Science and Mathematics Classes for Children With Special Needs
Wendy Sherman McCann

The total number of students with recognized disabilities in the United States has risen steadily over the past two decades. According to the report "Women, Minorities, and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 1998," approximately 10 percent of children in the United States participated in federally funded special education programs during the 1994-95 school year (National Science Foundation, 1999). The occurrence of particular disabilities varies widely among children with special needs, but more than half of the identified disabilities are learning disabilities. Other disabilities include speech and language difficulties, mental retardation, and serious emotional difficulties. Physical disabilities are relatively rare, accounting for less than three percent of those students identified as having disabilities.

During the past few years, legal resolutions, parental concerns, and new research on learning and socialization have led to widespread efforts to place children with special needs in regular classrooms, a practice known as inclusion. According to one report, the number of children with special needs included in general education classrooms has risen by 10 percent during the period from 1992 to 1997. Still, "Women, Minorities, and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 1998" concludes that special needs students take fewer science and math classes, have lower grades, and have lower achievement scores than general education students.

What Are Effective Policies for Inclusion?

Many parents are understandably interested in determining what kinds of education practices are most beneficial to their children with special needs. The Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices (1996) has developed a framework for evaluating state and local policies for inclusion to assist parents in this process. According to the framework, effective inclusion policies have six characteristics: (1) use of curricula that allow for the maximum development of individual students; (2) implementation of measurable, alternative, appropriate assessment practices; (3) accountability for all members of the education community; (4) commitment to professional development; (5) sufficient and responsible funding for educational programs; and (6) governance that allows central support of local control.

On the school level, the policies that best serve children with special needs often parallel those that are recognized as sound in general education. For example, schools that use block scheduling, interdisciplinary instruction, and team teaching are often better prepared to educate children with special needs in inclusive settings.

Can My Child Benefit From Being in a General Education Class in Science or Math?

General education classes in science and math provide opportunities that children with special needs may not get anywhere else. For example, special education teachers who lack the expertise to comfortably teach science or math may neglect to cover these subjects in depth. Also, special education programs often lack the supplies and equipment necessary for science laboratory work, so children may miss many opportunities to perform scientific experiments.

In addition, the structure and practices of general education classes in science and math--for example, hands-on activities, group work, and exciting experiments--make ideal inclusion situations. Participation in these classes can not only improve the self-esteem of children with special needs but also further develop the empathy, understanding, and leadership potential of children without special needs.

How Can Science and Math Teachers Adapt Their Classrooms?

Including children with special needs in general education classrooms may require modification of the physical environment. For example, lab benches, storage spaces, sinks, and first aid stations are often inaccessible to children with physical disabilities. Because of their limited mobility, these children may also require additional aisle space both within classrooms and along any corridors that are part of emergency escape routes.

Children with special needs may also benefit from assistive technology. However, general education teachers may not be aware of assistive technology resources, or they may be unfamiliar with how to choose such devices. Special education experts recommend that teachers follow three procedures when considering assistive technology in the inclusive classroom: (1) allow the child, his or her family, and classmates to help select assistive technology devices; (2) have a specific activity in mind when looking for a device, rather than simply purchasing an available device and then trying to figure out what to do with it; and (3) seek help and advice from experts outside the field of education, including, for example, engineers, carpenters, and computer experts (for more information, see Assistive Technology and Inclusion online at http://www.asri.edu/CFSP/brochure/asstech.htm).

How Can Science and Math Teachers Adapt Curriculum and Assessment?

In general, the strategies involved in adapting curriculum for inclusive situations will depend upon the needs of the individual children in a particular classroom. For example, teachers can often help children with learning disabilities by making increased use of lesson summaries and other organizational techniques, such as providing children with organizing notebooks, translating complicated directions or procedures into small blocks of information, distributing copies or outlines of class lecture notes, and posting weekly assignments in convenient places for students to examine. Teachers can help children with physical disabilities by positioning them near the front of the classroom or by developing special signals to indicate the need for communication.

