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Resources for Early Childhood / Special Education Students

Advising and Course Registration

  • At the start of each semester, please refer to the TCNJ’s academic calendar and familiarize yourself with the registration period for that semester.
  • During the 2 weeks prior to registration, you should meet individually with your special education advisor. Be sure that you have met with your second major advisor prior to meeting with your special education major.
  • When you meet with your advisor you must bring the following:

o   A projected schedule for the next semester including days and times for all courses. Please click here for the early childhood special education course sequence.

o  Click here for suggested course sequences by second major

o   A list of alternative courses with days and times

o   Your unofficial transcript

o   An updated Audit Sheet. Please click here if you need a new audit sheet.

  • You must meet with your advisor prior to registering for courses.
    • Not meeting with your early childhood special education advisor can result in missing critical registration information that could ultimately delay your graduation. If you do not meet with your advisor, a hold may be placed on your PAWS account, preventing you from being able to register for your courses for the next semester.

What You Should Register For

Freshman

Year 1 Suggested Course Sequence

Fall Year 1

Entering freshmen are pre-registered for their first semester courses, including First Year Seminar.  They have an opportunity to make some changes during Add/Drop period at the start of the new semester.

Spring Year 1

SPE 103 – Social and Legal Foundations of Special Education

WRI 102 (if not taken or waived)

SLP 102 – Language, Speech and Communication

One or two Second Major courses or remaining Liberal Learning courses

Register for these Early Childhood Special Ed courses if they were not taken in the Fall semester:

ECE 102 – Multicultural Children’s Literature (Not to be taken if you are an English or WGS major)

MATH 105 or 106 (if not yet taken)

Sophomores/Rising Sophomores

Year 2 Suggested Course Sequence

Fall Year 2

SPE 326 – Models of Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education

ECE 201 – Child and Adolescent Development

RAL 222 – Literacy Strategies, Assessment & Instruction (joint field experience with ECE 201; You must register for the same section of ECE 201 as RAL 222)

One or two Second Major courses, any remaining Liberal Learning courses

Spring Year 2

ECE 202 – Theories and Philosophies of Early Childhood Education (with field experience)

ECE 203 – Infants and Toddlers in Inclusive Settings (with field experience)

SPE 324 – Severe Disabilities

One or two Second Major courses, any remaining Liberal Learning courses

Reminder: Some Second Year students will be taking five courses each semester.

Junior/Rising Juniors

Year 3 Suggested Course Sequence

Fall

SPE 214 – Exploring Classroom Communities (with field experience)

BIO 104 (if not planning to take this over the summer)

Two or three Second Major courses, any remaining Liberal Learning courses, or Electives

Spring

RAL 322 – Literacy Learning Across the Curriculum (joint field experience with ECE 302; You should register for the same section of these courses)

ECE 302 – Concepts of Math and Science for P-3

Two or three Second Major courses, any remaining Liberal Learning courses, or Electives

Students should look ahead to be sure that they are on-track to have completed 32 units of undergraduate coursework by the end of Year 4. The 3 graduate courses taken in Year 4 will not count towards their undergraduate course units.

Reminder: Some Third Year students will be taking five courses each semester.

Senior/Rising Seniors

Year 4 Suggested Course Sequence

Fall

IDS 401 — Music, Movement, and Creative Arts

SPED 621* — Assessment of Young Children with Disabilities

ELEM 520* – Multicultural Social Studies Methods (2 credits)

* Note: These are graduate-level courses. To take a graduate course, students must have a GPA of at least 3.0. Graduate Studies will register students for this graduate class; Students cannot register for it themselves.

One or two Second Major courses, any remaining Liberal Learning courses, or Electives

You should be sure that you are on-track to have completed 32 units of undergraduate coursework by the end of Year 4. The 3 graduate courses taken in Year 4 will not count towards your undergraduate course units.

Spring

ECE 490 – Student Teaching (2 units)

ECE 498 – Capstone Seminar

ECED 530* – Culturally Responsive Practices with Children & Parents

* Note: This is a graduate-level courses. To take a graduate course, students must have a GPA of at least 3.0. Graduate Studies will register students for these graduate classes; Students cannot register for them themselves.

One or two Second Major courses, any remaining Liberal Learning courses, or Electives

Be sure that you are on-track to have completed 32 units of undergraduate coursework by the end of Year 4. The 3 graduate courses you take will not count towards their undergraduate course units. 

5th Year

Note:  You cannot register for your Fall courses yourself. You will be registered for Fall by the Office of Graduate Studies after your undergraduate degree has been posted in May.

Fall

SPED 622 — Intervention Strategies for Young Children with Disabilities (with field experience)

ECED 560 – Curriculum Experiences for Young Children

EDUC 513 – Collaboration and Consultation

SPED 521— Assistive Technology

SPED 700—Comprehensive Exam

Spring

SPED 695—Internship II (Student Teaching) 6 credits

SPED 597—Special Topics: Seminar 1 credit

SPED 648 – Positive Behavior Supports

Advising for Liberal Learning Requirement

Four courses required for the Special Education major also fulfill some Liberal Learning requirements.  These courses are as follows:

ECE 102 for LL Literary Requirement

SPE 103 for LL Social Science Requirement

US History course for LL History Requirement

MAT 105 or 106 for LL Math Requirement

Remember that you must take a US History course (under LL History) to meet Early Childhood Education Certification Requirements. Also, you must cover Civic Responsibility Requirements, i.e., Community Engaged Learning, Gender, and Global Perspectives.  (The Race and Ethnicity requirement has been waived for Early Childhood Special Education students). These requirements can be met through courses (including elective courses), programs, or sustained experiences.  Consider trying to meet some of these requirements through your US History Liberal Learning course.  Also check to determine if your FSP Seminar (i.e. Freshman Seminar) covers any of these requirements. Below is specific information by second major.

BiologyTake MAT 105 or MAT 106 as a Biology correlate
EnglishInstead of taking ECE 102, you must take LIT 310
HistoryYour history major should cover the US History requirement.
Math or iSTEMMath majors must take MAT 105; iSTEM -see iSTEM advisor
SociologyIn addition to taking MAT 105 or MAT 106, sociology requires that you take STA 115 or STA 215
Psychology SPE 203 will count as a Psychology option (for PSY 220).
WGSInstead of taking ECE 102, take WGS 225.

Use the Early Childhood Special Education Audit Sheet for current and future planning during advising sessions. Be sure to check the list of approved courses for any Liberal Learning (LL) requirements.

Course Load

Students must have 32 units of undergraduate coursework to receive their bachelor’s degree. The 3 graduate courses taken during Year 4 do NOT count towards the undergraduate degree. Students must make sure that they are on track to graduate on time by taking 3 undergraduate courses as either 5th courses for 3 semesters, or by transferring in course credits.

Most first year undergraduates take four (4) courses/semester.  In order to graduate on time, most Early Childhood Special Education majors take five (5) courses during the second, third, or fourth years (preferably the second or third year), take summer or winter courses, or transfer in acceptable courses from another college.  Since PAWS will not permit you to register for more than 4.5 units, the Undergraduate Coordinator arranges for permission for you to register for five courses provided you have the required cumulative GPA of 3.3.

State Regulations for Teacher Candidates

Click here for important state regulation information:

Early Childhood State Tracking Sheet for Teacher Prep

You must have these requirements completed by your junior year.

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