Working With Special Needs Populations Chris Carter, Assistant Director, VSGC
description
Transcript of Working With Special Needs Populations Chris Carter, Assistant Director, VSGC
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Chris Carter, Assistant Director, VSGC
Nick Koltun, Educational Programs Specialist, VSGC
Mark Riccobono, Director of Education
Jernigan Institute National Federation of the Blind
Gail Henrich, Vision Teacher, Norfolk Public Schools
Working With Special Needs Populations
Disability Groups under the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act• Hearing
Impairments Including Deafness
• Visual Impairments Including Blindness
• Speech or Language Impairments
• Mental Retardation
• Emotional Disturbance
• Orthopedic Impairments
• Autism
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Other Health Impairments, Multiple Disabilities, Deaf-blindness, Specific Learning Disabilities, and Developmental Delay
Working With Special Needs Populations
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Data Analysis System "Report of children with disabilities receiving special education under Part B of the Individualswith Disabilities Education Act," 2004. Data updated as of July 30, 2005. https://www.ideadata.org/tables28th/ar_1-1.htm
•Children and youth served under IDEA by age group in the 50 States (2004)
•Ages 3 – 21
• 6,718,619
•Ages 5 – 18 (school age children and youth)
•5,716,119
Scope of Need
Working With Special Needs Populations
Inclusion of Students With Disabilities in Regular Classrooms
Percentage of Day in Regular Education Classroom
School year80 percent
or more40-79
percentLess than
40 percent
Not in aregular school
1994–95 44.5 28.7 22.4 4.3
1995–96 45.3 28.7 21.6 4.4
1996–97 45.8 28.5 21.4 4.3
1997–98 46.4 29.0 20.4 4.1
1998–99 46.1 29.8 20.1 4.1
1999–2000 46.0 29.7 20.3 4.1
2000–01 46.5 29.8 19.5 4.2
2001–02 48.4 28.3 19.2 4.0
2002–03 48.2 28.7 19.0 4.0
2003–04 49.9 27.7 18.5 3.9SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. (2003). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Data from tables AB8 and AB10, unpublished tabulations. Retrieved February 7, 2005, from http://www.ideadata.org/arc_toc5.asp#partbLRE.
Working With Special Needs Populations
Students with Special Needs
English Language Learners
Auditory Learners
Visual Learners
Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners
Struggling Readers
Gifted
Multiple Intelligences
Diverse Learners in Classrooms
Working With Special Needs Populations
Access is the key
The GOAL of UNIVERSAL DESIGN is to create flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that accommodate learner differences.
Close captioning assists beginning readers, struggling readers, English language learners and the deaf
Science lectures and
dialogues help the
auditory learner and the
learners with vision
problems
Visual learners learn
best with
demonstrations and
reading Tactile learners perform best taking notes, hands-on
projects
Kinesthetic learners learn best being actively involved
Universal Design
Working With Special Needs Populations
•SERCH serves as a broker and facilitator of services between the region's educational community and researchers involved in SMD missions.
•Purpose is to promote space science awareness and enhance interest in science, math, and technology through the use of NASA's mission data, information, and educational products
•SERCH works with 14 Space Grant consortia (AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, PR, SC, TN, and VA)
Working With Special Needs Populations
• Exceptional Needs Workshops (ENWS)– 6 workshops
• Outcomes of ENWS– Special Needs Resource
Group (SNRG)– Exceptional Needs
Working Group (ENWG)– Tactile and Technology
Focus Group (TTFG)
Working With Special Needs Populations
ENWG-Outcomes
Identified need to adapt existing educational materials and to encourage NASA product developers to provide educational methods/products that will involve the exception student population.
Working With Special Needs Populations
Teaming
Science educators Special educators
Scientists Administrato
rs
Parents
Community
Product developers
Technology Specialists
Assistive Technology Specialists
Web developers
NASA Space Grant
Working With Special Needs Populations
VSGC Work in Special Needs
• One regional and two statewide conferences– For teachers of science to blind, visually impaired,
deaf and hard of hearing students
• Mission Space Science: The Tactile Frontier– Regional Conference– One-day– Held at VSGC offices– 30 teachers and educators
Working With Special Needs Populations
Space Science the Special Way(With a Twist from Assistive Technology)
• Seed Funding from SERCH– Additional funding from NASA LaRC, VA DOE,
Department of Blind/Visually Impaired and Department of Deaf/Hard of Hearing
• Statewide Conference held in February 2004 at Science Museum of Virginia
• 131 participants• Response was overwhelmingly positive!
Working With Special Needs Populations
Evaluation Summary
• 97% of participants ‘agreed’, or ‘strongly agreed’ with statements related to:– gained new information– changed the way I feel about assistive technology– motivated to share this with others– accommodations and agenda met my needs and
expectations
• “The energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge were wonderful! Great conference!”
• “I am so very impressed with the efforts and connections of the team!”
Working With Special Needs Populations
• Seed funding from SERCH• Additional funding from NIA/NASA Center for
Distance Learning, VDOE, Department of Blind/Visually Impaired, Department of Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Canon
• Conference held at VSGC in November 2005• For teachers of science to students who are blind,
visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing
Teaching Earth and Space Science the Special Way
Working With Special Needs Populations
• Attended by 108 attendees• “The conference was inspiring as well as
informative. The best practices and hands-on technology workshops were helpful.”
• “Thank you for your effort to put together an informative, interesting, and engaging conference.”
• “I was impressed with the diversity of the people attending…information will be shared across the city with teachers! This was a wonderful conference for finding others with similar interest.”
Teaching Earth and Space Science the Special Way
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
Working With Special Needs Populations
• National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
• NASA Langley• NASA Johnson• TERC• Braille Authority of
North America
• Proposal to NOAA’s Environmental Literacy– Weather and Climate
Education for the Blind– Sonification and tactile
graphics
• Proposal to NEC, Inc. STEM Education Program– Adapting Visual Science
News for Blind Students
Partnerships Developed/Outcomes
Working With Special Needs Populations
• SERCH and partners awarded NSF Planning Grant– College of Charleston– South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland,
and Pennsylvania Space Grants• SMILE (Science and Mathematics Integrated in Lifelong-
Learning Experiences)• Broaden the Special Needs Initiative from the K-12 to
higher education. • Strengthen and expand network of educators, scientists,
and resource developers working to make STEM accessible to students with special needs.
Partnerships Developed/Outcomes
Working With Special Needs Populations
Virginia Students Attending SCIVIS
• Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students (SCIVIS).
• A week long camp at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville coordinated by teachers of the visually impaired.
• All materials and equipment are made accessible to allow students to fully participate.
• $3,200 contributed over 3 years to fund travel for 12 students