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PSYC 400 Course website

Psychology (PSYC) 470
Consultation and Collaboration for Students with Special Needs (Revision 4)

Revision 4 closed, replaced by current version.

View previous syllabus

Delivery mode: Individualized study with
Online-enhancements. Video component*.
*Overseas students, please contact the University Library before registering in a course that has an audio/visual component.

Credits: 3 - Social Science

Prerequisite: EDPY 351, or PSYC 389/EDPY 389, or equivalent.

Precluded course: PSYC 470 is a cross-listed course—a course available in two different disciplines—with EDPY 470. PSYC 470 cannot be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained for EDPY 470.

Centre: Centre for Psychology

PSYC 470 has a Challenge for Credit option.

Course website

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 - Contexts for Working Together

Unit 1: Consultation, Collaboration, and Teamwork in Schools

Unit 2: Foundations and Frameworks for Collaborative School Consultation

Unit 3: Working Together with Families and Students

Part 2: Processes for Working Together

Unit 4: Communication Processes

Unit 5: Problem-Solving Strategies

Unit 6: Management and Assessment

Part 3: Content of Working Together

Unit 7: Working Together for Students from Diverse Populations

Unit 8: Working Together for Students with Disabilities

Unit 9: Working Together for Students with High Ability

Part 4: Working Together Now and in the Future

Unit 10: Roles of School Personnel

Unit 11: Related-Services Personnel, Resources, and Technology

Unit 12: Putting It All Together

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Evaluation

The final grade in PSYC 470 is based on performance on four 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%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

Dettmer, P., Dyck, N., & Thurston, L. (2005). Consultation, collaboration, and teamwork for students with special needs (5th ed.). Toronto: Allyn and Bacon.

Other materials

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

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