Master of Arts in Special Education with Mild and Moderate Education Specialist Credential

University of San Francisco

The Special Education Master’s and Mild Moderate Education Specialist Credential Program is designed to prepare interns for special education careers in diverse, multicultural, urban schools. The Special Education master's program culminates in a Master of Arts in Special Education with Mild/Moderate Education Specialist Preliminary Credential. Students attend an intensive summer program, from the end of May through mid-July, to prepare for their first teaching assignments. Students attend class in addition to working full-time as a paid special education intern teacher.Student will be able to design and deliver structured asset-based lessons using the core components of Explicit Instruction (Introduction, Modeling, Guided Practice, Independent Practice and Closure) and utilize Universal Design for Learning in order to engage all students, represent content in accessible forms, and allow students to express mastery in individual ways.Student will be able to utilize instructional practices emphasizing culturally responsive teaching methods in order to provide meaningful access to curriculum for learners from diverse backgrounds, valuing prior knowledge, building academic language, developing higher order thinking skills and addressing the achievement gap of diverse and marginalized learners.