Strategies for Teaching Students with Disabilities

Strategies for Teaching Students with Disabilities

As with other unique characteristics of students, a few basic principles can help teacher teach science to children with disabilities. The first is the process oriented inquiry methodology. This methodology embodies those factors that are necessary for teaching all children, including those with disabilities. These factors include (1) concrete, hands on learning experience; (2) reduced need for reading and writing skills; (3) involvement in group interactions and group activities; (4) providing for individual differences; and (5) encouraging areas of interest and inquisitiveness (Caseau & Norman, 1997).

Research has shown that inquiry is a successful method for teaching students with disabilities. Brown (2006) showed that elementary science that focused on inquiry resulted in marked improvement in science achievement on the part of both students with special needs and regular students. McCharthy found that middle school students with serious emotional disturbances who studied science using a hands on program performed significantly better than the comparison students in a traditional, textbook oriented program. Lynch, et al (2007) observed students in inclusionary eighth grade classroom as they studied a unit on chemistry and found that booth students with disabilities and regular students who used the guided inquiry approach exhibited significantly better achievement than those in the comparison group who did not use that approach.

Anoter strategy that has been shown to be effective with students with disabilities is the Science Technology Society (STS) curriculum model (Caseau & Norman, 1997). In this model, teachers develop studies around problems and issues of interest to the topic under study.

Specific accommodations for adapting science instruction for children with disabilities

1. Prepare materials to be explicit. specific, and delivered in small bites.

2. Ensure that children have previously achieved the skills and understandings they need.

3. Demonstrate procedures while giving directions.

4. Develop written or pictorial cue cards on directions and display them in the proper order.

5. Modify reading levels to meet the capabilities of the children.

6. Use the large print.

7. Use graphic organizers

8. Identify and define any vocabulary words that may come up.

9. Provide consistent feedback

10. Allow students to improve and resubmit assignments

11. Encourage children to demonstrate their competencies through various means.

12. Modify assessments so students with disabilities can demonstrate their understanding and achievement.

13. Modify equipment and materials to sure all children can use them

14. Provide assistive and adaptive technology resources

15. Enlarge aisles and areas of movement to accommodate all children

Material and Equipment for students with disabilities

In some cases, instructional materials need to be adapted to meet the need of students with disabilities. Some adaptations are inexpensive or free, such as putting rubber expanders on pencils to make them easier to hold, making a variety of pictures and drawings available to assist in conceptual understanding, putting up signs to help students wits vision impairments, providing clipboards to serve as tilting desktops, providing “sensory” stories, and the like (Leatherman, 2006). Other adaptations are expensive such as ergonomic technology workstations, wheelchairs, slant boards, angled writing surfaces, automatic page turner, computer screen readers, and a whole range of assistive and adaptive technological hardware and software.

It all this sounds familiar, it should. The research on teaching science to children with disabilities suggests using learning strategies that center on open ended, inquiry oriented, problem solving investigations, that are challenging to children and require their cognitive engagement. The learning experiences should be tailored to meet the needs of each individual child, including those with disabilities. This is the essence of the process oriented inquiry method of instruction. From the constructivist viewpoint, teaching all children with disabilities is seen as a special case of teaching all children rather than as a special problem requiring a special methodology.

Above all, it is the attitude of the teacher that encourages children with special needs to succeed in science

David Jerner Martin. 2009. Elementary Science Methods: A Conctructivist Approach. USA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.