Preparing Rural Special Educators Using Distance Learning Technologies.

Overview & Synopsis

This report characterizes the problem of shortage of qualified special educators in rural schools and describes the Rural Special Educator Project developed to address this problem in Maine. The traditional model demanding that individuals wishing to broaden their skills must leave their community to receive training works in direct opposition to the maintenance of strong community ties. This project forges tighter bonds between teacher and local schools through applied educational opportunities. The project goal is to make special education training at the baccalaureate degree level available and accessible to persons who are currently indigenous to and/or employed in rural Maine. The project is based on the special education degree curriculum at the University of Maine at Farmington, and courses are offered over the Interactive Television System of the Education Network of Maine. The primary target populations for the program are transitionally and conditionally certified teachers currently working in classrooms. The second target population are education technicians working in schools who would like to obtain a baccalaureate degree. Course delivery began in the summer of 1993 and average enrollment is 100 students statewide. Extensive time has been devoted to advising, establishing teacher/mentor relationships, course redesign to meet the needs of nontraditional students, and design of evaluation tools. Contains 16 references. (RAH)