ERIC ED420940: Curriculum Development in Teaching Science to Students with Disabilities.

7 Pages·1998·0.16 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
EC 306 504
ED 420 940
AUTHOR
Stefanich, Greg P.
Curriculum Development in Teaching Science to Students with
TITLE
Disabilities.
1998-00-00
PUB DATE
5p.; Paper presented at the CSUN 1998 Conference (Los
NOTE
Angeles, CA, March 1998).
http://www.dinf.org/csun 98/csun98002.htm
AVAILABLE FROM
Speeches/Meeting Papers (150)
PUB TYPE Reports
Descriptive (141)
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*Curriculum Development; *Disabilities; Elementary Secondary
DESCRIPTORS
Education; Inservice Teacher Education; *Science Curriculum;
*Science Instruction; Teacher Educator Education; Teaching
Methods; Teaching Models; Workshops; World Wide Web
ABSTRACT
This brief paper describes a project, the Curriculum
Development in Teaching Science to Students with Disabilities Project, which
provides training to teachers and teacher educators. Participants receive
information on teacher education, methods, materials/programs, organizations,
media resources, evaluation/assessment alternatives, World Wide Web sites,
scientists and engineers with disabilities, management strategies, and
service agencies. Disability areas addressed in the workshops include
motor/orthopedic impairments, visual impairments, hearing impairments,
learning disabilities, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorders,
developmental delays, behavior disorders, speech language disorders, autism,
deaf/blind, acquired brain injury, other health impairments, and
multi-categorical impairments. Five approaches for instructional delivery are
(3) inquiry teaching,
(1) explicit teaching, (2) mastery teaching,
covered:
(4) learning cycle or guided discovery, and (5) exploratory learning. The
project is being disseminated via pre-conference workshops at major
professional meetings and development of support systems fL_ local
replication of the project's objectives.
(DB)
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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
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CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN
TEACHING SCIENCE TO STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
U.S. DEPARTMENT OP EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
Greg P. Stefanich
PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
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University of Northern Iowa
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If we are to improve instruction for students with disabilities, and probably for all students, science
teachers must be willing to accommodate instruction and adjust the learning environment. Many
students receive sub-standard science instruction because teachers and teacher educators are unaware of
services and opportunities for students with disabilities in science. All students should be active
participants in all facets of the educational program. All students should have the opportunity to achieve
success in the learning process. Teachers must become accustomed to teaching fewer concepts with
richer insights, to facilitate greater student understanding, and to present opportunities for students to
apply what they learned to real-life situations.
Instructors of science methods must model appropriate strategies in their classes and relate the student
learning to the educational context in which their students will be teaching. If we are to bring about
change in current practice classroom teachers must be able to effectively teach science in inclusive
classrooms. Without appropriate modeling by science methods professors, with accompanying
experiences in classrooms where students with disabilities are fully integrated, any substantive change is
unlikely.
The Curriculum Development in Teaching Science to Students with Disabilities Project provides
training to teachers and teacher educators to help them improve their ability to teach science to students
with disabilities. The project has enlisted support from several professional organizations, including:
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS), Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS), Science Education for Students
with Disabilities (SESD), and National Middle School Association (NMSA). The project also extends
opportunities to disseminate information from professional organizations and groups, such as
experimental projects who have received funding from NSF (i.e. DO-IT, EASI) and agencies committed
to specific disabilities.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
C
1/)
The primary goal of the project is to prepare a training module for teachers and teacher educators, which
improves their knowledge about teaching science to students with disabilities.
Project participants receive information on teacher education, methods, materials/programs,
organizations, media resources, evaluation/assessment alternatives, web sites, scientists and engineers
with disabilities, management strategies, and service agencies that assist with support for students with
0
disabilities. Disability areas addressed in the workshops include: Motor/Orthopedic Impairments, Visual
Impairments, Hearing Impairments, Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorders,
Developmental Delays, Behavior Disorders, Speech Language Disorders, Autism, Deaf/Blind, Acquired
Brain Injury, Other Health Impairments, and Multi-Categorical Impairments.
Participants receive opportunities to experience effective instructional practice for students with
disabilities plus guidance and direction for guiding students with disabilities in science learning. They
are exposed to five proven alternative approaches to instructional delivery, these are:
1. Explicit Teaching. Explicit teaching is a desirable strategy for convergent instruction. There are basic
facts, principles and concepts that are necessary for good science understanding and sound scientific
reasoning. The steps included in this approach are helpful in improving the efficiency of instruction
when the focus is on dissemination.
2. Mastery Teaching. The seven steps included in mastery teaching are demonstrated using an approach
presented in many staff training and administrative training workshops. The strategy is particularly
effective in providing learning alternatives for students through skill enhancement activities and small
group instruction.
3. Inquiry Teaching. Inquiry teaching is an effective strategy to determine if students have an
understanding of a concept. An essential element in the presentation of instruction is the introduction of
an unfamiliar task or challenge. The teacher's role is one of serving as a facilitator of learning rather than
as a source of knowledge. Teaching through inquiry is valuable in helping students develop conceptual
frameworks for problem solving and expanding their abilities to use higher order reasoning.
