Science Education for Students with Special Needs
So what are some interventions/strategies that can help ensure that students with special needs receive the instruction they truly deserve in helping them be successful in science?
What can we do as teachers??? What kind of science instruction is beneficial to students with special needs?
We benefit from hands - on experiences with extra support
Peer
Tutoring
Reading Comprehension Strategies
Inquiry-based instruction helps students focus on the big ideas in science and develop the ability to reason scientifically. Students are encouraged to construct their own science knowledge using questions, observations, and investigations as a means of discovery.
So, what may be some of the reasons why students with special needs are struggling in science?
Textbook Adaptations & Study Guides
Study guides can be differentiated at multiple levels depending on the levels of the students.
* It can contain both the paragraph number and the page number in the text where the answer could be found to the question.
* It can contain only the page number after the question.
* It can contain only the question.
Mnemonic Strategies
Use of Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers can be completed as a teacher-directed activity, as a student-directed activity with text references, or as a student-directed activity with a list of clues attached.
* Most standard activities fail to provide accommodations for them
* Comprehension of content presented in science textbooks is difficult due to deficits in reading ability.
* The volume of new vocabulary and terminology in science textbooks is problematic.
* They may not be given enough time or appropriate scaffolding needed for them to process the scientific information presented in the class.
* They may not be given the opportunity to engage in guided inquiry activities that may help them to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to help them be successful in science.
Keyword - A keyword is a familiar word that sounds similar to the word or idea being taught. For example, a mnemonic for remembering the definition of the word "carline" (meaning witch) might be a drawing of a witch driving a car.
Pegword - Pegwords refer to a set of rhyming words that are used to represent numbers. For example, the pegword for "one" is "bun." Pegwords are used to help students remember information involving numbers or other information in a particular order.
Letter - Letter strategies include acronyms and acrostics. For example, the acronym HOMES can be used to help students remember the names of the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, etc.) and the acrostic "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" can be used to help students remember the order of operations (Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplicatio, Division, Addition, Subtraction)
Students with special needs typically perform lower in science compared to their peers.
Students with special needs can succeed in science if teachers are challenged to understand the critical elements necessary for success.
Remember, students with special needs can benefit with accommodations such as reading comprehension strategies, mnemonic strategies, textbook adaptations, study guides, graphic organizers, and peer tutoring,
As educators, we need to continuously work towards how we understand learning in science. In this way, students with special needs can anticipate much greater success in science learning.
Inclusive classrooms are becoming the norm in schools, fulfilling the instructional needs of students with disabilities in regular K–12 classrooms. Too often, due to such diverse academic levels in classrooms, do students with special needs suffer academically and do not retrieve the skills and understand concepts needed to be successful in science.
In fact, according to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), fourth, eighth, and 12th grade students with disabilities scored significantly lower than students without disabilities (Therrien, et al., 2011).
What can we do, as educators, to ensure the needs are met for our students with special needs?
How do students with special needs learn science best?
What can teachers do to ensure they are supplying the best instruction/experiences for students with special needs to be successful in science?
What interventions/strategies may be necessary for students with special needs to engage in science classrooms?