Activity 2C: Special Needs Article Summaries

C&I 335

Summer 1998

Mark Hale

Springfield High School

Springfield, Illinois

Instructional Design That Accommodates Special Learning Needs in Science

by Bonnie Grossen, University of Oregon, and Mack D. Burke, University of Oregon

This article discusses six instructional design features identified by the National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators (NCITE) for students who are academically delayed due to a disability of some sort. The six features are as follows:

• Teach Big Ideas - Big ideas are concepts and principles that facilitate a broad acquisition of knowledge. The main purpose is to help students who have difficulty grasping core concepts and discerning insignificant details from importan points. In regards to science, teaching big ideas should involve central ideas. This will motivate questions for the students, and make the concepts more applicable to everyday experiences.
• Prime Background Knowledge involves teaching of the necessary background information before introducing new material.
• Provide Conspicuous Strategies to enable learners to solve difficult tasks. In regards to science, this would involve students making predictions or inferences.
• Provide Mediated Scaffolding - Mediated scaffolding is providing personal guidance and assistance to a needy students either by a peer or the teacher. This involves starting with less demanding tasks and building on them befor expecting students to perform independent tasks.
• Provide Judicious Review - This involves drawing upon and applying previously taught knowledge. Judicious review should be done in small increments, the methods should be varied, and it should be cumulative.
• Integrate Strategically to establish connection between new and old knowledge.

Computer-Based Concept Mapping: Promoting Meaningful Learning in Science for Students With Disabilities

by Lynne Anderson-Inman, Ph.D., University of Oregon, Leslie A. Ditson, Ph.D., University of Oregon, and Mary T. Ditson, M.C.A.T.

A concept map is a graphical representation of many concepts and their interrelationships. It can be an effective way to integrate old concepts with new ones, particulary with students who have disabilities. Construction of a concept map involves four steps: identifying the main concept, entering related concepts that radiate from the main concept, identifying relationships between the main concept and its related ones, and repeating the process as information is added. In regards to science, it can be a great way to build a knowledge base wheter it be for a whole discipline or a specific topic. Computer-based concept mapping can help with organization because it minimizes construction and modification problems. It is also felt that it stimulates more activities. In regards to students with disabilities, use of concept maps is particularly good for students with reading and writing difficulties, or in other words the "visual learner." Concept mapping for the visual learner is a great alternative to "traditional" notetaking. One software program for developing concept maps is Inspiration. It is an outlining and diagramming program.

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