EdS Course Requirements
The Education Specialist program is a full-time, three-year program consisting of 72 total credit hours. Students enroll in 15-17 credit hours each term during the first two years and 3 hours each term during their internship year.
Year 1
Autumn
ESSPSY 7028 - Cultural Diversity: Developing a Multicultural Awareness (3)
ESSPSY 8056 - Roles and Function of School Psychologists (3)
ESSPSY 8057 - Cognitive Assessment (3)
ESSPSY 7193 - Advanced Individual Studies: School Psychology – Cognitive Assessment Lab (1)
ESSPSY 8077 - Mental Health I: Mental Health Issues in the Schools (3)
ESSPSY 8078 - Mental Health II: Counseling in the Schools (3)
Spring
ESSPED 6650 - Introduction to Exceptional Children (3)
ESSPSY 8058 - Assessment of Academic Achievement (3)
ESSPSY 7193 - Advanced Individual Studies: School Psychology – Achievement Assessment Lab (1)
ESSPSY 8079 - Mental Health III: Social Emotional Assessment (3)
ESSPSY 8082 - School Based Consultation: Implementing Behavioral Interventions (4)
Year 2
Autumn
ESEPSY 5401 - Adolescent Learning and Development in School Contexts (3)
ESEPSY 7402 - Educational Psychology: Cognition, Learning, and Instruction (3)
ESSPSY 6189 - Field Experience in School Psychology – Practicum (3)
ESSPSY 7029 - Urban Issues in Education (2)
ESSPSY 8060 - Linking Academic Assessment to Intervention (3)
ESQREM 6641 - Introduction to Educational Statistics (4)
Spring
ESEADM 8317 - Legal Aspects of Special Education Administration (3)
ESSPSY 6189 - Field Experience in School Psychology – Practicum (3)
ESEPSY 7406 - Social Basis of Behavior in Education (3)
ESSPSY 8080 - Biological Basis of Behavior: Neuropsychology in the Schools (3)
ESSPSY 8097 - Psychological Services for Early Childhood Populations (3)
Year 3
Autumn
ESSPSY 8191.01 - EdS Internship: School Psychology (3)
Spring
ESSPSY 8191.01 - EdS Internship: School Psychology (3)
Course Summaries
ESSPSY 6189: Field Experience in School Psychology – Practicum
This course is a field-based experience with the purpose of refining clinical skills (e.g. assessment, intervention, consultation, and counseling) in a school-based setting under supervision. Students are also expected to develop professional skills while working with parents and school personnel and to develop knowledge regarding contextual variables and their influence on psychological service delivery.
ESSPSY 7028: Cultural Diversity: Developing a Multicultural Awareness
This course will provide students with the opportunity to develop a multicultural awareness as they explore the impact of an increasingly diverse society in the United States. Particular emphasis will be placed on gaining self-awareness around issues of cultural diversity as well as expanding one’s knowledge base in the area. The rationale of this course is to help professionals in educational settings (as well as other settings) have a knowledge base for working more effectively with children and adults of varying cultural backgrounds.
ESSPSY 7029: Urban Issues in Education
The purpose of this course is to help participants gain a better understanding of the dynamics of urban schools and the relationship between minority status and poverty, and educational achievement in urban schools. The focus of this course will be on urban issues in the schools from a sociocultural framework. Students will be provided an overview of research related to urban schools. This overview will include characteristics of urban schools, work in the area of urban psychology (effects of poverty and violence on children and families, resiliency research), as well as work in the area of urban education (full service schools, effective teaching in urban settings). The course will also focus on how this information can be applied to the practice of school psychology as well as other disciplines in education in order to enhance services provided for students in urban schools. Using a model of resiliency, discussion of psychological practice in this area will center around enhancing skills that aid children in coping with their environmental stressors and reducing the risk factors so prominent in urban settings. This framework for urban school psychology guides effective practice in assessment, prevention, intervention, and consultation.
ESSPSY 8056: Roles and Function of School Psychologists
This course is designed as an introductory course to the profession of school psychology with particular emphasis on the roles and function of the school psychologist. There are many roles and functions that school psychologists play in educational and other professional settings. The roles and functions that will be described in this course are those in correspondence with those described in the National Association of School Psychologists Professional Standards literature. This course provides students with an introduction to those roles and functions and a discussion of ethical/legal/professional practices associated with those roles and functions. This course is also designed to provide a historical overview of the profession by discussing its past, present, and its future. Professional issues of accountability, interpersonal skills, intrapersonal skills, and best practice are also discussed. Additionally, this course is designed to provide students with familiarity of scholars and influential contributors of the profession.
ESSPSY 8057: Cognitive Assessment
The purpose of this class is to train students in the scientist- practitioner model of psychological assessment. This class will explore various theories of intelligence, as well as various instruments used to assess intelligence. In addition, various instruments for academic assessment will be explored. This class will train students in a variety of methods of assessment to prepare them to incorporate various methods of evaluation as they navigate the process of disability determination, as well as consultation.
ESSPSY 8058: Assessment of Academic Achievement
The purpose of this class is to train students in the scientist-practitioner model of psychological assessment. This class will explore various theories of intelligence, as well as various instruments used to assess intelligence. In addition, various instruments for academic assessment will be explored. This class will train students in a variety of methods of assessment to prepare them to incorporate various methods of evaluation as they navigate the process of disability determination, as well as consultation.
