Secondary Transition Education Scholars Jim Martin and Kendra Williams-Diehm University of Oklahoma Dept of Ed Psy & the Zarrow Center

Mission To prepare secondary transition education scholars who can improve the delivery of transition education to increase employment and post-secondary education outcomes.

Program Overview  36 semester hour Masters in Special Education Degree with focus in secondary transition education  Designed for educators working in secondary or post-secondary education environments  Two-year course of study with evening courses  Social Work Professor and Special Education co- teach two family courses  Needed expertise to effectively engage families, especially those from diverse and low socio- economic backgrounds in the transition planning and implementation process  Offered as a Social Work class with MSW students attending the class  Mentoring model  Year one cohort mentors year two cohort

Courses  Five Core courses for all Master Degree students  15 hours  Four Transition Courses (12 hours)  Transition and Self-Determination  Postsecondary Education and Employment  Transition Assessment  Transition Practicum  Implement major change within current system  Done within own classroom with extension outside classroom or current program  Two Social Work Transition Courses (6 hours) taught in School of Social with MSW students in class  Engaging Families of Students with Disabilities  Practicum in Engaging Families  Directed Transition Project or Thesis (3 hours)

Student Information  First cohort of 9 students began classes in Fall 2012  Two transition specialists  One postsecondary educator  Six secondary special education teachers  One transition specialist going taking additional courses to obtain special ed certification  Second cohort of 9 students will begin class Fall 2013  One postsecondary educator  Eight secondary special education teachers  2 middle school special education teachers  Students receive $18,000 stipends across two years to cover tuition, fees, books, mileage, etc  $3,000 in support to attend professional conferences

Directed Projects or Thesis Underway  All students required to completed Directed Project on a transition issue  In-depth paper including a literature review  Applied project  Projects Underway (due spring 2014)  Starting and maintaining an Oklahoma DCDT chapter  Establishing Student-Let IEP meetings throughout district’s secondary programs  Determining the effectiveness of an instructional program to teach students to attain annual transition goals

Professional Development  8 of the 9 first year cohort Attended 2012 DCDT Conference in Denver  All of cohort 1 and 2 will attend 2013 DCDT Conference in Williamsburg  Five of the first cohort submitted proposals to present at 2013 DCDT in Williamsburg  Six of the first year cohort presented at the 2012 Oklahoma Transition Institute

Issues  Currently face-to-face delivery at OU campus in Norman  Many potential applicants from across the state want to become Transition Scholars, but too far away from campus.  On-line program not possible at this time  Possible solution: Offering Instructional TV live broadcasts to sites across the state via the state’s OneNet TV system  OU Tulsa  Career Tech Centers  Community Colleges

More Information  Visit the OU Special Education web page  OU Special Education Web Page OU Special Education Web Page