COURSE FORMAT: The class meets each Thursday evening from 6pm to 9pm in room 208 of the classroom building starting Feb. 17th.  There will be a total of 13 class meetings this semester. The class sessions will be used for discussion of the reading material, analyzing data from the applied activities and student progress assessments.  Since this is a seminar class, student participation will be encouraged as well as expected.

Students will carry out a number of applied assignments in a special education classroom.  A representative of the Stanislaus County Special Education Department will interview students for placement in a classroom at the JFK school (dealing with children with developmental disabilities) or a SED classroom (for children labeled as severely emotionally disturbed).  The assignments will involve functional assessments, behavior intervention plans, data collection and analysis.  These assignments will be conducted with the cooperation of the classroom teacher and the facility Behavior Analysis.

GRADE:  There will be 10 graded activities this semester, each worth 40 points.  Of these 10 activities, 6 will be exams and 4 will be written assignments to be turned in at the specified class meetings (classes 7-9).  The final grade will be determined by taking the 5 highest exam scores and the scores from the written assignments.  A total of 360 points can be earned from these 9 graded activities.  Your grade is assigned based on the number of points you earned calculated as a percentage of the total number of points possible in the course (when the lowest test score has been dropped).  The table below represents the minimum percentage score need for the related grade.

GRADE CHALLENGE POLICY: After an activity has been graded, the student may challenge the score (within 7 days) if it is believed that it was inaccurate.  The challenge request should contain the reasons the student considered the score inaccurate.  It should be written in a logical manner, developing the student's position with evidence and relevant references.   All relevant material should be included in one package and turned in to the instructor.

ATTENDANCE and REMEDIAL ACTIVITIES: Attendance is required.  It is expected that students come to each class meeting prepared, willing to discuss their assignments and the reading material. Absence from an assessment activity (whatever the reason) will result in a zero for that activity.  Makeup activities must be independently scheduled with the instructor.  Missing more than 6 hours of class time will lower your grade one letter (there is no make-up of missed class periods).