ESSPSY 8060: Linking Academic Assessment to Intervention
The purpose of this course is to provide students with data-based decision making methods to create positive outcomes for students enrolled in our nation’s schools. This course is based on the scientist-scholar-practitioner model of psychological practice. It is within this framework, this course seeks to prepare graduate students in school psychology and related disciplines to conduct assessments that are linked to targeting interventions, to implement interventions, to engage in continuous progress monitoring of student performance, and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. The other main purpose of this course is also designed to help students become knowledgeable about the various evidence-based interventions in the areas of reading, math and written expression as well as general evidence-based teaching practices that can be applied to all content areas.
ESSPSY 8077: Mental Health I: Mental Health Issues in the Schools
The purpose of this course is for students to learn about common social, emotional, and behavioral issues of children and adolescents and empirically supported interventions and programming that address these issues. Content includes theoretical frameworks of child and adolescent psychopathology, as well as the characteristics, etiology, and treatment of common childhood mental health disorders.
ESSPSY 8078: Mental Health II: Counseling in the Schools
The purpose of this course is to expose students to common social-emotional issues of children and adolescents and how to effectively implement empirically supported interventions to address these issues with a focus on counseling. An emphasis will be placed on how to implement therapeutic techniques effectively within a school setting. The course will also incorporate information about mental health services available in the community.
ESSPSY 8079: Mental Health III: Social Emotional Assessment
The purpose of this course is to facilitate the development of assessment skills and techniques when working with children and adolescents. An emphasis will be placed on assessment of children in the school setting as well as an introduction to linking assessment to intervention. Developmental, diversity, and urban issues related to assessment with children will also be addressed. School psychologists should be well versed in a variety of assessment and evaluation methods. These include the use of observation, interviews, standardized norm-referenced tests, functional behavioral assessment, curriculum-based assessment/measurement/evaluation, ecological or environmental assessment, technology enhanced assessment, and progress monitoring. (Blueprint III, p. 18)
ESSPSY 8080: Biological Basis of Behavior: Neuropsychology in the Schools
Discussion of brain development and functioning as it relates to typical and atypical outcomes among children and adolescents; overview of learning and psychological disorders from a school neuropsychological perspective.
ESSPSY 8082: School Based Consultation: Implementing Behavioral Interventions
The purpose of this course is for participants to develop a conceptual understanding of school-based consultation including the process, models, roles, skills, and outcomes for school based personnel while also using the ecological consultation model as the foundation for the implementation of behavioral interventions both individual and group. Participants will demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver effective consultative services within the school setting. The second half of the course will be focused on assisting students to understand and evaluate the full range of non-disruptive and disruptive behaviors and how education personnel can best manage them. Exploration of the best empirically based intervention strategies will also take place.
ESSPSY 8191.01: EdS Internship: School Psychology
The internship enables the prospective school psychologist to integrate, apply, and advance the knowledge and skills introduced during graduate-level courses and practices. This intensive and comprehensive year of supervised professional experience also affords the opportunity for field and university supervisors to closely evaluate the professional competence of the intern and to determine his or her preparedness and qualification to enter professional practice as a credentialed school psychologist in the State of Ohio.
ESEADM 8317: Legal Aspects of Special Education Administration
This course is an overview of legislative, executive, and judicial policy and action pertaining to the rights of students with special needs, with a focus on the responsibilities of school administrators and state officials. Students will learn to describe and analyze key provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (SEC. 504), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Student Success Act (SSA), and related federal and state case law and executive opinions.
ESEPSY 5401: Adolescent Learning and Development in School Contexts
The goal of this course is to provide students an overview of adolescent development with a focus on educational contexts. Major topics that will be covered reflect biological, cognitive, and social aspects of typical development during adolescence. Key developmental milestones and issues related to family, peers, identity, the media, and risk-taking will also be examined.
ESEPSY 7402: Educational Psychology: Cognition, Learning, and Instruction
This graduate seminar introduces classic and contemporary psychological perspectives of cognition and learning, and discusses how these principles of learning are applied to classrooms. Readings are selected from educational and psychological literature to expand students’ knowledge and provoke their critical thinking and reflective practice. Major topics covered in this course include social cognitive theory, cognitivism, constructivism, sociocultural theories, complex cognitive processes, and individual differences of learning.
ESEPSY 7406: Social Basis of Behavior in Education
Focuses on the role of behavior in schools as social contexts, social perception, social influence, and social relations from a psychological perspective. The emphasis in this course is on understanding and mastery of conceptual, theoretical, and practical issues in social behavior in educational settings.
ESQREM 6625: Introduction to Educational Research
This is a basic course designed to provide an introduction and basic foundation to the principles and methods of educational research. The focus of this introductory course is on reading, evaluating, and conducting research. The course content also includes an overview of data analysis techniques as they are used in the research process. The major course goals are on reading, evaluating, and conducting research culminating in the following broad goals: 1) Determine viability of research findings; 2) Determine appropriate use of research findings; and 3) Create a semi-formal research plan OR perform a critical review of research literature.
ESQREM 6641: Introduction to Educational Statistics
An introduction to quantitative techniques, with an emphasis on educational settings.