Teaching Math/Science To Students With Special Needs

1. Teaching Math/Science To Students With Special Needs ELED 415 November 18, 2003 Marna Baricuatro-Rae Leslie Rector

2. Overview • What are special education & inclusion? • General teaching strategies for special needs students • Technology and Special Education • Strategies for Inclusive Science classrooms • Science strategies at work • Strategies for Inclusive Math classrooms • Math strategies at work • Helpful websites for teachers of special needs students • Fun websites for special needs students • References

3. What Is Special Education? “Specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.” -Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) What Is Inclusion? Commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend. What does an inclusion classroom look like?

4. Adapting for Students with Special Needs • Size • Time • Level of support • Input • Difficulty • Output • Participation • Alternate options • Substitute curriculum

5. Assistive Technology • Find the Buttons • Mouse training for blind children • Big Keys/Large Keyboards • Point to Pictures • Turn-Talking Conversation training software • IntelliMathics

6. Inclusive Science Strategies • Modify written materials • Analytic vs. Holistic Rubrics • Specialists + Special Educators

7. Example of Science Strategies

8. Math Teaching Strategies • Problem Solving • Working Backwards • Simplifying & Reducing • Recognizing Patterns • Drawing & Modeling • Making a Table/Graph • Acting It Out & Simulating • Calculators & Computers

9. Example of Math Strategies Word Problems Used Students’ Names Favorite CDs FASTDRAW Fake Money Made Classroom into CD store • Represent the variable c (cost of one CD) with CD cases: 3c + 4c = 42 • By combining like terms, we find 7 c's. (7c) • The total cost, $42, is represented with 42 counting chips. 7c = 42 • The total cost, $42, is divided equally among the CDs. c = 42/7 • The solution is the number of chips, or dollars, in one CD, or the value of the variable c. c = 6

10. Helpful Websites for Teachers • http://www.proteacher.com/040016.shtml A list of links • http://www.exceptionalteaching.com/index_files/page0036.htm Idea Exchange • http://teams.lacoe.edu/village/special.html Resources galore! • http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr139.shtml Tons of teacher resources • http://www.eagle.ca/~matink/teacher.html#GEN Even more resources!

11. Helpful Websites For Special Ed Students • Fun Activities • http://www.ldonline.org/article.php?max=20&id=0&loc=20 • Math Homework Helper • http://www.aplusmath.com/Homework_Helper/index.html • Math Games • http://www.aplusmath.com/Games/index.html • All About Graphs • http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/courses/ci330ms/youtsey/intro.html • Visual Math Topics • http://www.hbschool.com/glossary/math2/index_temp.html

12. References • Allsopp, D., Davis, E., Green, G., Lovin, L., (2003). Why Students with Special Needs Have Difficulty Learning Mathematics and What Teachers Can Do to Help. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 6, 308-314. • Cooper, R.J. (2003) Software and Hardware for Persons with Special Needs. Retrieved November 9, 2003, from http://rjcooper.com. • Finson, K., & Ormsbee, C. (1998). Rubrics and their use in inclusive science [Electronic version]. Intervention in School and Clinic, 34, 79-88. • Jarrett, D. (1999). Inclusive Classroom: Mathematics And Science Instruction For Students With Learning Disabilities. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved November 11, 2003, from, http://www.nwrel.org/msec/book7.pdf. • Ormsbee, C., & Finson, K. (2000). Modifying science activities and materials to enhance instruction for students with learning and behavioral problems [Electronic version]. Intervention in School and Clinic, 36, 10-21. • Palinscar, A., Magnusson, S., Collins, K, & Cutter, J. (2001). Making science accessible to all: results of a design experiment in inclusive classrooms [Electronic version]. Learning Disability Quarterly, 24, 15-32. • University of Northern Iowa’s College of Education, Inclusion. (n.d.). Inclusion—Teaching Strategies. Retrieved November 11, 2003, from http://www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion/