Program Description
Sheridan College two-year Educational Support diploma program prepares students to work in a school setting, where – as a member of the educational team – they will support students with special needs. The students that graduates will learn to support include those with:
- intellectual disabilities
- learning disabilities
- sensory or physical disabilities
Students will learn from professors with specialized graduate degrees and who are highly experienced in the field of special education. Students' classroom activities will include:
- Group seminars and cooperative learning.
- Reflective practice linked to field placement experiences.
- Lectures combined with activity-based learning that incorporates the laptop.
Through the Sheridan College Educational Support program, graduates will:
- Provide educational support in compliance with pertinent education-related legislation, standards, regulations and policies, health and safety legislation and regulations, as well as organizational policies, practices and procedures.
- Develop and implement strategies to promote and support positive school climates that contribute to a safe, caring and secure educational setting.
- Collaborate with members of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) team by assisting in the development and revision of the IEPs of learners with exceptionalities.
- Implement components of educational support programs of instruction under the direction and support of the IEP team and/or relevant members of the school community.
- Lead by example to promote empathetic, positive, and pro-social behaviour in all learners to facilitate the development of social competence in learners with exceptionalities in accordance with their IEPs.
- Promote the development of independence in, and provide assistance to, learners with exceptionalities in their performance of routine activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) in accordance with their IEPs.
- Develop and implement strategies to support learners with exceptionalities in the appropriate use of assistive technologies and daily living aids in accordance with their IEPs.
- Monitor, document and report on the behaviour, performance and progress of learners with exceptionalities in accordance with their IEPs.
- Prepare and present a plan for engaging in ongoing personal and professional development to promote competence in the educational support field.
