Science for All: Engaging Students with Special Needs in and About Science

Abstract

The notion of "science for all" suggests that all students-irrespective of achievement and ability-should engage in opportunities to understand the practice and discourse of science. Improving scientific literacy is an intrinsic goal of science education, yet current instructional practices may not effectively support all students, in particular, students with special needs. Argument-based inquiry approaches, such as the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH), require all students to construct their scientific understandings by engaging in investigations and negotiating their ideas in multiple contexts, such as discussions and writing. Various SWH studies demonstrated that students engaged in appropriating the language, culture, practice, and dispositions of science generally improved their critical thinking and standardized test scores. The implementation of such an approach has several implications for science and special education research and practice, including how learning environments should be established to encourage the inclusion of all students' ideas, as well as how scaffolded supports can and should be used to support science learning.

Helping Students Succeed within Secondary-Level STEM Content

“…This scenario is not unusual, as textbooks play a dominant role in STEM instruction (Brigham, Scruggs, & Mastropieri, 2011). Unfortunately for the struggling learner, the same unknown science-specific language conventions and vocabulary terms that affect learning during oral lectures can restrict ability to read and comprehend textbooks and other text-based materials (Villanueva & Hand, 2011). As a result, the inability to comprehend text or keep pace during face-to-face instruction results in a perpetual cycle of failure within STEM and other secondary-level content coursework for many struggling students.…”

Longitudinal analysis of standardized test scores of students in the science writing heuristic approach

“…Implementing the argument-based inquiry approaches may be influential in closing the achievement gap by embedding writing and argumentation within the science inquiry activity (Grimberg & Hand, 2009, Cavagnetto, 2010. In order to achieve equitable learning for all, instruction have to values and respect students' experience and prior knowledge, provide adequate support and resource, and create non-threatening environment (Villanueva & Hand, 2011). While researchers focus on closing achievement gaps by gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, Villanueva, Taylor, Therrien, and Hand (2012) also suggested that student success was also greatly increased for students who have difficulty with reading and writing skills using the inquiry.…”

Enhancing background knowledge for students at risk for failure

“…Students need to acquire essential factual and conceptual science knowledge to make meaningful connections with the natural world (Palincsar, Magnusson, Collins, & Cutter, 2001;Powell & Arum, 2007). As students gain a better understanding of science, they can make more informed decisions, on personal and civic levels, when dealing with societal issues (Hazen & Trevil, 2009;Villanueva & Hand, 2011;Yore, 2012). For example, students who have gained background knowledge related to topics such as ecology, pollution, natural resources, and the use of energy are more likely to make decisions that positively impact the quality of their environment and improve human existence.…”

“…However, improving science achievement for students in some subgroups (e.g. students with learning disabilities) has proven to be largely unsuccessful (Villanueva & Hand, 2011), which puts students in these subgroup populations at greater risk for failure (Therrien, Hughes, & Hand, 2011).…”

“…The process of confronting preconceptions, applying new knowledge, and reflecting on changes in thinking requires students to not only think about what they know but also how they know it (Bransford & Donovan, 2005;Villanueva & Hand, 2011;Yore, 2012). Scientific investigation requires students to explore both what is happening (i.e., the phenomenon) and why (i.e., the reasoning) as they develop an explanation (Palincsar, Magnusson, Collins, & Cutter, (2001).…”