Dordt University’s Education Department now offers a Master of Special Education (MSpEd) Instructional Strategist 1 & 2 – ALL. This new program is for those who wish to add an endorsement to a current Iowa teaching license and those seeking initial licensure.
Dordt University’s Education Department now offers a Master of Special Education (MSpEd) Instructional Strategist 1 & 2 – ALL. This new program, available at the graduate level as of spring 2024, is for those who wish to add an endorsement to a current Iowa teaching license and those seeking initial licensure. This meets the Iowa Endorsement 259 (K-12).
MSpEd ALL combines Instructional Strategist 1: Mild / Moderate (Iowa Endorsement 260 [K-8] & 261 [5-12]), Strategist 2: Behavioral and Learning Disabilities (Iowa Endorsement 263 [K-12]), and Strategist 2: Intellectual Disabilities (Iowa Endorsement 265 [K-12]) requirements into one endorsement. This endorsement will prepare teachers to serve students with a variety of support needs. It also meets the Iowa state requirements for those administering the alternate assessment.
“This assessment, often referred to as ‘Alt Assess,’ is typically for students with significant intellectual disabilities,” says Dr. Kathleen VanTol, director of the MSpEd program. “Teachers need to have specific teaching licenses to be able to give this test.”
“Our MSpEd graduate students now get a broader licensure that allows them to do more of what schools need, such as administering these particular tests,” explains Dr. Abby DeGroot, associate professor of education. “Our program more broadly prepares students for what they might encounter in the classroom.”
Dordt’s MSpEd program is 30 credits, entirely online, and can be completed in as little as two years.
“Students with disabilities need teachers who both care about them and have the tools and techniques to help them be successful. In this cross-categorical program, teachers will learn those research-based practices which will enable them to support students who have a variety of learning and behavioral challenges,” adds VanTol.
For more information about Dordt’s MSpEd, visit the Master of Special Education webpage.
About Dordt University
As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Dordt, located in Sioux Center, Iowa, is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by U.S. News and World Report, Forbes.com, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.
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