In science classes, teachers may have to modify laboratory instruction significantly for children with special needs. Children with learning disabilities may require more organized information in smaller increments. Children with physical disabilities often require modified equipment to complete lab exercises. For example, Braille rulers can be adapted or made, and instruments that normally have visual output can be modified to have audio output. For children with hearing impairments, lab equipment with sound signals can be wired to include a light or other visible signal as well. Microscopes that do not require fine motor skills can be purchased, or projection scopes can be used for children with visual disabilities.

Science teachers may also modify some procedures to make the lab more accessible to children with special needs. Pairing a general education student as a "lab buddy" with a student with special needs is often successful. The lab buddy should understand his or her partner's limitations and be able to work within those limitations to do lab activities with the special needs child, rather than for him or her. Finally, no child in science class should be exempt from safety rules, so teachers may need to model appropriate safety behavior frequently and give children several chances to practice reacting to staged "crises."

In math classes, teachers may also have to modify the curriculum to accommodate children with special needs. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards encourage math teachers to use manipulatives and physical models to help children develop number sense and understanding of mathematical operations. Working with partners is also a successful strategy in mathematics learning. And children with special needs should be given multiple opportunities to interact with technology, especially calculators and computers.

Assessment options for the inclusive classroom should reflect the diverse skills and goals of the children in the class. Teachers may find that frequent checks of student progress are helpful. Teachers should accept that children will solve math problems in many different ways and that alternative problem-solving methods are equally valid in most situations. In addition, unit projects that allow children to focus on their own science or math interests and to showcase their individual talents are extremely beneficial.

How Can Parents and Teachers Work Together?

Partnerships between science or math teachers, special education teachers, and parents are key in determining effective educational strategies for children with special needs. These partnerships can also include other children; teachers with experience in inclusive classrooms claim that children often devise strikingly successful ways to adapt educational strategies for their classmates with special needs.

One of the most important ways that parents and teachers can work together to help children with special needs is to develop an Individualized Education Plan, or IEP. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1991 (IDEA), IEPs must include (1) a description of the student's present level of performance; (2) short-term and annual goals for student progress; and (3) the educational services to be provided to the student in support of these performance goals. Some states also specify additional requirements for IEPs. Professionals and parents should work together to develop the IEP, review it frequently, and revise it if necessary. Parents have the right to be active advocates for their special needs child in today's schools.

Parents and teachers should realize the important role they play in developing the attitudes of children with special needs toward science and math. For example, one study of adults with disabilities shows teacher behavior to be the most frequently cited reason for choosing a career in science (Weisgerber, 1990).

Finally, all children can participate in some way in the science or math classroom, even if it is not the same way. But parents and teachers should remember that inclusive classroom techniques--organizing topics around central themes and allowing children to demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of ways--are helpful to and appropriate for every child in the classroom, not just those with special needs. To be sure, maintaining an inclusive science or math classroom involves a commitment to the needs of all children, and all children can benefit from the process.

References

Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices. 1996. A Framework for Evaluating State and Local Policies for Inclusion. Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices Issue Brief. (Available online at http://www.asri.edu/CFSP/brochure/framewrk.htm)

National Science Foundation. 1999. Women, Minorities, and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 1998. Arlington, VA: Author. (Available online at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf99338/start.htm)

Weisgerber, R. A. 1990. "Encouraging Scientific Talent." The Science Teacher 57 (8): 38-39.

Resources

Circle of Inclusion (http://circleofinclusion.org)

Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices (http://www.asri.edu/cfsp/brochure/abtcons.htm)

ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education (http://www.cec.sped.org/ericec.htm)

The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (http://www.nichcy.org)

Wendy Sherman McCann is the Science Education Analyst and an AskERIC Specialist at the ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She is also a doctoral student in science education at the university.

Minorities in Science and Mathematics: A Challenge for Change
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Encouraging Girls in Science and Math