Transforming Special Education Partnership
Transforming Curriculum in Special Education Project (T-SPED), is a special education pre-service training improvement initiative to enrich special education teacher education curricula at five member colleges and universities of the Associated Colleges of Illinois including the University of St. Francis (lead institution and fiscal agent), Aurora University, Dominican University, Lewis University and Eureka College. To help ensure that developing Learning Behavior and Specialist I (LBS-I) programs continue to reflect the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs’ (OSEP) emerging priorities in special education personnel development, T-SPED is accomplishing four aspects of curriculum transformation including:
- evidence-based instruction in core subjects for special education students
- integration of Response to Intervention (Rtl) approaches to special education teacher education curricula
- effective clinical experiences for pre-service special education teachers working in high-need schools
- and improved content knowledge in math and science.
The T-SPED project goal is also to increase the number of graduates of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funded special education programs by pursuing four aspects of curriculum transformation including:
- improved content knowledge in math and science
- revising curricula to include evidence-based practices
- integration of RtI approaches to special education teacher education curricula
- and effective clinical experiences for pre-service special education teachers working in high-need schools.