Beyond the I.E.P.: Special Education Science Resource

If you have worked with students who require special education programming, you understand the challenges they face in their learning, and the rewards that come with both teaching these students and learning from them. They long to be successful, to accomplish what their peers do, and to be seen as contributing members of the class.

However, these students are often formally identified only once they are struggling or have failed. Low self esteem, sadness and frustration show on their faces. And so we begin testing and then developing an Individual Education Plan (I.E.P.) or Individual Program Plan (I.P.P.).

An Individual Education/Program Plan puts forth specific educational expectations—an outline of the services the student is to receive, and the methods by which the pupil’s progress will be reviewed. It can include instructional, environmental and assessment accommodations. Annual program goals are indicated along with learning expectations and teaching strategies. What it does not identify in many cases, are the types of programs that will be used to actually teach the students.

As a school administrator with eleven years of experience working with students identified with a learning disability and/or attention deficit disorder, I know firsthand how frustrating it can be for my staff (and myself) to locate teaching resources that contain both appropriate content and the much needed skills development aspect of learning. I can also visualize that fabulous “I get it!” smile on the face of a student who has acquired the knowledge, and the organizational or comprehension skill that previously was not within his/her grasp. Consequently, this has led me to the creation of a special education science resource that is reflective of these issues.

Science offers an opportunity for students to learn through experimentation, which involves “hands-on” activities, observations, predictions and the creation of objects. This type of learning, however, also requires students to learn subject specific vocabulary and concepts. These concepts spiral upwards towards a path of knowledge that will lead to a more complex form of investigation, and study at higher-grade levels. As a result, some students find science to be a challenging subject.

Despite normal intelligence and the will to be successful, students who have learning disabilities or attentional difficulties can become incredibly frustrated and overwhelmed. They may have difficulties with reading (decoding, tracking, comprehending or knowing what is important in a passage); producing written responses (including technical vocabulary); concentrating and listening in class; written output (printing/writing/copying/notetaking); memory (retention and recall of critical information); organization and test taking.

My colleague, Tracy Grajales, and I have created a science unit on Light. It includes various modifications, accommodations, and skills development, which address many of the difficulties these students encounter in their learning. This unit was developed for a self-contained classroom for students with learning disabilities and/or attention deficit disorder. It minimizes the amount of time teachers spend on lesson planning and preparation, so they can spend more time addressing the individual needs of their students.

The unit comes complete with vocabulary sheets, notes, worksheets, homework sheets, experiments, review sheets, quizzes, a unit test and answer keys. In addition, lesson plans, supply lists for both the teacher and the student, and a list of resource materials are provided. An added feature is the table of contents which doubles as a master-tracking sheet for completed lessons. This will allow a substitute teacher to easily step into the classroom and continue with the unit as all the necessary materials are clearly outlined.

The skills development in the unit promotes independence and the retention of condensed material versus dependency and temporary knowledge. Organizational skills (duotang/binder), a table of contents, page numbers, and use of dividers and colour-coded sheets help students locate their work faster. Self-monitoring tools such as checklists, “keeping track” prompts and check boxes are incorporated. Pre-teaching of science (technical) vocabulary, visuals embedded in worksheets, and a visual dictionary further develop reading and comprehension skills. Science notes are organized into main ideas and supporting details to act as a model for future note taking. concept maps for preview and review of science concepts have been created using inspiration. Questioning has been developed using Bloom’s Taxonomy. This unit can be used with Kurzweil 3000 Assistive Technology that supports a student’s attention, reading, writing, and/or motor output difficulties.

Tracy and I continue in the research and development stage of this teaching resource. We are excited by its potential and are seeking special teachers across Canada who are interested in conducting a trial of this unit, and providing us with feedback. Please email us at office@douglasacademy.com if you are interested in furthering the development of this special education resource.