Times are changing in special education as schools move toward more inclusive education where students with special challenges are integrated and included in all regular classroom activities.

The Northern Iowa Department of Special Education is taking creative steps to prepare teachers in special and regular education to teach in an inclusive classroom. The department recently received three federal grants for innovative masters level teacher training models geared for teachers in the field who may not be able to attend the university full-time. All of these current projects reflect the strong field-based program at the University. "Our students tend to have more clinical experiences during their undergraduate and graduate years and that focus help us prepare better teachers," notes Sandra Alper, department head.

"These federal grants are highly competitive and allow us to carry out state-of-the-art teacher training," says Alper. "They're also innovative because they include collaboration with several College of Education departments and with other Iowa Regents universities."

• The first three-year grant funds five full-time and 10 part-time masters students each year to study the area of severe disabilities with an emphasis on inclusion.
• A second federal training grant provides masters level training for five full-time and 10 part-time students each of three years to help youth with disabilities make the transition from secondary school to work.
• The third federal grant ties together three state universities to prepare teachers in early childhood education to work with infants and young children who are either at risk for a disability or have been identified as having a disability. Each Regents university will offer one course a semester on the Iowa Communications Network. During the summers, students will spend a week on each campus for more course work.

The Department of Special Education is also developing creative curricula to prepare Iowa special and regular education teachers for the state move toward more inclusive education which is reflected in new Iowa teacher licensure, says Alper. "We're working with several other College departments that will prepare teachers to be better equipped to work with all children," she explains. Funding comes from the Iowa Bureau of Special Education.

Inclusive education was also the topic of an innovative two-week institute last summer, funded by the Iowa Department of Education/Bureau of Education. The school principals, teachers, and agency coordinators who attended shared inclusion ideas, heard from nationally known speakers, and decided they wanted to meet again in the summer of l996.

The Department is also considering a pilot program to link the university, schools, and homes by using the Cedar Falls local computer network technology to help coordinate services for parents of young children with disabilities and parents of adolescents moving from secondary school to work or other education. "Both sets of parents face fragmented service delivery systems," Alper explains. "We hope to electronically communicate with all parties involved to help coordinate services. This would also give our students a chance to see how consultation works and to actually be part of a school/parent/university link," Alper says.

For more information on inclusive education and the Dept. of Special Education's courses in this area, contact Sandra Alper, Dept. of Special Education, SEC 150, UNI, Cedar Falls, IA 50614, (319) 273-6061, FAX (319) 273-6997.