex Communication Needs: Emergent Literacy ★3
This course will focus on quality, comprehensive emergent literacy instruction for students with complex communication needs. The course will emphasize the use of symbol supported communication systems and intentionally designed instruction that includes daily opportunities for developing communication and interaction skills, oral language understandings, alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness, understandings of concepts about print, and a positive disposition toward literacy.
Spring Term
EDU 484: Teaching Students with Complex Communication Needs: Conventional Literacy ★3
This course will focus on quality, comprehensive literacy instruction for students with complex communication needs. The course will emphasize the use of symbol and text based communication systems and systematically designed instruction that includes daily opportunities for developing conventional skills in word reading (decoding and automatic word identification), text comprehension, silent reading fluency, and writing.
Summer Term II
EDU 485: Teaching Students with Complex Communication Needs: Numeracy ★3
This course focuses on quality instruction in mathematics (including numeracy) for students with complex communication needs. The course will emphasize the use of symbol and text based communication systems and systematically designed instruction to support understandings of number sense; spatial reasoning; principles of geometry, measurement, data, and analytic procedures; and mathematical problem solving, including algebra.