One Mode Is Not for All

Children with special learning needs participate fully in the authors' science classes every day; their job as teachers is to bring about meaningful science connections for all students, including those who do not communicate their knowledge most effectively through the ways most typically asso...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science and children 2006-01, Vol.43 (4), p.26-29
Main Authors: Britsch, Susan Jane, Heise, Kathryn A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Classroom Techniques
Cognitive Style
Educational standards
Elementary School Science
Elementary School Students
Exceptional children
Faculty Development
Hands on Science
Inquiry
Interpersonal communication
Journal Writing
Learning Modalities
Learning styles
Liquids
Literacy
Literacy Education
Mainstreaming
Science activities
Science education
Science Instruction
Science learning
Science Projects
Science teachers
Soil samples
Soil texture
Solids
Special Needs Students
Student Journals
Teaching Methods
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Summary:Children with special learning needs participate fully in the authors' science classes every day; their job as teachers is to bring about meaningful science connections for all students, including those who do not communicate their knowledge most effectively through the ways most typically associated with classroom learning (i.e., reading, writing, and discussion). Embracing the various modes through which students express their science understandings can go a long way in meeting this goal for special-needs learners. The authors worked with teachers participating in the Children's Literacy and Science Project, a professional development project funded by Toyota USA Foundation. The project focused on improving teachers' science and literacy instruction through the use of children's science journals in inquiry-based science instruction. The authors observed each child's classroom science instruction and then reflected on the child's "journaling" of the science experience. In this article, the authors reflect upon how special-needs students represented their understandings. Their responses tell them something about the nature of classroom science experience and the importance of recognizing/accepting the various ways children can communicate science knowledge. (Contains 2 figures and 9 resources.)
ISSN:0036-8148
1943-4812