Psychology 2043B-650
Exceptional Children: Developmental Disorders
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
This half course will cover theory and treatment related to major childhood disorders affecting learning and development, including autism, learning disabilities, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and physical handicaps.Antirequisites: Psychology 2041, 2320A/B, 3320F/G, 3434E
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.
0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Esther Goldberg
E-mail: egoldber@uwo.ca
Office: 7439/7440 SSC
Office hours: by appointment only
Teaching Assistant: Michelle Chau Tran
E-mail: mtran68@uwo.ca
Office: Brain and Mind Institute, Room 242
Office hours: Office hours are by appointment only and reserved for exam viewing.
Please contact the course teaching assistant if you wish to view your exam.
Please contact the course instructor if you require assistance with any aspect of the course material. Also, please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
Textbook (required):Heward, W.L. (2013). Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (10th edition). Toronto, ON: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Course Notes (required):
Course notes have been prepared for each unit. These notes will be available as PDF files on the course website (OWL/WebCT). These notes are unique content and are not meant to summarize the textbook. Some course notes also contain links to videos available online. All of this content is considered testable material on exams.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is designed to provide an over-view of the major developmental disorders affecting children and an understanding of various broad categories of exceptionality (intellectual and learning; communication; sensory; neurological), including the way they are identified/diagnosed/categorized, their etiology and frequency. The goal is to gain an understanding the impact of these disorders on children’s functioning and techniques (school-based and otherwise) that may be used to assist with their development.5.0 EVALUATION
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf ):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
Please note that all marks in the course will be assigned solely on merit. Grades will not be adjusted on the basis of need (e.g., to meet program requirements) and students will not be given the opportunity to complete additional assignments in order to boost their grade.
Student evaluation will be based on two multiple-choice exams (40% each, for a total of 80% of the final grade) and a discussion participation mark (20% of the final grade).
Exams:
Exams will account for a total of 80% of the total course mark. Each exam will cover approximately one-half of the course content and each will be worth 40% of the final course mark. The exams are non-cumulative. Each exam will be approximately 100 questions in length and will last for 2.5 hours. Questions in each exam will be based on information presented in assigned readings and the provided supplemental materials, including all videos that are linked. Please refer to the course schedule provided for a list of specific topics and readings that are covered in each exam. All exams are closed book. No books, notes, calculators, dictionaries or aids of any type are allowed. As per University policy, no electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams. Students failing to complete an exam will receive a mark of 0 for that exam. Exams cannot be rewritten and will not be re-weighted.
Discussion Participation:
The remaining 20% of the total course mark will stem from participation in on-line discussions. There will be five on-line discussions. Students are encouraged to participate in all of the discussions, however, your mark will be based on your four best discussion marks. Each discussion will be graded out of 5. Discussions will pertain to course material for the associated week. Please refer to the course schedule provided for the weeks during which discussion opportunities will occur. Additional information about the discussion will be available on OWL/WebCT as they begin. Each discussion will be open for 7 days: generally, from 12:00 am on Monday until 11:59 pm the following Sunday. (Dates may be adjusted to account for statutory holidays.) Once a discussion closes, no more posts can be made.
A separate grading rubric for discussion posts is available on the course OWL/WebCT page.
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
6.0 DISCUSSION SCHEDULE
Discussions will pertain to course material for the associated week. Detailed information on the focus of the discussion will be provided on the week that the discussion occurs. Due to the nature of the component, make-up opportunities for discussions cannot be provided.
DISCUSSION TOPIC SCHEDULED DATES
Intellectual Disabilities Week of January 25
Gifted and Talented Week of February 1
Autism Spectrum Disorder Week of February 29
Hearing Impairments Week of March 7
All topic areas to date Week of March 29
(Tuesday start due to Easter holiday)
All students are expected to complete exams on the scheduled dates. Special examinations will be provided only on religious, medical, or compassionate grounds with the appropriate supporting documentation. (Please see the links to all relevant policies included below).
EXAM VALUE SCHEDULED DATE
Exam 1 40% of final grade Saturday, February 27, 2016 (UNCONFIRMED)
Exam 2 40% of final grade to be scheduled between April 9-30, 2016
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
|
Week beginning: |
Topic |
Associated Chapter: |
|
January 4 |
Week 1: Introduction to Psychology 2043 |
None |
|
January 11 |
Week 2: Introduction to Children who are Exceptional |
Chapters 1 and 2 (specific pages) |
|
January 18 |
Week 3: Risk Factors and Children at Risk |
Chapter 4 |
|
January 25* |
Week 4: Children with Intellectual Disabilities |
Chapter 4 (continued) |
|
February 1* |
Week 5: Children who are Gifted, Talented, and Creative |
Chapter 13 |
|
February 8 |
Week 6: Children with Learning Disabilities |
Chapter 5 |
|
February 15 |
READING WEEK – no course content |
|
|
February 22 |
Week 7: Children with Speech and Language Differences |
Chapter 8 |
|
Saturday, February 27, 2015 Time and Location to be determined |
EXAM 1 – Questions will be on topics covered in assigned readings and all supplemental materials from the week of January4 through the week of February 22, including that week’s content. |
|
|
February 29* |
Week 8: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders |
Chapter 7 |
|
March 7* |
Week 9: Children with Hearing Impairments |
Chapter 9 |
|
March 14 |
Week 10: Children with Visual Impairments |
Chapter 10 |
|
March 21-28** |
Week 11: Children with Physical and Health Disabilities |
Chapter 11 |
|
March 29—April 5*/** |
Week 12: Children with Severe and Multiple Disabilities |
Chapter 12 |
|
To be scheduled |
EXAM 2 – Questions will be on topics covered in assigned readings and all supplemental materials from the week of February 29 through the end of the academic semester.
|
|
* Discussion Week
** Schedule adjusted to account for Easter statutory holiday
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/pg117.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2015 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
