A Highly Qualified Curriculum

Over the past five years, elementary and secondary teaching certification regulations coming from the Pennsylvania Department of Education have been in a constant state of change.

It all started in 2001, when No Child Left Behind mandated that teachers, including special education teachers who have primary responsibility for teaching core academic subjects, be “highly qualified.” The Gaskin U.S. District only were two separate Court decision five years later only cemented the notion that schools across Pennsylvania must make the classroom as inclusive an environment as possible for all children — and that teachers are key to that success.

The decision ultimately led the Pennsylvania Department of Education to create hundreds of new learning competencies, as well as a series of regulations for colleges and universities, that will ensure teachers across the state are highly qualified and trained in how to work with special populations in the classroom. Not only were two separate certifications created - pre-K through fourth grade and fourth through eighth grade - but all programs were to include at least nine credits of training in inclusionary practices in special education and three credits of training in working with English language learners. 

Instead of finding temporary fixes and focusing on curriculum "tweaks," however, Lehigh completely redesigned its teacher preparation program to accommodate the changes. The radically different, 42-credit degree program now included changes to all existing courses and the creation of several new courses. And for 12 additional credits, students can leave Lehigh with dual certifications and two master's degrees. 

The melding of special education and general education practices allows the college to focus on incorporating Response to Intervention across the curriculum.

"We decided to focus on the spirit of the law," said Ward Cates, associate dean and professor o teaching, learning, and technology. “We took no shortcuts and completely started from scratch. We're essentially developing a new kind of teacher, one who can completely teach in any number of settings."

To accommodate this increased cross-certification, Lehigh's special education program and its teaching, learning and technology program worked collaboratively to design a joint program of study. 

"This whole process really was the best outcome for our students," adds MJ Bishop, program coordinator and associate professor in teaching, learning, and technology. "It's completely infused and integrated curriculum. Instead of simply 're-engineering' our programs, we felt empowered and excited by the opportunity to do something new - something that our college was uniquely positioned to do."