The Additional Qualification course Special Education – Behaviour focuses on the theory and practice to support students with behavioural needs. This course is for those with an interest or background in special education and a desire to extend their knowledge. Candidates will explore program design, implementation, and assessment. You will develop strategies to promote positive learning experiences for students with behavioural exceptionalities. You will be provided with resources to help you guide and support prosocial skills. The following tenets underpin the course content:

• behaviour is purposeful and fulfills a function
• behaviour and environment affect each other
• behaviour is predictable and manageable based on principles of applied behaviour analysis
• understanding the theories of human behaviour promotes self-management

This course looks at the social, emotional, and environmental factors contributing to student behaviour and growth, with an emphasis on:

• exploring the instructional strategies and curriculum adaptations that promote self-esteem, autonomy, and self-regulation
• creating conditions that promote a positive, safe, inclusive, and healthy school culture and climate
• understanding how to incorporate community-building strategies and effective classroom management into practice
• designing positive behaviour support plans for whole-school, classroom, or individual students

Candidates will be exposed to a variety of theoretical models that account for human behaviour.

Candidates will have the opportunity to:

• learn to manage students’ behaviour using proactive, preventative, and positive approaches
• based on analyses of circumstances, manipulate environmental factors to encourage appropriate behaviour
• use functional assessment as a tool for behaviour modification
• determine desired outcomes, inappropriate behaviours, and appropriate replacement behaviours
• analyze and extend the application of fair practices
• discover ways to advocate for students, parents, and teachers
• explore the broader role of the teacher working with students with behavioural challenges

In this course you will:

• analyze, interpret, and put into place Ministry of Education curriculum and district school board policies and guidelines
• apply the theoretical understanding necessary to design, implement, and assess programs and/or practices for students with behavioural exceptionalities
• model and adapt expectations, strategies, and assessment practices in response to the individual needs of students
• create learning environments conducive to the intellectual, social, emotional, physical, linguistic, cultural, spiritual, and moral development of the student
• collaborate with in-school personnel, parents/guardians, and the community
• examine a variety of resources, including technological resources, within and beyond the educational system to enhance professional knowledge in support of students learning
• refine professional practice through ongoing inquiry, dialogue, and reflection
• support and model ethical practices
• understand the need to respect and conserve resources in the environment
• understand how to create and sustain professional learning communities

You will complete activities that will:

• engage your peers in collaborative discussions about critical issues and trends related to working effectively with students with behavioural exceptionalities
• identify theoretical assumptions, both historic and current, about the learner with a behavioural exceptionality
• recognize and understand behaviour related to disturbances in mental health, and difficulties in forming and maintaining relationships
• enhance your knowledge about the legal challenges associated with students with a behavioural exceptionality
• have opportunities to share strategies for adapting curriculum, assessment, and evaluation, including conducting eco-behavioural assessments and instructional strategies for working with students with a behavioural exceptionality
• develop your skills in designing behaviour management plans, student safety plans, and conducting threat-risk assessments
• plan actions for increasing parent support of student learning and behaviour
• show knowledge of resiliency and risk factors in providing appropriate prevention and intervention strategies
• integrate the teaching of social skills and character education into curriculum and instruction
• describe the relationship between cooperation and conflict
• explore components of creating a positive, safe, inclusive school culture and climate including issues related to bullying, diversity, discrimination, equity, harassment, and multiculturalism