This program is designed to offer comprehensive course work for educating students who are deaf and hard of hearing in grades PK–12. The major includes the courses required for add-on certification in elementary education (grades 2–6). Student teaching is arranged at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind or in deaf and hard of hearing classes in area public schools. Teacher candidates must take the Praxis II Subject Assessment in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing before graduation. Candidates should verify the test code numbers of the South Carolina requirement PRAXIS requirements because the codes are subject to change.
The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program, along with the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind and the Spartanburg County Hearing Impaired Program, have a Professional Development School partnership. The purpose of this collaborative agreement is to provide opportunities for sharing joint responsibility for pre-service teacher preparation. Faculty from the partnership programs assist in developing, planning, and teaching selected courses and classes, serve as consultants and mentors, and participate in planning and reviewing the curriculum.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Candidates understand how exceptionalities may interact with development and learning and use this knowledge to provide meaningful and challenging learning experiences for individuals with exceptionalities.
- Candidates create safe, inclusive, culturally responsive learning environments so that individuals with exceptionalities become active and effective learnings and develop emotional well-being, positive social interactions, and self-determination.
- Candidates select, adapt, and use a repertoire of generalized and specialized evidence-based instructional strategies to analyze multiple assessments and data sources to advance learning for deaf or hard-of-hearing students
- Candidates collaborate with families, other educators, related service providers, students, and personnel from community agencies in professional and culturally responsive ways to address the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing students.