Teaching early numeracy and science to students with developmental disabilities

Students with DD have the same rights in education as their neurotypical peers. Due to the historical undervaluing of the abilities of disabled students however - as well as a scarcity of research on implementing evidence-based teaching strategies in ‘typical’ special school settings in the UK - there is a large gap in attainment between neurodivergent and neurotypical students (Department for Education, 2020b). This thesis focused on science and numeracy education for students with DD and explored adaptations that can be made to ensure evidence-based interventions are more accessible and feasible to implement in specials schools in the UK. Chapter 1 provided an overview of the literature on teaching academic skills to students with DD, explored how the bioecological model and the MRC complex intervention framework can inform educational research, and provided some considerations on implementing Systematic Instruction interventions in special schools. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 presented three empirical studies on teaching science and numeracy to students with DD. Chapters 5 and 6 described the development of a numeracy readiness programme for students with DD. Chapter 7 – the overall discussion –provided an overview of the findings and their implications, the limitations of this thesis, my own reflections on the thesis, and proposed recommendations for future research

Teaching science to students with developmental disabilities using the Early Science curriculum

There is a large science attainment gap between students with and without special educational needs, and many students with developmental disabilities (DD) struggle to access the mainstream science programmes of study. The purpose of the present project was to pilot the use of the Early Science (ES) curriculum over a six week period with nine students with moderate to severe DD in a special education setting in the UK. Staff members indicated positive experiences of using the curriculum, especially the use of the structured teaching methodology as a helpful tool. Evaluation data suggested that all nine pupils improved their science knowledge over the course of the intervention. Some suggestions are made to improve the delivery of the ES curriculum in UK special education settings, and the need for larger scale evaluation research

Teaching science to pupils with SEND : using an evidence-based approach

Richard, Magdalena and Julie explain how they used systematic instruction to teach science enquiry skills and conceptual understanding in a special school