Graduate Study in Early Intervention
Course Descriptions
SEI 501 Typical and Atypical Development in Infancy and
Early Childhood
The focus of this course is on understanding the
developmental patterns of infants and young children who are at-risk or have disabling
conditions and the impact of developmental challenges on the infant’s and young
child’s emerging capacities for engagement in relationships and learning. The
importance of the interaction of social, cultural, and interpersonal factors are stressed
throughout. A major goal of the course is for students to gain a working knowledge of
developmental processes that can be applied to assessment, curriculum development, and
intervention planning and implementation. Prerequisite: An undergraduate
or introductory course in child development or human development. 3 Credits.
SEI 502 Foundations of Early Intervention
The course provides an introduction to the field of early
intervention for infants and young children with disabilities. History and rationale,
legal foundations, early intervention and special education legislation, philosophical and
theoretical perspectives, service delivery models, family-professional partnerships,
collaborative teaming, assessment practices, and curriculum development are discussed from
an inclusive, interdisciplinary, culturally competent, family-centered perspective. Prerequisite:
Education or experience in early intervention, early childhood education, or a related
field. 3 Credits.
SEI 507 Fostering Partnerships in Early Intervention
This course will develop knowledge, values, and skills for
building partnerships with families and other team members. Family systems theory, the
teaming process, service coordination, interagency collaboration, consultation, advocacy,
and the ethics of early intervention will be considered from a family-centered, culturally
competent perspective. Students will participate in a family-based practicum in which they
will be placed with a family of an infant or young child with a disability over the course
of the semester. They will be expected to observe family routines, interact with family
members, assist the family to identify and achieve a family-identified need, and reflect
on the experience in a journal that they maintain. Prerequisite:
Education or experience in early intervention, early childhood education, or a related
field. 3 Credits.
SEI 508 Assessment and Program Planning for Early
Intervention
This course examines issues in measurement and test
development, child find and screening, eligibility and programmatic assessment,
nontraditional/authentic assessment, individualized intervention planning, collaboration
with families in the IFSP process, methods of team assessment, and principles and
strategies of intervention from an inclusive, culturally competent, family-centered
perspective. An important focus is assessment and intervention strategies for infants and
young children with low incidence disabilities (medically fragile/complex conditions,
multiple or severe disabilities, autism, hearing loss, visual impairments). The course
includes a 30 hour practicum in which students practice carrying out assessments of infants and
young children and assist families to identify their resources, priorities and concerns,
and includes an opportunity to participate as a team member in a transdisciplinary
play-based assessment of an infant or toddler. Prerequisites: SEI 501,
SEI 502, and SEI 507 or permission. 3 Credits.
SEI 509 Language and Literacy for Diverse Young Learners
This course focuses on early language and literacy development
and strategies for supporting these skills in all young children
birth to age five. Topics in this class include methods of assessing
the developmental continuum of early language development and
literacy learning, the teacher's role in promoting language and
literacy development, creating environments to support literacy and
language, and ways of involving families in supporting language and
literacy learning. An important aspect of this course will be
considerations for supporting the language and literacy of diverse
learners including young children with disabilities and responding
to individual cultural and linguistic variation among children,
including children who are learning English as a second language.
Prerequisite: Education or experience in early
intervention, early childhood education, or a related field. 3
Credits.
SEI 510 Serving Infants and Toddlers
in Natural Environments
This course focuses on providing early
intervention to very young children in natural environments, such as the
home, family child care, center-based child care programs, play groups, and
other community settings. An important focus of this course is methods of
supporting infants’ developing relationships with significant adults in
their lives. Techniques for meeting specialized needs of infants and
toddlers with disabilities in natural settings is examined. Activity-based
intervention and naturalistic approaches to intervention are emphasized. The course
includes a 30 hour practicum in which students observe and participate in home-based settings and
in inclusive community early care and education settings. Prerequisites:
SEI 501, SEI 502, and SEI 507 or permission. 3 Credits.
