Add-On License in Moderate Disabilities

Take your education degree further with an add-on license in moderate disabilities.

Program Benefits and Overview

Key Program Features

Career Driven Curriculum

Add-On License in Moderate Disabilities

This 12-credit Add-On License in Moderate Disabilities is designed for teachers who have already obtained an Initial License or a Professional License and seek to expand or “add-on” to their current credential. Our Add-On License in Moderate Disabilities prepares you to work with children in grades PreK-8 with moderate disabilities who participate in integrated or self-contained classrooms.

Your program includes three 4-credit courses.

This program is approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and is aligned with the Massachusetts Professional Standards for Teachers and Subject Matter Knowledge requirements.

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Tell me more about Merrimack’s M.Ed. in Middle & High School Education!

Key Features of Our Add-On License in Moderate Disabilities include:

Three (3) online courses

You achieve 12 credits through three convenient self-paced online courses – each is eight weeks in length and is worth four credits.

Internship

You are required to complete an internship under the supervision of your building Principal.

Immersion Events

You and other students in your program have the option of gathering together  during your program for immersion events (e.g., seminars, guest speakers, and networking events) to connect in person with your peers, faculty and leading educators in the field.

What Skills Will You Develop?

To earn your add-on license in moderate disabilities, you will complete 12 course credit hours and an internship.

This course provides an overview of the challenges that students with moderate disabilities encounter in their lives. The class will explore how disabilities are identified, what necessary steps are taken to refer students for evaluations in the Special Education process, characteristics of students with disabilities, general issues of evaluation approaches, and research-based accommodations and interventions including the use of assistive technology devices and behavioral interventions. State and federal laws as well as an overview of local and national support agencies are also reviewed.

This course in classroom assessment and instruction examines how effective instruction depends on ongoing, meaningful assessment. Instructional and behavioral assessment, as well as techniques, are addressed. This course will study how models of instruction in different content areas depend on how teachers can collect and use assessment data. Further, this data will be used to inform effective instruction to enable all students to produce great learning outcomes regardless of their learning disabilities and challenges.

This course provides an introduction to the significant theories, practices, and programs for developing literacy skills in children with learning challenges. Beginning with an introduction to literacy development, the focus will be on planning assessment, designing instruction, and selecting research-based interventions for children with disabilities, students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and students with limited educational experiences. Topics will include linking assessment to instruction, research-based methods and strategies, accommodations, modifications, and the use of assistive technology devices to support literacy success.

Tell me more about Merrimack’s M.Ed. in Middle & High School Education!