Designing a Graduate Online Special Education Program as Informed by Special Education Teachers During COVID-19

• In Event: Special and Inclusive Educators and Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study examined the needs and challenges of 15 special educators during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform a program redesign project in which a whole graduate online special education program will be redesigned. This redesign project is a part of a larger college-wide innovative teaching and learning initiative, and is supposed to contribute a lot since it is one of the first redesign attempts. In other words, lessons learned from this redesign study and project would inform larger program redesign and evaluation efforts at the college level. To this end, the present work provides (a) results of a qualitative analysis of special education teachers’ needs and challenges imposed by COVID-19; and (b) initial steps of the program redesign undertaken recently.

Authors

• Kharon Grimmet, Purdue University

• Kadir Kozan, Florida State University

• Angela Holtsclaw, Purdue University