4. Learning Cycle or Guided Discovery. The 3-phase teaching strategy combines exploration,
convergent instruction, and divergent reasoning into a single strategy. It is particularly effective as a
strategy when students are lacking in prior experiences. Students engage in hands-on exploratory
learning before a concept is introduced and the teacher has an opportunity to check for understanding as
students relate what they have learned to real-life situations in the application phase of the strategy.
5. Exploratory Learning. Exploratory learning allows a teacher to serve as a facilitator of student
learning in a role where the teacher is not a primary source of knowledge or dispenser of information.
The strategy helps students develop confidence in their ability to learn and reason in an environment
which is supportive and non-threatening. The approach provides for a high level of interaction among
students and is an ideal instructional model for employing cooperative learning strategies.
Objectives:
1. To improve instructional skills and awareness of strategies addressing inclusive science education.
2.To familiarize educators with resources, agencies and services relating to the education of students
with disabilities.
3. To expose educators to best practice research and how this research base can be used to better design
instruction for all students.
4. To help educators recognize science as a high-interest medium for refocusing math, communication,
and problem-solving skills.
5. To demonstrate proven models of instructional delivery used in science.
6. To increase awareness of legal issues about administrative and teaching responsibilities relating to the
teaching of science to students with disabilities.
7. To introduce opportunities for electronic communication from the classroom through e-mail and the
Internet.
3
DISSEMINATION
The project has three primary routes of dissemination:
1. Professional development opportunities for science educators and content specialists in higher
education through pre-conference programs presented at NSTA, AETS, and NMSA annual conferences,
regional workshops for science-teacher special education teacher teams, and exhibit booths at NSTA
national conferences.
2. The National Science Teachers Association, the National Middle School Association, and the
Association for the Education of Teachers in Science have disseminated announcements to teachers,
curriculum directors,administrators and post-secondary educators about the pre-conference workshops
through national mailings.
3. Four of the programs have been conducted and participants have been selected for a fifth meeting at
NSTA in April, 1998. All of the programs have been filled to capacity by participants.
Objectives
1. Professors in science content and science educators are encouraged to give visible and continuing
leadership in providing quality with equity learning opportunities in science for students with
disabilities.
2. Those who receive training are expected to plan, organize, and conduct an on-site workshop. The
on-site workshop provides information to better serve students with disabilities in science.
3. Individuals at institutions of higher education who are trained in the workshop are expected to revise
course syllabi in science methods courses to include elements of teaching science to students with
disabilities.
4. Those receiving the workshop training are encouraged to demonstrate self-sustaining, replicable
model programs for other disciplines within the university and other institutions of higher education to
enhance quality and equity for students with disabilities within higher education.
Professional development for science teacher-special education teacher teams. Participants in the
sessions are expected to plan and conduct an on-site workshop. The workshop and resources will
provide assistance to administrators, teachers, and parents in their home district on improving services
and instruction for students with disabilities.
Objectives
1. Local leadership teams give visible leadership in teaching science for students with disabilities at the
local level. Participants develop an action plan for improving the quality of science experiences for
students with disabilities in their own school.
2. Local leadership teams are expected to plan, organize, and conduct a local conference at the school or
area education site on ways to enhance science teaching for students with disabilities.
3. Local leadership teams are expected to develop a support system of administrators, teachers, parents,
and students to support equivalency of instruction in science for students with disabilities.
To disseminate information through an exhibit booth at the National Science Teachers Association
Annual Conference. Information is gathered from as many organizations as possible and library searches
are conducted in order to gain up-to-date information regarding science and disability education. These
materials are distributed to over 3,000 individuals annually.
Objectives
1. To familiarize educators with resources and agencies and services to assist in providing quality
exposure in science to students with disabilities.
2. To familiarize educators with best practice research and how this research base can be used to better
design instruction for all students.
3. To increase awareness of administrative and teaching responsibilities and actions for quality
instruction in science for all students.
4. To introduce educators of opportunities to networking from the classroom to role models and
expertise throughout the world.
There appears to be a lack of responsiveness by science teachers to adjust the learning environment so
the student with disabilities feels a sense of success and accomplishment. Considerable evidence
indicates that the majority of science teachers are not even aware that they can improve students'
learning through adaptation and modification of instructional procedures. When asked to describe why
students with disabilities have problems learning, teachers report: 1) language skills of reading, writing,
following directions, recording data, and verbal expression; 2) concepts and new terminology; and 3)
behavior problems. Science teachers expect that others will provide special education assistance,
medical assistance, and technical assistance for students.
In higher education the problem is two-fold. Special education professors emphasize services to students
who have difficulty in learning, with little attention to learners of average and above average intelligence
that have disabilities. At the same time, science methods instructors tend to overlook attention to the
learner with disabilities assuming that pedagogy relating to students with special needs are addressed by
special education personnel.
The student with disabilities can be expected: 1) to be mainstreamed in science, 2) to be without an
advocate for any special accommodations relating to the subject matter content, 3) to experience
stereotypical attitudes about concerns of safety in the science laboratory and lowered expectations for
achievement.
The project initiatives provide information to educators on responsibilities of contained in legislative
mandates, and alert educators to inequities experienced by students with disabilities in the science
classroom. Participants experience model lessons and receive information and resources relating to
making science instruction responsive to students with disabilities.
5
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