SEI 511 Planning Inclusive Early Childhood
Programs and Environments
This course examines design and
evaluation of environments and introduces the student to curriculum development and
activity planning for inclusive early care and education programs. The central and
integrative role of play in the early childhood curriculum and inclusive and
developmentally appropriate practices is emphasized throughout. This course examines
developmentally and individually appropriate approaches to child guidance, providing
positive supports for children with challenging behaviors, and creating environments that
support the social-emotional growth and development of infants and young children. A
particular focus of this course is the design and/or adaptation of curricular goals and
objectives, methods, materials, and activities to promote active learning and full
participation by children with diverse abilities, including children with low incidence
disabilities. This course includes a 30 hour practicum in which students design and evaluate early
childhood environments, plan and implement activities for infants and young children, and
design, implement, and evaluate activity-based interventions. Prerequisites:
SEI 501, SEI 502, and SEI 507 or permission. 3 Credits
SEI 512 Inclusive Early Childhood Curriculum
This course provides an in-depth study of the curriculum for
inclusive early care and education programs including, curricular scope and sequence,
methods and materials, and culturally appropriate approaches to curriculum development.
The course examines curricula for the domains of cognitive development, emergent
mathematics, communication and language, emergent literacy, self-care/adaptive skills,
motor development, and creative expression. A particular focus of this course is the
design and/or adaptation of curricular goals and objectives, methods, materials, and
activities to promote active learning and full participation by infants and young children
with diverse abilities, including children with low incidence disabilities. This course
includes a 30 hour practicum in which students plan and implement curricula, activities, and
interventions across the various curricular domains. Prerequisites: SEI
511. 3 Credits.
SEI 513
Practicum in Early Intervention
This 3-6 credit practicum focuses on planning,
implementing, and evaluating developmentally appropriate curricula and interventions for
inclusive early care and education programs. An important emphasis of the field experience
is the design and adaptation of curricular goals and objectives, instructional strategies,
environments, materials, and activities to promote active learning and full participation
by infants and young children with developmental delays and disabilities in inclusive,
community early care and education settings. Prerequisites: SEI 508, SEI
510, SEI 511, and SEI 512. 3-6 Credits.
SEI 514 (EDU 590) Administration and Public Policy for Early
Childhood Programs
Focuses on issues involved in administering early
intervention and early care and education programs. Topics include providing effective
leadership; planning and program management; funding sources, finance, and budgeting;
licensing and regulations; federal and state litigation and legislation; public policy
development and analysis; and advocacy and systems change in early intervention and early
childhood programs and systems. Prerequisites: SEI 501,
502, and 507 and at least 3 methods classes (508, 510, 511, 512) or
permission. 3 Credits.
SEI 515 Supervision and Professional Development
in Early Childhood Programs
Examines issues in providing support for early intervention
and early care and education personnel. Considers adult learning, supervision, mentoring,
coaching, in-service and pre-service personnel preparation, personnel standards and
competencies, and professional development systems. Prerequisites: SEI
501, 502, and 507 or permission. 3 Credits.
SEI 516 Seminar
and Practicum in Collaborative Consultation for
Early Childhood
This course examines methods of collaboration,
consultation, technical assistance, teaming, and developing partnerships with families,
staff of early care and education programs, and related services professionals.
It provides an opportunity for students to practice collaborative and
consultative relationships in a practicum in which they partner with
experienced early childhood consultants. Prerequisites:
SEI 508, 510, 511, 512, and 513 or permission. 3 Credits.
EDS 510 Introduction to Educational Research
For graduate students in education and related fields. Topics
include: locating educational research reports, abstracting and evaluating sources,
understanding statistical symbols, examining inquiry methodology and communicating about
research. Designed for consumers of research. Prerequisite: permission. 3
Credits. Note: EDU 600, Introduction to Educational
Research, taken at the University of Southern Maine, may be substituted for
EDS 510.
SEI 650 Graduate Project in Early Intervention
Students identify a significant problem or issue in the field
of early intervention and use a collaborative approach to inquiry to address the issue.
The project requires the student to demonstrate competencies in action research,
reflective practice, collaboration, leadership, and systems change at the micro or macro
level. Prerequisite: permission. 3 Credits
EDS 521 Statistical Methods in Education
Introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics as
applied to education and human behavior. Emphasis on parametric statistics. Prerequisite:
permission. 3 Credits.
EDS 699 Graduate Thesis
Students identify a research problem and design and carry out
a research study utilizing qualitative or quantitative methods of inquiry. Prerequisite:
permission. Credits arranged.
