Teaching Social Studies and Students with Disabilities, Initial Certification

Overview

At the Teaching Social Studies and Students with Disabilities, Initial Certification MA program from New York University you’ll combine content courses with general and specialized core pedagogy classes to help you develop the skills to work with a wide range of diverse students. 

You’ll study:

• US and world history
• Teaching methods for social studies
• Teaching methods and approaches to individualizing instruction for students identified with disabilities or other learning challenges
• Educational technologies
• Language and literacy acquisition and development
• The psychological and educational assessments of students with disabilities
• How to design an effective curriculum in history for all types of learners
• How to advocate for students' needs and educational rights
• Effective classroom management for all students
• How to work collaboratively with parents

You'll be prepared to teach grades 7–12 and, if you choose, grades 5–6 in New York State, working both with students who do not have special needs and with those who have a variety of learning challenges, including:

• Autism
• Attention difficulties
• Learning disabilities
• Emotional and behavioral disabilities

Careers and Outcomes

Across the country, schools are experiencing a consistent shortage of special education teachers – particularly those with content-area expertise needed from high school teachers. You’ll graduate from this program eligible for dual certification in New York State in Social Studies and Special Education for grades 7–12, with an option to pursue a certificate extension to also teach grades 5–6. You’ll be sought after by employers for your ability to teach students of all backgrounds, with and without learning challenges like autism, dyslexia, and attention difficulties.